Orlando-based Escapology has opened its second Central Florida location – its 72nd overall – with the grand opening of escape rooms at the Promenade at Sunset Walk in Kissimmee. The company’s first location stands on Orlando’s International Drive, and in the coming months, company-owned Escapology locations will open in Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The brain-teasing attractions provide clues to visitors who try to solve hands-on puzzles within certain time limits. Themes range from the “Scooby-Doo” franchise to Seven Deadly Sins to Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.”

Escapology develops new high-tech games, and it had a licensing deal with Warner Bros. that brings Batman: The Dark Knight Challenge to Orlando and other venues this year.

Burton Heiss, Escapology’s CEO, chatted with the Orlando Sentinel before the Kissimmee location opened to the public Wednesday.

QUESTION: What are we going to see here?

ANSWER: It’s our second location in Orlando, which is sort of a big deal. We don’t have a lot of markets where we have two locations. … I think it says a lot about Orlando and already how much entertainment there is here but also sort of the insatiable appetite for new experiences that all of the tourists and locals that are attracted to here are looking for.

Today we’ve invited the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department – and they run a camp for teens – to come in and play some escape games together. We found this is a really fun way to kind of introduce the community to what we do. Yes, we serve a lot of tourists. But, ultimately, we live and work here. Our team is here. And we think we’re a great option for locals to come visit too. But most importantly, we want to connect with the community. And getting the local law enforcement together with some of the kids, cooperating to solve games and use critical thinking is a really great experience for both groups of people.

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Q: Volume is a reason for a second location, but are there other factors?

A: That’s the No. 1 factor, I think we will also look at where our original location is on I-Drive, back to how many entertainment options are here.

In the old days with an escape game or escape rooms, people would drive 30-45 minutes. … I think it’s become more mainstream. It’s more of an accepted night out or afternoon activity. How many people are really coming from Kissimmee and driving all the way up to I-Drive? You know that drive; it’s not fun.

We think there’s a lot of market, we’re just actually not getting down here on the other side of Disney. So I think it’s mostly volume. It’s a little bit of geography. … It’s just such a great market and only getting better. You know, we know what the growth looks like. This was the first market for us. It made sense to come back and put a location here.

Q: What’s the difference between this location and the I-Drive location?

A: I think the biggest difference is what I would call co-tenancy. You know, traditionally escape games [are in a] strip mall, vape shop, pizza delivery … and we’re right in-between. As it’s become more mainstream, we think this is an experience that stacks really well with burger and a beer or maybe a concert in the park and one-hour experience in an escape game.

It’s also a way to broaden our appeal to maybe people who don’t know about escape games. People are walking around Sunset Walk, they see it. “Oh, what’s that about? I’ve always wondered, Am I actually locked in a room?” And, you know, we can say “No, you’re not locked in a room. We’ve got really cool themes.” But that’s really the biggest difference. This will have eight of our newer, more modern games. Some are duplicated with I-Drive, but there are a few new games that aren’t currently up on I-Drive.

Q: Have there been changes in technology in the past decade that have benefitted you?

A: If you go back to 2014 when Escapology was founded, it was all analog. Locks and keys and codes. It’s now all driven by technology. It’s all driven by software. It’s all mag locks, RFID sensors, Raspberry Pi, lots of stuff that even I don’t necessarily understand, which makes for a much more immersive experience. … Yeah, technology has changed dramatically in our escape rooms, which is also why I think you’re seeing more chains, which can be an dirty word, but in this case, I don’t think it is because we are building these games multiple times to put more technology and more investment into the theming, which I think improves the experience.

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Q: You had growth during the pandemic, basically in a business where you’re putting people in an enclosed place. How did you do that?

A: First of all, at Escapology, all of our rooms are private. All of our games are private. We don’t mix groups. … It’s always just you and your group, so that’s a big reason. People who were quarantining together could still come and play a game. We would sanitize the rooms, and there’s really not that much interaction. … We spread out the game times a little bit more, so there wasn’t as much cross-traffic in the lobby. But you were in your own private room and had very little interaction with others.

Q: Can you tell me about the Batman room?

A: It is very new. This is our first installation. We’re not even calling this the world premiere yet. Because with any new game there’s quite a bit of work that not only goes into the prototyping of writing the story, building the puzzles, then putting it in physical form.

There’s a robustness that needs to be there. People are coming in 10 times a day and doing everything they can to break it. So there’s a process we go through to do that. But yes, it’s a licensing agreement we have with Warner Brothers. And it’s the Batman Challenge. A lot of really cool technology that’s in that game and really fun game to play. We’re excited about it, but it takes awhile to roll these out.

Q: Do you have a favorite game?

A: You know what, Scooby-Doo [and the Spooky Castle Adventure] is my favorite game. There’s a number of reasons. One, there’s a bit of nostalgia. For me, I can remember watching a lot of “Scooby-Doo” after school growing up. But I think it’s a combination of really great theming, really good technology and a fun game that just works well for escape rooms.

It also happens to be our most popular. So the CEO side of me certainly doesn’t hate that.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com