0
0
This year marks the return of the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor! This is exciting news for Southern California haunt fans. It’s a truly unique experience to attend a haunt in a location rumored to be actually haunted. With five mazes in total, Dark Harbor features three mazes on the actual ship and two out in the harbor area. The mazes housed within the vessel allow guests to roam about in a way that feels like you’re breaking some rules (even though you’re not).
After shuttering its doors in 2019, the return of Dark Harbor (and its established characters) was welcome news for fans of the long-running Long Beach staple. But Dark Harbor is back, and it returns fill force, baby! The production design and level of detail on these mazes is insane. Also, if you’re looking for jump scares, I do believe this gave me more jump scares per mile than any other haunt this season.
The mazes play on the ship’s lore and utilize the ship as both a setting and a character. From ghosts rumored to have drowned in the pool, to the unrelated crazed cannibals and circus freaks roaming the grounds below. It’s hard for me to rank these mazes because I enjoyed them all.
Dark Harbor’s Five Mazes
A standout moment in Lullaby featured the familiar technique of employing lasers and fog to simulate the illusion of water. Only this time, we found ourselves at the bottom of the famed pool, with bodies floating above our heads. The effective trick is typically used in a swamp setting, with creatures lurking unseen beneath the “water’s” surface. This maze literally turned the setting upside down, casting guests as the creatures at the bottom for a startling reveal overhead.
Infirmary runs nearly the length of the ship and near the end, allows guests to step back in time with ghostly vintage lounge singers and experience what the Queen Mary must have felt like when decorated for a party.
Clowns run amuck in Big Top Terror, but the production design of this one invokes thoughts of an evil Fall carnival come to rown. Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns adorn the grounds in abundance as clowns stalk and heckle all throughout. At a certain point, your group may be separated, briefly embarking upon two separate funhouse adventures before reconvening.
Breakout begins within the walls of a prison before emptying out into a cursed church, an epic spooky mortuary, and eventually… something else. I didn’t quite follow the storyline of this one, it utilized past sets and I assume it was more about function. And that’s ok. The mortuary portion of this ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole haunt. A particular highlight was walking through a long coffin-shaped corridor and into a graveyard. I’d pay just to hang out in that bit.
Feast is housed on the ship and centers on a cannibalistic chef gone mad. The highlight of this one is the oven guests are forced to climb into and through. As you weave your way through the labyrinthine passageways of the old ship, there is an added layer of awe and eeriness.
Finding (And Getting Into) the Speakeasies
Another unique experience Dark Harbor offers is a slew of speakeasies hidden within the mazes. Entering the speakeasies is a two-part process. First, you have to obtain the tokens which will grant you entry. If you’re lucky, you can attend the Maiden Voyage Launch Party taking place in the ShipYard at 8:08 pm each night, and hope to procure a token (or a few). Even without the tokens, I would recommend checking this out, especially if you’re a fan of the Dark Harbor characters. It’s a high-octane ceremony before the monsters are released into the night (and onto the crowd).
If you don’t want to take your chances with Lady Luck, you can make an appointment to see Lady Mabel for an “astrology reading.” The Foresight Four Pack includes a group astrology reading with Lady Mabel herself and four speakeasy tokens for guaranteed access. This is included with VIP admission, and available exclusively online for purchase as an a la carte upgrade. Individual tokens are also available for purchase at the event, subject to availability.
Hunting down the speakeasies was a fun side quest. I will tell you, at one point we found ourselves deep in the belly of the ship, six fathoms below sea level, sipping from our cups before coming up for air. Each speakeasy offers a different themed menu, typically featuring three specialty cocktails and one mocktail to choose from. The drinks are cheaper in the speakeasies, so if you manage to score some free tokens, you’re getting a pretty deep discount. If you want a hint… look for this symbol (or something similar) within the mazes.
I did not find all four speakeasies and I have no clue which one we missed, because we didn’t know what they all were to begin with. But we got to roam an area of the ship rarely seen even on tours, so that in itself was pretty damn cool.
The roving characters are very interactive and will tip you off to additional adventures. One member of our group was told to check out Room 13 at the suggestion of the Admiral. It was not what we expected it to be, but it was 100% worth the side quest. Again, the opportunity to roam the ship is in itself something unique and haunting.
Due to a speakeasy mishap there was not enough time to check out the new seance show, but I suspect it was entertaining. It takes place aboard the actual ship (and you can find the Room 13 excursion nearby).
Since my very first visit many years ago, the Dark Harbor Sliders have always been a highlight. This is where I first met Rowley “Squeaks” Sandoval, a larger-than-life clown adorned in black and white stripes who pulled off impressive feats during the iconic Sliders show. Squeaks unexpectedly passed away earlier this year, and even though I was well aware of this, I kept expecting to see him looming in the fog or surprising me with a squeak in the dark. You were sorely missed, Rowley. Thanks for the scares.
Southern California’s most haunted Halloween event is now open and will run select nights through Saturday, November 2nd. Get your tickets right here.
