Movies

John Wick Experience

Area 15, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Escaped 26 May 2025

Visit John Wick Experience.

When in Vegas, check into the Continental for an immersive experience steeped in the world of John Wick.

Area 15

Not far off the strip, across I-15 and a smidge northwest of the Treasure Island area (or slightly southwest of Resorts World) is Area 15. Cheekily, the signage tells you Area 15 doesn’t exist.

But this "nonexistent" area is starting to flourish. Home to Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart, it’s branching out. There’s the Illuminarium, which currently features Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, an immersive history of rock ‘n’ roll, and later this summer Universal is set to open an immersive experience based on its classic horror movie characters.

And then there’s the recently opened John Wick Experience.

Sure, it’s an escape room of sorts. I can’t say I’m a fan of escape rooms and the term here seems a little too overly simplified for my taste, considering what this experience actually offers. It recreates many of the elements seen in the John Wick movies and if you’re a fan of those (superb) movies, it’s quite a treat.

Picture this (mentally, since it’s against High Table rules to take photos during the John Wick Experience, an action which could result in excommunication — and if you don’t get that reference, there are four movies you need to watch): the John Wick Experience features a pretty large cast who recreate various elements of staying at the Continental, the prestige hotel chain catering to those of a certain profession.

There’s the reception desk. Very serious. Get your mug shot taken, and sign some heavy-duty waivers (either online or on-site).

Then relax with a beverage in the lounge area. Enjoy some thematic paintings and photographs. (It’d be nice if there were some Wick easter eggs in there.)

Number Two With a Bullet

Based on your reservation time, you’ll get a text telling you your room is ready. Hop in the elevator with the bellhop, who’ll dutifully remind guests of Continental’s number one rule: no business will be conducted on Continental grounds. And no photographs within the hallways and rooms, either. Lots of confidentiality in people, places and things to be considered.

What follows is a series of rooms that capture the essence of all things Wick. Some of the narrative is a little disjointed, but that’s okay. It works. A mood is set. An environment is created.

Things begin with something of a misunderstanding. We’re in the accounting and contract services room, a wonderful room filled with all kinds of Wick arcana. This is where tattooed secretaries (yeah, we’re talkin’ secretaries) would typically feed notices into pneumatic tubes and manage a leaderboard tracking bounties. The managing secretary currently on duty seems to be right off the Wick set. She’s no-nonsense and "dolled up" in her retro hairdo and outfit, plus she’s got the tats.

She asks me if I have any switchboard and telephone answering experience and I mistakenly say, "No." (I do, actually; long story.) She was clearly (and, okay, understandably) annoyed with me. "What, then," she asks as a follow-up, "makes you think you're qualified for the job?"

"I'm a fast learner."

Her response was terrific, "If degrees were given for learning fast, I'd have my own university by now."

Da-amn. Sharp, biting wit there.

"What do you do?" she asked next.

"I'm a developer. I build websites."

Thankfully, she saw the applicability of my skills in their complex messaging technology and leaderboard, so I experienced a brief moment of acknowledgement and grace.

At this point, there's activity on the leaderboard as names start to shuffle. Up at the top, in the number one spot, Wick, J. with a substantial $40 million bounty.

Then... Huh? Next is Anderson, M. with a $1.5 million dollar price tag.

Gotta admit, that made my day. Oh, if only I had a photo. But I do have a text.

The next on the list was less than $1 million, but still pricey.

So things are heating up quickly. All 12 members of the group are on the board. We’re wanted. And we need help to get out of the Continental — and not by way of a body bag.

Meet the Manager and the Tailor

We’re whisked into the manager’s room, but on the way out of the contract services department, I told the accounting manager I actually started my career in accounting. "Maybe I should've led with that," I said. She was still not all that impressed, but she said she'd give it some thought.

As for the manager, he’s the Continental Las Vegas’ equivalent to Winston. He’s sporting a cowboy hat and he’s darn serious. He’s rather astonished by my bounty. For spoiler safety, I’ll gloss over the exposition.

But, as I leave that room, I tell the manager I like my odds.

Next, we’re in a room loaded with more Wick bits and bobs and doo-dads. It’s time to put the pieces together and solve a couple puzzles that’ll get us on our way to safety. It’s a good team-building exercise that brings in elements from Wick's world. Can’t really say more, though.

Then we’re in a gaming room. Some cards, some trickery with dice.

Next, we’re introduced to the tailor.

Phew. Good stuff here. Gotta respect the sanctity of the experience, though. So, I’ll just say I evaluated a couple outfits, one I said I could make work if it was made with Kevlar. It’s a comment that seemed to offend the female tailor. She, sassy with a hand on a hip, glared at me over her eyeglasses and told me EVERYTHING is made with Kevlar. No exceptions. No compromises.

A second outfit seemed a little too ostentatious for my taste, but that was just a setup for what the tailor really had in mind for us to "blend in" in Vegas so we wouldn’t be so easily spotted by those who wish to hunt us down for a quick, big payout.

I seemed to be a popular target. I was offered a third outfit. I’ll just leave it alone with this: CFMP. I wanted to go into a riff on CFMP’ing the hell out of the heels and bedazzling the "F" into the dress, but... Well. I behaved and merely commented on the heels. The higher, the better.

