Escape the Crate Review + Giveaway!

Escape rooms can be a lot of fun, but you might not have a full team of players to go with or you simply don't want to leave your house and that is okay! There is a fun alternative of doing an escape game all from the comfort of your own home. I recently received the wonderful chance to work with Escape the Crate on a review (plus a giveaway below!). What sets their escape games apart? Instead of being a escape game company that sells only one or two escapes for you to complete this is a subscription based escape crate that will send you a new crate every other month, it starts at $29.99 a crate but goes down in price if you buy a longer subscription. They put a lot of work into each crate and it shows when you are playing the game.

To play this game thoroughly and completely you will need a fully charge electronic device that can hook up to the internet. Why? Instead of this being a paper/item only escape game it has an interactive website that helps you along on your journey. If you don't feel like reading everything out loud to your group they have audio buttons you can hit and it will read everything out for you. Along with having someone read the directions and story to you, they also have youtube videos intertwined that have vital information for your escape.

For our crate we are spies who work for an agency that is able to travel through time to help stop a villain from destroying the timeline. One of the things that I like most about this isn't just that it comes with an app, but you'll also get an assortment of documents, real props and the box that it comes in itself is part of the game as well so it really is the whole package. 

The app does provide some hints at the bottom of the page in case you get stuck, just like how a game master would help you out in a Escape room. You are not punished nor do you have to remove anytime from your count down for using a clue, they are meant to be helpful so that you can enjoy your game experience without feeling overwhelmed or upset. If you prefer to play this alone instead of with a group they have "solo" options for certain aspects that would normally require at least two people.

The first half of the game is set up a little easier than the second half so that first timers can get a hang of how to play, then once you move onto the second half it becomes a bit harder. Both parts have their own set amount of time to complete them in or you can choose just to do it for fun and not set a timer at all. I liked the fact that we were not stuck doing both portions at once, each one takes an hour to an hour and a half which is a decent amount of time so we finished the first half then did the second half a few days later when we weren't busy.

We all had a lot of fun working together trying to figure out clues, the kids even pointed out things their dad and I didn't spot when first looking at everything that ended up being a big help for solving different aspects of the codes we needed to progress further in the game. The second half of the game was indeed harder than the first half and didn't have as much direction as the first so we were stuck on the first riddle for a little longer than we'd like to admit until it finally clicked as it was something you wouldn't think of right away. 

They do provide information on how to "reset" the game and also offer a way to print off any sheets that get ruined during the game so you can re-start everything, therefore you could re-gift this crate to a friend or a family member to try out. I think the Escape the Crate team did a great job putting everything together and making it user friendly. If you love Escape games or have been wanting to try one out, I suggest taking a look at their website to see what they offer. If you missed a crate that you really want to try out they offer you the chance to purchase a retired crate.

Want to try out a crate of your own or subscribe for a set amount of time? Use code MOONLIT20 to get 20% OFF of your purchase.

PRIZE ALERT: One lucky winner is going to win a crate of their own to try out. 

This is open to US & Canadian Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 3/14/2022

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering this question > If you could have your crate set in any time period/era, which would you choose?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer-  Escape the Crate provided the products mentioned above for the review & giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

CMOP Members Only Night!

Many Arizona families have heard about the Children's Museum of Phoenix and how they have three floors of fun child friendly exhibits to explore, but did you know they also offer yearly memberships that can save you a ton of money? If you plan on going to the museum often I highly recommend purchasing a membership for a year, not only do you get unlimited visits to the museum for an entire year but you also receive gift shop discounts + discounts on extra offered activities & everyone month they host a members only night. As part of the PLAYfluencer program with the Children's Museum of Phoenix, Each month I will be posting about different aspects of the museum. Last month I posted about the entry area into the museum and this month I want to talk about the members only night + two of their current offers.

On the third Friday of every month the museum stays open from  4pm-7pm for families who are membership holders. Members of course get free access into the museum and are able to explore during the evening hours. This month their newest exhibit opened on the same day as Members only night and it will run until October 18th. The exhibit is called BOX Mania and is located in the entry way near the giant play structure, children will be able to explore boxes, and create anything they want from a vast amount of cardboard boxes. There was a huge assortment of box sizes, some could fit several children in them and it was a lot of fun seeing the kids building tunnels, castles, space ships, robot suits to wear and more.

The BOX Mania event isn't just for members! It will be available daily and is free with admission to the museum so there is no need to worry about missing out on it. The boxes used in BOX mania do eventually get smashed or cut to where they are no longer used, however the staff come out with a cart frequently through out the day to pick up some of the smaller scraps and replenish the boxes so you don't have to worry about showing up to unusable boxes. During this members only night we also decided to go check out the KIDchen for the first time.

The KIDchen is a fantastic spot for kids who love to learn how to cook and decorate different food items. During the week and on the weekends the museum offers different foods to cook and taste, some events are hosted by the museum staff and others have special guest chefs who visit to cook with the kids. Seating is limited so reserve a spot early! This program does cost extra it is $6 for members or $8 for Non-members. For our KIDchen experience we were able to decorate caramel apples!

