South Park is one of the longest-running animated franchises of all time, producing 23 seasons since it debuted in 1997. That kind of success means being developed and adapted into other media forms as well as seemingly endless merchandising.
Things are going to another level as you can challenge Cartman’s Escape Room in various cities across the United States. But be careful. As any fan of the show will tell you, this deranged Grade 4 student is capable of anything.
Cartman’s Escape Room is born
The concept for Cartman’s Escape Room was developed in cooperation between South Park Studios and Escape The Room. This is a company that has been in the escape room business since 2013 with 22 locations across the United States.
Cartman’s Escape Room is a unique experience in that it has to incorporate Eric’s madness into its design. And as anyone who watches South Park with any regularity knows, Cartman is as dangerous a human being as you’ll find on any series. Sideshow Bob would cower in fear.
The first iteration of this experience made its debut at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2018. Attendees of the event were given the opportunity to take on the little madman’s escape room as a pilot project of sorts.
From there, the feature was rolled out for the masses at one of Escape The Room’s locations. But the odd thing is that word is still getting out there to the masses that this exists. An online version of the room was launched in 2021, so that might help hype it a bit.
It’s not in South Park
As one would expect, you won’t find Cartman’s Escape Room in South Park. That would mainly be because it’s not a real town. But you will find this featured escape room experience in several cities across the country.
The first Escape The Room location to feature Cartman’s brainchild was in Chicago. It opened to the public in May of 2019. After that, their shops in Denver and Dallas followed. The Denver one is particularly interesting since it’s so close to South Park’s fictional location.
Each room looks like the worst place Cartman can imagine, which would be school. As with most escape rooms, Cartman has set up puzzles and clues to be solved. Then, you team up with friends and family so you can find your way out.
In addition to Eric Cartman, there are a variety of other South Park characters involved in the experience. That includes Stan, Kyle, and Kenny as well as Clyde and PC Principal. But the key player in the room as in life is Butters.
Planning a trip
Hitting up an Escape The Room location featuring Cartman’s Escape Room is a sure-fire hit among two groups of people. Obviously, anyone who is a fan of escape rooms and looking for something different should check this out. And South Park fans should, too.
On top of that, each location is in a city that millions of tourists travel to each year. Even if you’re not inclined to plan a trip just to check out a super cool escape room, you could make it part of a bigger trip to Denver or Dallas.
That being said, there are still 19 Escape The Room locations in the United States that do not have a Cartman’s Escape Room in them. It’s not hard to imagine that the expansion will continue, and more locations will be added to the roster.
In the meantime, spice up your trip to Chicago, Denver, or Dallas with a stop-over in South Park. Who knows? You might even learn a thing or two about the dark and twisted mind of the young man who created Cartman’s Escape Room.