What happens when a notoriously haunted old ship sets sail ‘cross country and lays anchor in a whole new dark harbor?
Dark Horizon is a separately ticketed event that runs sixteen select nights between October 10, 2019 and November 2, 2019, every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and the final Wednesday before Halloween night itself. In its debut year, Dark Horizon features a three different haunted houses, as well as a park-wide scare zone, rotating live bands and entertainment performances, a 4D theater show and multiple highly themed bars (including one hidden inside of a haunt.)
Ghost Ship
This derelict ghost ship is found adrift with its Colonial crew seemingly missing or dead… Your commander orders you to board in search of survivors, lute and rations to sustain your own crew. Late to the looter’s party, you unwittingly become lute and rations yourselves. Lurking below deck are a band of crazed pirates and redcoats suffering from Botulism and starvation and left for dead. These deranged and infectiously diseased seamen stand between you and the safety and salvation of your own brigade. Will you live to tell the tale or will the Pirate Captain and her derelict crew be your demise?
Sailors fool-hearty enough to explore the wreckage of Captain Killigrew’s infamous Ghost Ship have far worse than the wrath of Davy Jones to be concerned with. From the moment crews pass the rickety boards ramping up to this ill-fated vessel, a sense of danger sits thick in the air. Floor boards creak and the air is heavy with fog.
Passing through the ship from bow to stern, many perils await. Crews encounter lost souls damned to the brig, begging to be freed before it’s too late. An ammunition room full of guns and cannons sits ready to pillage the next unsuspecting port. Naturally, for good measure, it’s balanced with a hearty stockpiling of rum, just before the crew’s modest sleeping quarters.
Those who dare make it deeper aboard the Ghost Ship are forced to climb a steep staircase up to the helm, where Captain Killigrew is waiting to deal with trespassers aboard her vessel personally. It should be no surprise that their sentence comes quickly: walk the plank. Creating a thrilling finale, crew will do just that – off the side of a near-vertical inflatable slide, quite literally falling “into the oceans” below.
Murder Island
In the sinister swamplands of the Everglades lies the Ten Thousand Islands amidst the mangrove-choked rivers. The area is a hotbed for murders, ancient creatures and bizarre tales. Chatham Bend on Lost Man’s River – otherwise known as Murder Island, is the home of the infamous Bloody Ed Watson. Known for harvesting sugar cane, Bloody Watson made his fortune on the backs of transient labor. Knowing they wouldn’t be missed, instead of paying them at the end of the season, he murders them. Body count on Murder Island: 57 and counting.
Travelers to Murder Island begin their journey, appropriately, with a stop to Worsham’s General Store. A large façade entry statement frames this mom and pop market that would be your one stop shop for everything needed to survive the night on the rivers lining these wicked woods. Unfortunately, it merely serves as the beginning of the end for those who hope to evade Bloody Watson.
Escape through the back of the shop proves futile, as the elevated docks beyond it lead hopeful survivors right into the center of the swamp, with massive, hungry gators chomping from the below, piercing the fog in dramatic fashion. Deeper into the Island, some of its permanent residents welcome visitors by playing an unnerving tune on an old banjo, inviting them inside their shacks.
Entering this island shanty town is the biggest mistake; within, gory scenes of violent disembodiment leave severed limbs scattered about, while freshly suffering victims scream for mercy from Bloody Watson’s demented torture.
Vodou
An ancient ceremony has evoked entities older than time. Mambo Cécile, the Vodou priestess has opened the gates to the other rhelm. Safe passage to and from the submerged spirit island of Vilokan comes at a price. The highest offering must be made to Loa Agwe, the spirit of water. Wade into the murky waters but take heed not to become someone else’s offering while traversing this domain. Will you appease Bondye, the supreme Vodoun God? Or will you become a permanent resident of the sunken world yourself?
Deep in the swamps at the edge of the Village sits an old shack few dare enter. Legend says this is home to Mambo Cécile, the devilish high priestess of the local Vilokan faith. Entering through another detailed façade, this world is dripping with a foreboding aura. Moss and weeds attempt to overtake the structure, shrouding mysterious vodou symbols that cover the inside walls.
