Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor returns with new maze layouts and the same familiar mazes. The event starts with a charming, hilarious opening ceremony between the Captain and the Ringmaster warming up the crowd and heckling each other. On to the mazes.

* Feast

Thematically, this is my favorite maze. Chef served people to the ship and a mob burned him alive in his oven. That's deliciously dark. The maze itself wasn't as good as last year. The scares felt a little too spaced out, so I was able to get comfortable in between. The atmosphere wasn't consistent throughout the maze and it got a little repetitive with cooks jumping out all the time.. The soundtrack is incredibly eerie. Some of the tableaux were well done, especially the room with the skin hanging up like laundry. I also love that we had to crawl through a tunnel and end up literally in Chef's oven.

* B340

B340 is home to Samuel the Savage, one of the most infamous criminals in Queen Mary's history. The maze has some elements I love like offputting music, a bridge that feels like it falls out from under you, creepy ghosts with tortured faces, and the room with a bright light right at the top, effectively blinding you to anything else. The murder scene and subsequent portrayal of Samuel's victims tie the story into the maze the best.

* Lullaby

Lullaby is my least favorite maze. It's about a little girl named Mary who haunts the ship after drowning in the pool in the 50's. Unfortunately, many of the Mary's throughout the maze think screaming in people's ears is scary. It isn't; it's just painful and reminds me I should bring earplugs to events like these. I loved the opening tableau of her dollhouse, crib, and funeral card blown up large along with the pictures of her leading to that room with neon lights to highlight them. The toys and childish things being made scary was also well done. Overall, this was the most disappointing maze.

* Deadrise

Deadrise is one of my favorite mazes. It has a military theme and the Grey Ghosts (who look an awful lot like zombies to me). What's not to like? Much of the sets are made of storage containers, which allows scare actors to startle us by slapping the sides or running metal objects along them. There were multiple alternate routes that led to boot camp style obstacles like a small rope ladder and a pole to slide down on the other side. No one but my boyfriend and me went through those, but it added a super fun element that also isn't required for any who might get hurt. The end always has a surprising scare that's missing from the other mazes.

* Circus

Circus is home to old fashioned sideshow freaks and typical circus attractions like a mirror maze, funhouse mirrors, and a ball pit. The moving tunnel right at the opening is both disorienting and charming along with the mirror maze. Right afterwards, the floors metal plates shift as you walk on them, making you stumble a bit walking in. These things are so unique to this attraction and feels true to the circus theme. This one feels the most successful at conveying its story.

* Intrepid

Intrepid is my other favorite maze. It combines Scottish people and settings with a cemetery and creepy plague doctors. The room half filled with mist and laser lights over the top of it is brilliant. People hide in the mist and pop up or reach out with their hands through the mist. This maze last year was the first time I ever saw it done and other attractions have now copied it. The elements don't seem to be quite related, but they work together beautifully.

Overall, the mazes are enjoyable and each has at least one impressive set piece that wowed me. I wish the stories behind these mazes were better expressed at the park instead of just put up online. The mythology and origins of these stories makes them special and sets this attraction apart from other horror attractions.

* Other attractions

The Sinister Swings were super fun. The ride is from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, which is pretty creepy. Even though I was a tad scared, the ride is completely safe and solid. Very enjoyable.

There are a variety of acts that either walk around the park to entertain or perform at a stage accompanied by music. I was a band and a gymnast, but the stages were often empty. I love this aspect of the attraction and I was eager to see more local acts.

I didn't go to any of the bars, but there were a ton around in mazes and standing alone. I like that this event is unapologetically for adults and makes booze readily available.

The 4D Panic Experience is a fun short experience. It's a film in 3D with external effects like water spray and something to touch your feet. The story has a monster chasing you through a dilapidated house, all in CGI. The effects are about as a good as a computer game. The scary level would be fine for around a middle schooler.

Overall, Queen Mary's Dark Harbor entertains, chills, and proves itself as competition for other local events such as Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm. It was good last year and proves consistent.  The main characters are commited to their act and fun to interact with. I highly recommend the VIP experience to avoid time consuming lines like the picture above. I didn't wait more than 10 minutes for any attraction except the 4D Panic Experience. I look forward to future years with improvements and changes at the Queen Mary for Halloween.

