Set sail aboard a notoriously haunted luxury cruise liner, through dark waters with a course charted toward impending doom.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor is a separately ticketed event that runs twenty-three select nights between September 26, 2019 and November 2, 2019, every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Halloween night itself. In its 10th year, Dark Harbor features a fully updated and revitalized six different haunted houses, including three located on-board the ship herself, as well as a park-wide scare zone, rotating live bands and entertainment shows, a 4D theater show and one carnival ride with a very interesting history – Sinister Swings, formerly the Wave Swinger from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
Haunts which return unchanged from the previous year will be duplicated from our 2018 review.
Rogue
A monstrous freak wave has hit the legendary Queen Mary, causing the ship to nearly capsize. The ocean liner is near a full breach and quickly taking on water as she tilts on her side. Chaos has descended as the passengers and crew are left disoriented and confused in the fight for survival, many plummeting into darkness or the tumultuous ocean. The Captain and the crew are hard at work trying to salvage the ship after the Rogue wave… Or are they?
On paper, Rogue is a completely imagined version of a retired maze, Deadrise. But in execution, it’s a massive improvement in every way. Borrowing the former haunt’s massive sunken warship facade, this new version is entirely indoors, thanks to a well-hidden popup tent, which allows for much more elaborately detailed set pieces.
Beginning appropriately on the hull of the ship, with the iconic Captain at the wheel, the view off the bow looks out to a vast and violently stormy sea, brought to life through the magic of projection effects. The room itself physically rocks back and forth, adding a truly tangible sense of seasickness, even to the most experienced of sailors.
Rogue’s cast serves as crew about this doomed vessel, doing their best to aid in the ship’s evacuation. They take the urgency of their task seriously; in fact, one even chastised us – fully in character – for our ‘priorities’ when we stopped to take a photo in the middle of an emergency. Little interactions like these do wonders to make the storyworld come to life all around passengers.
Rogue also includes one of Dark Harbor’s secret bars. This one, hidden someone in plain site, includes interactive buttons that allow crew to blast other passengers as they pass by in one of the haunt’s nearby hallways.
The storm will leave passengers washed up ashore, in the form of a massive foam pit with bubbles literally higher than a person’s head. Passing through it is optional, and there is a bypass available for those not comfortable getting covered in suds. Rest assured, however, that the remnants left from challenging it head on will quickly dissipate, and you will not get wet.
LULLABY
Set up a play date with Mary, who is always looking for a new friend. Mary allegedly drowned in the First Class swimming pool aboard the ship back in ’52 and has been rumored to be haunting the ship ever since. Self-proclaimed medium Marty Roberts is hired to investigate this phenomenon by leading an exploration to the famed swimming pool and changing rooms. Be on the lookout for a little girl with a Teddy Bear, beckoning you to play games. But be careful, Mary’s friendships last forever.
This is the story of Scary Mary, the little girl ghost who drowned aboard the Queen Mary decades ago – yet who never left. She just wants a friend. To keep. Forever.
Tucked away in the bowels of 80 year old notoriously haunted ship, Lullaby would intimidate the bravest souls of your group – even without any scenic decor added. The near pitch black, claustrophobic passages, and natural creaking and moaning of the ship itself are disturbing enough, but when you factor in some of the best scenic dressing at the event with a great – albeit minimal by design lighting package, you really end up with a special kind of haunt.
Lullaby takes place over several floors aboard the actual Queen Mary herself, leaving passengers required to climb and descend several steep staircases throughout their journey. There’s just something about that which is so unnatural in a haunt – so non-traditional that it really makes Lullaby stand out as something truly unique.
Unfortunately, 2019’s version felt a bit more like Lullaby Lite. Despite reversing the order to create a sense of disorientation for returning passengers, this haunt felt a bit empty compared to prior years. Fewer props, and almost none of the creepy children’s toys that really made Lullaby uniquely creepy.
Unique to The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, several haunts include hidden bars (yes, one that serves actual alcohol) midway through the experience, waiting to be discovered. Of them, Lullaby’s is the most impressive by far. A rickety old (real) elevator takes those lucky enough to find it down to the bowls of the ship, wherein they’re able to freely explore catwalks deep below while enjoying their adult beverage of choice.
In past years, we’ve lamented the loss of the iconic indoor swimming pool from Lullaby’s route. Although it does not return in an authentic sense, Dark Harbor gives us something uniquely cool in 2019. True to the story of Scary Mary, playdates in Lullaby find themselves drown under the pool’s surface for a chilling new finale.
FEAST
Let The Feast begin. Our evil Chef has emerged from his watery grave to overtake our dank and dark kitchens and will present a four-course meal guaranteed to fright! On the menu this fall, Chef has prepared an Amuse Bouche of angst and anxiety, followed by our first course of death and despair. Indulge in our main course of manic paranoia concluding with a dessert of dismay and terror. Come have a seat at our table, but don’t stay too long or you might end up on the menu!
The story of the demented Chef comes terrifyingly to life, following the path of his torment – and now showcasing the many horrific ways he takes his pain out on others. Before servicing them as a tasty treat.
Beginning in the back of house kitchen area, passengers are left to avoid an array of razor-sharp cooking utensils. A meat cage offers the perfect trap – for those frozen carcasses or currently still-warm bodies. And speaking of warm, a trip through a smoking oven via a well disguised crawl tunnel creates a genuine dare moment for groups. Not only is the tunnel long, but it also offers a window on the oven’s door that allows a macabre look back at guests behind you as they quite literally cook alive.