Armory and Target Practice

The tailor starts talking about our need for dessert. She asks us if we know that means. I chose my words poorly and she was — surprise — irritated with my flimsy grasp of self-defense lingo. With my mistake corrected, we’re introduced to the quartermaster, who gives us a rundown of some of our options for weaponry. Guns. Knives. Tools of the trade.

We then have to confront a laser-secured exit from the armory before entering a target range.

This is one element I think could use some improvement. I won’t go into too many details right now, but the guns are clunky and there isn’t enough consequence to this section.

Anyway, we’re on the run. Time to hide from soldiers with redlight rifles, fully decked out in black, faces covered. Menacing.

While others find places to hide, I’m told to blend into situation, throw on a coat and handle a shopping cart full of discarded jackets. Put my hands up, of course, upon, well, upon the second request.

It’s all good. It’s a "great escape" from reality for an hour or two, depending on your interest in lounging around and exploring the store.

Be a Part of the Cast

John Wick Experience is a really great idea, an ambitious escape room concept built around the world of John Wick.

But, as is typical of this type of attraction, I have a hunch the more the players are "into" the Wick movies, the better the experience. The cast seems to be well-versed in the world of Wick and my comments certainly seemed to lead them down certain paths while the more casual players got less in return. Or that could all just be a figment of my imagination.

I dig John Wick. In many respects, we’re kindred spirits, so I felt quite at home. And, much like that $1.5 million price tag, when all was said and done, I was actually congratulated by one of the cast. He shook my hand and told me I fit right in.

It makes sense he’d say that. I’m sure every one in the group is watched at all times, particularly if there are any issues getting things solved. I can imagine how a group failing to put it all together might be briskly assisted by one of the accountants. That could actually be a fun way to go through a second round.

Again, this experience did my heart a lot of good. Rough year. Good to know I fit in somewhere.

And it was an opportunity for me to use the term CFMP, which is resurgent in my vocabulary after breaking it out for the first time in ages after seeing Mariah Carey at Dolby Live on the Strip back in February.

I think of some lines I should’ve said. Comments that would’ve added more zing. It’s more fun to frame it as that kind of experience: participatory, but be participatory within that world. Know it and be rewarded seems to be the aim, so to speak.

As there was the lounge at the entrance, there’s a bar at the end. It has some interesting decorations, but it’d be nice to see it kicked up a notch with more in-world details.

And, of course, you’ll exit through the gift shop.

In the center of the shop is a table full of Wick wares for sale, and in the center of that table is a glass case with some nice, genuine props from the movies. (Those are not for sale, of course.)

Naturally, I picked up a few things. Mementos of a fun, whirlwind trip through the world of Wick.

John Wick Experience graphic courtesy of Lionsgate

Room for Improvement

The John Wick Experience is a treat for fans of the movies who want to get immersed in the world of Wick. In thinking about the events in the JWE narrative, particularly the shopping cart, and the props on display in the gift shop, it seems centered around the Parabellum timeframe of the movies.

However, there are some things that could be done to not only make it better for the fans but also draw in more of the uninitiated.

The immersion is terrific. The details of the sets are fantastic. The cast and their costumes are spot-on. There are so many things to look at, so many things to touch, files to explore. That’s where the time constraint becomes a drag. Yeah, that’s a challenge in simply making this experience happen on some sort of reasonable schedule, but giving attendees more time to take it all in would be nice.

Those bounty hunters looking for me be damned! I want to look at those dossiers, dig through the filing cabinets. Talk shop with the tailor.

Yeah. Allow more time for more opportunities for fans to riff on the Wick world with the cast. Heat up the improv component. That could be a blast, particularly with how the cast stayed in-character so well.

Think about the competition out there. Think about what Disney is doing with Star Wars and Galaxy’s Edge and the phenomenal immersive experiences of the Harry Potter worlds at the Universal parks. There are also the seasonal events, such as Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. Plus, there’s the upcoming Universal horror movies experience at Area 15. And, of course, there’s the recently opened Epic Universe park at Universal in Orlando which further raises the stakes.

Put JWE in those terms. Think bigger.

With that in mind, it's the target practice section in particular which could use some serious rethinking. Consider those imposing waiver forms. They set expectations around something more physically challenging. The waivers are likely a legal necessity, but they double as an unintended setup for disappointment.

Rather than simply a video-based target shooting game with clunky guns, step up with some sort of laser tag, some haptic responses to getting hit with a bullet (or two... or many). A lot of running and jumping is — unfortunately — unlikely in this litigious world full of coach potatoes.

Nonetheless, up the ante so those who sign the waivers are rewarded.

Make the masked bounty hunters more imposing and interactive.

Sure, it’s a mass-consumer, general audiences kind of attraction. But it could be more.

Modify the event to accommodate different skill levels. Perhaps set times for beginners, the average consumers, to engage in the existing experience. But also offer separate reservation times for those who want a more challenging, more full-throttle immersion.

If it’s necessary to charge more for the upgrade — the full Wick, so to speak — so be it.

As it stands, the John Wick Experience is something cool, something unique. But with a little punching up, it could turn into something truly great, a game-changer in the world of immersive, world-building activities.

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