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor

This is my second year attending Queen Mary's Dark Harbor. The first time I was not very impressed, especially for the price and the long lines despite paying for the front of the line passes. This year is much better. The parking is inordinately expensive, but travel over from the shopping center is ample and more affordable.

The Mazes

* Intrepid



The Intrepid maze is my favorite of the whole event. It starts out with a Scottish music and soldiers on a ship. Then, it oddly turns to 14th century plague doctors in bird masks with beautiful architecture. The best room was one full of fog with laser lights over the top of it. I had no idea where to go and scare actors popped out of the fog, but it had such an otherwordly effect.

* Circus



The Circus maze has everything you could want: a mirror maze, creepy clowns, a fortune teller, and tons of other sideshow freaks. My friend was so disoriented by the mirror maze that she ran into a mirror trying to catch up with me and others kept running into dead ends. The bright colors and cheerful music set it apart from the other mazes. The final room full of fog with metal walls was the most effective scare of the maze.

* Feast

Feast is the newest maze with a deranged cannibal cook that greeted us while we waited in line. He and his deranged kitchen staff terrorize you as you navigate his kitchen and look at the food (made of human meat) that they have cooked up. There is a small bar after the first room if you feel like some liquid courage. The biggest scare for me was walking through the kitchen and a scare actor slamming on the metal trays and screaming at us. The Chef was pretty creepy, as was where the food came from and finally the table setting where it would be eaten.

* Deadrise



Come aboard a World War II sunken vessel returned to the surface with a crew of zombies to chase you. This nautical themed maze has morse code, horn blasts, and militaristic drum music playing throughout with lots of metal sheeting for surprisingly loud jump scares. Zombies scream like drill sergeants, spring towards you, and even shoot water at you. The zombie Captain greets you at the end, taunting, and the very last scare comes from a zombie above the exit. Be prepared. I especially liked that this one is mostly outside and gives a different feel than the other inside mazes.

* Lullaby

This maze is home to Scary Mary, a demanding, spoiled, and deranged ghost girl. She wants us as toys and shortlived companions for her games. The children's song Mary Had a Little Lamb plays throughout the maze, making the familiar tune creepy accompanied by her macabre toy collection and play room. The stuffed bear with human ribs was an inspired touch. Many iterations of Scary Mary follow you around the maze waiting to play.

* Soulmate

This maze has a 20's vibe with Graceful Gale's search for a soulmate. The room full of celebrities throughout the ages gives you an idea of Gale's mania and desperation in her search. The human skins and bodies attempting to be disposed of give an insight to what happened to her past lovers. The heart of the ship and it's inscription that it's alive were a little off topic, but creepy additions to the maze. Happy music plays throughout, giving a nice dissonance between it and the grisly sights.

* B340



This maze is the most nonsensical. Samuel the Savage leads you through his deranged mind, but I didn't really get a clear picture of a story. There were creepy set pieces and effective scare actors, but B340 is never really explained and parts of the maze just don't mesh. Nuns, school, shattered mirrors, skeletons, and insane asylums don't really have a cohesive story. The moving bridge and someone screeching at you from beneath the stairs you are climbing up is a particularly good touch in an otherwise lackluster maze.

* Sideshow and Mainstage

The sideshow and mainstage had many different performers, most dressed like clowns. I saw a vaudeville style dancer, an aerialist, fire breathers, and a man who had people staple money to him. There are two different stages plus the sideshow, so tons of acts are going on at the same time. It gave a cool vibe to the event and I always love discovering new talented people to follow.

Queen Mary's Dark Harbor is a huge improvement from last year. It helped that my friend and I went though most of the mazes alone. Super scary. The makeup and scare actors were much improved. There is a large emphasis on drinking with numerous bars, some even in mazes. Of course that's not the whole thing but keep it in mind if you're not interested in drinking. Only one maze was disappointing and it's unavoidable that mazes on the ship will be super hot. The others impressed and were well executed. I will definitely be going again next year.