Further within this vicious village lays entrance to a forgotten catacombs. Its cave-like passages are lined with unlucky sacrifices to the god Vodoun – some more dead than others. Separated at times by thick cage bars, the flickering light of ceremonial candles offers a terrifying tease of things yet to come.
Escaping the caves offers little hope for freedom, as would-be offerings are left to climb a set of stairs up into another sacrificial shack, full of even more dark magic.
Dark Horizon differs greatly from the big theme park events in that it doesn’t have Scare Zones, per say. Instead, the entirety of this event, from the moment you enter to the moment you exit its gates is in play. There’s no safe spot. Monsters can – and will – get you anywhere.
It creates a delightfully chaotic mood that truly stands on its own and remains memorable long after surviving the night. The street performers are highly interactive – taking the time to stop and immersive visitors into their world through personalized interactions. They may even share a few secrets, or the ultimate Dark Horizon holy grail: a much coveted token to the secret hidden bar.
Dark Horizon is loosely divided into three lands: the pirate-flavored Port, the backwoods bayou-themed Everglades and the ancient Village full of vodou spirits. The lands themselves have moderate décor, although what truly brings them to (after)life is the lighting and fog permeating throughout, creating a tangible aura of foreboding.
Two performance stages offer a continuously changing slate of the evening’s entertainment, from Cirque-style acrobatics to fire dancing and more. And for those needing a bit of ‘liquid courage,’ several heavily themed bars can be found throughout the event, including the aforementioned one secret location hidden quite litterally in the middle of one of the Dark Horizon’s three haunts. To access it, brave explorers will first need to seek out just the right scareactor roaming the midways to obtain a token, and then offer it once (or if) they manage to actually find the hidden entrance.
Although in its first year, Dark Horizon is hardly a new kid on the block. Created by the very same team behind The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, this is an opportunity for a taste of “west coast-style haunts” a bit closer to home. One of the things that draws us to Southern California is the distinctly different flavor found in many of their local haunts; often ripe with a ridiculous amount of scare actors, we’ve long felt that the sense of boundaries disappears. There’s a notably higher sense of danger thanks to a cast of monsters who are allowed to operate a bit more “off the chain” – with longer, more in-depth personal interactions and smaller groups pulsed through each haunt.
While their original sister haunt has long been among our favorite big Halloween events nation-wide, this brand new Dark Horizon has big shoes to fill. In a large sense, they succeeded, despite a few notable roadblocks along the way. The first is an obvious elephant in the room that could not be duplicated, no matter how hard one tried: The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor exists largely on a massive, nearly century old ship. It brings an authenticity that even the most elaborate physical sets cannot hope to reproduce. To the contrast, Dark Horizon is a pop-up event that shares the back parking lot of nearby Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites – Waterpark.
With that proverbial ship having sailed, we’d be remiss, however, if we didn’t mention a much bigger headache the 2019 event was forced to face. Shortly before what would have been opening night, a large hurricane plowed through Orlando – somewhat rare with us being so far inland. Unfortunately, in the process, it delayed Dark Horizon’s debut and wrecked a bit of havoc on their fully outdoor event. We imagine that had this not occurred, each of the event’s three haunts could have made even stronger first impressions on the local market.
Unfortunately, the tarot deck continues to be stacked against this new event, as current health and safety issues have sadly prevented them from returning for the 2020 season. We genuinely believe that given the chance, Dark Horizon can grow into a classic Central Florida Halloween attraction – much like its sister event has done for more than a decade in Southern California. We look forward to seeing how the team continues to grow and evolve Dark Horizon, and remain hopeful that it will return to port once again in 2021.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Dark Horizon in this exclusive album on the Escape Authority Facebook page! While there, why not give us a “LIKE” if you haven’t already? We’ll give you candy!
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Venue: Dark Horizon
Location: Orlando, FL
Dates: Select Nights October 10th – November 2nd, 2020
Hours: 7pm -1am depending on the night.
Cost: General Admission prices vary, starting at $20
We thank Dark Horizon for inviting us to experience this haunt. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.