Inside world’s largest escape room in 75ft-deep Cold War bunker where nuke siren sparks frantic mission to get out alive
THIS is the world’s largest escape room built in a 75ft-deep Cold War bunker where people race against the clock to to escape a nuclear attack.
Built over 25,000 square feet of underground tunnel network in Ottawa, Escape The Diefenbunker is an epic espionage-themed thriller experience that is reminiscent of Canada‘s fascinating past.
The escape room is located in the famous Difenbunker Cold War Museum and is based on the actual bunker system built on the orders of Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in the late 50s.
The underground four-storey reinforced concrete bunker was meant to be a nuclear fallout shelter, and is considered as the most important surviving Cold War site today.
Ottawa’s premiere escape room company Escape Manor partnered with Diefenbunker Museum to built the most extensive escape game plan – resulting in two ultimate missions for people to take on.
The first one is an hour-long challenge called Covert Ops where a group of upto 12 people get on a mission to neutralise an enemy spy troop plotting an imminent nuclear attack.
The goal is to find a communication room, stop the epic launch sequence, and alert the outside world before it’s too late.
But if you fancy even more thrilling experience, then Mission Radioactive is the one to go for.
In a chilling turn of events, the mission will take you Level 100 – Diefenbunker’s deepest depths – where you will be completely shut off from the outside world.
Next you will hear eerie nuclear bomb sirens indicating a radioactive event has triggered – and you need to make it out of the bunker racing against the ticking clock.
However, given the size and extent of the room, both challenges are extremely difficult to complete – and only 40 per cent of the enthusiasts manage to reach the end.
Chris Bisson, a staff for Escape Manor, called it a one of a kind “escape experience.
“The facility is so big, you could get lost even with a map and an entire clues set.
“I have been here a dozen of times but I still find it extremely difficult to find my way out.”
What makes this escape room so difficult to crack, apart from the daunting setting, is the vast connection of tunnels and chambers that were originally designed to protect Canada’s most key figures incase of a nuclear attack.
During the Cold War era, the bunker was fully stocked with food and other necessities for the inhabitants to survive for upto one month living in isolation.
Diefenbunker never served its intended purpose and was eventually decommissioned in 1994, before reopening as Canada’s Cold War Museum in 1998.
The site is now most popular among enthusiasts trying to test their world-saving skills in an adrenaline-filled mission.
However, those who prefer a less interesting but just as unreal experience can take the site’s day tour to cover hundreds of interesting rooms – including a freezer chamber meant to keep dead bodies fresh and a real medical centre where major operations could be performed.