{"id":502153,"date":"2026-02-27T02:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/502153\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T02:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:56:16","slug":"montreal-area-escape-room-named-best-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/502153\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal-area escape room named best in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

An escape room north of Montreal has just been named the best in the entire world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Magnifico game at the Escaparium in Laval, Que., is an immersive experience, complete with multiple actors, intricate set designs and an emotional ending that regularly brings people to tears.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now taken home top international honours for the second year in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closest thing I could compare it to is a movie,\u201d said Escaparium owner Jonathan Driscoll. \u201cIt\u2019s everything you see in a movie. There\u2019s special effects and timing, the actors need to time themselves with what\u2019s happening to get that emotional hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were major moments of elation among the big team behind the experience when Magnifico was named the world\u2019s best at the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts\u2019 Choice Awards back in December.<\/p>\n

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Now fans of the art form are flocking there from all over the globe.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve had people from Mexico, Australia, we had a group from Kuwait,\u201d said Magnifico actor Alexandre Deguire. Staff told Global News they\u2019ve also had guests from Indonesia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Driscoll said the story and creepy circus aesthetic was inspired by the movie The Greatest Showman. He also draws inspiration from major theme parks he visits.<\/p>\n

He hires trained actors and members of improv troupes who can think on their feet, and quickly respond to what players say. Over 20 local actors work on Magnifico.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re watching a play, but instead of being spectators, they\u2019re in the play with us and they\u2019re the main characters,\u201d explained Magnifico actress Elycia Laporte.<\/p>\n

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Their work is not easy. The experience can be up to three hours long,\u00a0but the actors say they adore their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love is that every single circus is different. Every single group is different. You never know what is going to happen until it does,\u201d said actor Nico-Max Eugene.<\/p>\n

Some people get so wrapped up in the story, they\u2019re in tears by the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs humans we want to feel things and this is what this experience brings out compared to anything else out there,\u201d said Driscoll.<\/p>\n

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The actors said when visitors cry, they know they\u2019ve done their jobs exceptionally well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the biggest compliments,\u201d said Laporte.<\/p>\n

Magnifico cost $1.4 million to build and it\u2019s one of nine different experiences at the Escaparium. They also have the fifth, ninth, 36th, 78th and 79th best escape rooms in the world.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An escape room north of Montreal has just been named the best in the entire world. The Magnifico…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[200566,49,48,200567,200565,2338],"class_list":["post-502153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-best-escape-room-in-the-world","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-escaparium-laval","tag-magnifico-escape-room","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}