After arriving to the KIDchen with our cooking pass, the kids were provided with a sink to wash their hands before beginning their apple decorating. The kids were able to select their own toppings for their apples and were able to select from either a red or green apple to create their caramel apple. The caramel is made inside of a crock pot and is kept hot so a staff member will dip the apple into the caramel for you and hand it to you on a plate. After receiving your apple you can take a seat and begin decorating. The KIDchen was open during the duration of the member only night event so we didn't have a ton of people in the room with us, at first it was just us then two families joined so I can not say how full their normal cooking activities are. When we were finished decorating our apples and letting the caramel cool a bit we were provided with a take home container. The kids had a blast with both events and really enjoyed the members only night.

Membership prices vary depending on the size of the membership you are thinking about purchasing. They start at $125 a year for 1 Adult + 1 Child and go up to $335 a year for 8 guests including the cardholder, You can learn more about becoming a member Here. If you would only like to stop by to check out the museum for a day to see what it has to offer tickets are $14.95 per person.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Children's Museum of Phoenix for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

2019 Arizona Renaissance Festival

There are only two weekends left to visit the Arizona Renaissance Festival before it is over for the season, so if you are wanting to visit now is the time to go! Tickets are $28 per adult and $18 per child at the festival, however you can buy slightly discounted ($1-$2 per ticket) tickets on their website or at Fry's Marketplace. The festival is opened from 10am until 6pm, it is located off of the US 60 in Gold Canyon, Arizona, for us it is about an hour drive if traffic isn't too bad. You can find a coupon for One free child per One paid adult Here.

Before you go there are three things you should keep in mind/do:

1. It is a good idea to go early if you don't want a long walk from the car to the entrance. Last year we arrived 15 minutes before gates opened and we were parked only three rows away from the entrance. This year it took a bit longer for all of us to get dressed and ready so we didn't get there until 15 minutes after they opened and we were marked about half a mile from the entrance. They do have a "VIP" parking area which costs extra, however I don't see anywhere on their site that tells you how to purchase tickets for that lot, and they have Handicap parking as well that is closer to the gate.

2. There are a ton of free shows to see and plenty of booths to "window shop" at however you will want to budget at least a $100-$150 for the festival to really enjoy the sights, vendor booths and food. All of the performers ask for tips, though it is not required for you to tip anyone it is how most of them make their living so we always make sure to bring actual cash with us for the shows we see. Some of the exhibits, rides and games require payment as well.

3. Bring sunblock & a water bottle! You are allowed to bring in one 16-24oz sealed water bottle per person, they have drinking fountains near all of the bathrooms so you can re-fill them if you don't mind fountain water or you can purchase a small water bottle at the food stalls for $2 each. Even on cool days, you will be out in the sun and several food booths and experiences have lines so you'll be planted in the sun. This year we completely forgot sunblock and I ended up with a red and angry sunburn.

Another great tip to keep in mind is plan to be there for most if not all of your day, there are fourteen different stages with performances all through out the day. Many of the acts are on for thirty to forty-five minutes, between watching several shows, browsing the vendor booths, grabbing lunch and everything else the festival has to offer time will fly by. We arrived at 10:15am and ended up leaving about 3:30pm when everyone was exhausted from the sun and walking around (you'll want to wear comfortable shoes, the festival is huge).

In all we saw three shows, took photos with our favorite Dragon, grabbed lunch and walked around several of the shops during our time at the festival. There is a ton to see and you may not get to do everything in one day so if you are wanting to see it all you can purchase a season pass at the front gate so you can visit as often as you'd like during the open season. One of my husbands favorite shows is the whip cracker and mine is the bird show, we got lucky and they were back to back so we grabbed a bench seat in the shade and relaxed with the kids while we watched the show. Shows tend to fill up quickly especially the more popular shows like the bird show so you might want to get there a few minutes early to get a decent seat. Many of the vendor booths have signs asking you not to take photos otherwise I'd share some of the wares with you!

If you are a foodie there are dozens of options to choose from along with lots of sweet treats, we each have our favorites my husbands being the spinach bowl and mine being the broccoli cheddar soup bowl but this year we were a bit disappointed. They had run out of the broccoli cheddar bowl and stated more wouldn't be ready for about forty-five minutes, at that point we had been in line for about twenty minutes in the direct sun and had acquired sunburns so I decided to skip the bowl, my husbands spinach bowl was so full it was getting every where and this year it tasted and looked kind of odd so most of it wasn't eaten. To make up for lunch we did stop by a chocolate booth on the way out and purchased a few goodies. Food costs are what you'd expect for an event like this, $3 for a small lemonade or soda, $2 small bottles of water, $4 for a slice of pizza, $7 per soup or dip bowl, small chocolates are 3 for $10 or two big pieces of chocolate such as a chunk of fudge + a slice of cheesecake for $13, and other prices vary.

One of our favorite parts about the festival is that anyone is allowed to dress up, this year the whole family dressed up and it was a lot of fun. There are several performers and acts that walk around the festival freely who stop to interact with guests and take photos. Over all we had a great time, at the end everyone was slightly "grumpy" just due to the rising temperature and being exhausted but it didn't spoil the fun we had and we highly suggest you head out to check it out before it is done for the year.

Disclaimer- Tickets to the event mentioned above were provided by the Arizona Renaissance Festival through the US Family Guide for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.