Feast’s twisted path sends passengers up and down flights of narrow stairs, back and forth around the ship herself. What results is a highly effective sense of disorientation throughout what now feels like a very long haunt.
The kitchen staff, and Chef himself are as engaged and interactive as ever – and truly do put their highest effort into creating a memorable experience for Dark Harbor’s guests.
CIRCUS
Upon the Captain’s orders – the Ringmaster has returned to The Queen Mary with her collection of freaks, allowing guests to sneak beyond the curtains to unveil the horrors lurking within the shadows of the big top. Hosting a menagerie of monsters and sinister creatures, the one and only Ringmaster returns with unadulterated and unbelievable horrors for all who step inside Circus! But don’t let your guard down. She is always looking to add another cohort to her traveling show.
Although Circus remains unquestionably the most thematically out of place maze at Dark Harbor – an event where everything connects back to the lore of the legendary Queen Mary ship herself – that doesn’t make it any less of a highlight.
Circus is once again a maze full of compelling, twisted sets, disorienting scares and surprises lurking around every corner. Guests find themselves outside the tent, in a sort of scrap yard full of ticket booths. Entering appropriately through the mouth of a large demon, The Ringmaster gives things a unique spin – literally – with rotating tunnel that’s sure to evoke that topsy-turvy feeling.
Moving floors, hanging punching bags, a mirror maze, a slide and even a ball pit blend the Circus world with that of a warped fun house. Circus is also home to another of Dark Harbor’s secret bars – this one stocked with a vintage arcade game that can be used to trigger scares inside the haunt itself.
B340
Everything you have heard about B340 is true. Follow the lead detective on the scene as he uncovers the sinister truth behind one of the most notorious criminals to ever invade the luxury liner. According to ship and police reports during a cross-Atlantic voyage in October of 1948, passenger Samuel was deranged and dangerous and went on a bloody rampage against passengers and staff before being captured and locked in Stateroom B340, only to vanish. When police entered the room, the blood-soaked walls, cruel carvings, and no sign of Samuel launched a mystery that to this day remains unsolved. You don’t want to be the person who finds him.
B340 dives in to what might happen if someone had a psychotic breakdown on one of The Queen Mary’s trans-Atlantic crossings. Trapped at sea for days on end with no where to run can do number on the mind – not to mention the innocent victims in his path. Each step of your journey through Samuel’s world becomes more twisted, more demented and more bloody.
As with Lullaby, B340 includes many narrow passageways and steep staircases, a whole lot of dark hallways and an infinite number of hiding places for Samuel the Savage and the sinister figments of his imagination. This year, B340 takes the position of an investigation into the murders themselves, making it feel a bit more like a violent Sherlock Holmes-type adventure. Although it somewhat loses its inherent connection to The Queen Mary’s lineage in the process, it still very much works.
Beginning in the guest hallways of the ship, lined with staterooms of, perhaps, more civilized passengers, things quickly unravel. Samuel descends into madness, becoming more unstable and considerably more violent, leading to his cabin on the ship, full of the blood (and severed limbs and intestines) of all those who crossed his path. Everything culminates with a surprising finale on an actual catwalk high about be ship’s hull that might just take your breath away.
The cast throughout B340 proved as always to be completely engaged in their roles and dedicated to bringing their characters to life. They were aggressive, angry and disturbed – which in this case are all good things.
Again, the layout of the ship and the inherently supernatural feeling of your surroundings only serves to significantly amplify the sense of intimidation this maze creates. For those needing a bit of liquid courage to make it all the way through, B-340 also includes one of Dark Harbor’s secret bars midway through its path.
INTREPID
A young shipbuilder’s obsession with his creation, the unsinkable Queen Mary, lured him to the moment that would forever seal his fate. Presented by an evil sea witch with the promise of immortality and success, his choice was made, and his flesh was exchanged with the steel from the only thing he ever cared about: his ship. Follow the path of wicked choices and wrongdoings to see what lead the Iron Master to become the horrific half-metal creature spending eternity in an iron Hell.
A hold over from prior years, the first act still takes place aboard a passenger train, although a bit watered down compared to the more grandiose façade entry statement in its debut year.
From there, passengers exit the train and find themselves in a plague-ridden village at Edinburgh Square. The harsh winter’s falling snow adds a tactile enhancement that makes this moment feel distinctly different from other haunts. Seeking sanctuary inside the church won’t get you very far, with its pews lined with ghostly lost souls.
And then the journey takes travelers from an icy Scotland winter to an… Indiana Jones-esque temple set in a swamp? It is likely this section was probably left standing from the event’s prior Voodoo-themed haunt which was retired in 2017.
That’s not to say that some of the scenes don’t look good – because they surely do – but they also surely make absolutely no storyworld sense for where we’re supposed to be. What results is a bit of a disjointed mess, but if you’re able to detach from the intended narrative, Intrepid does still offer some compelling scares.
As is always the case at Dark Harbor, the actors do their best to live their roles – a fact that does enhance the overall muddled feel of Intrepid. Most memorable for us were moments spent in Edinburgh Square, and avoiding ghostly spirits inside the church. A strong ending – including a personal encounter with The Iron Master himself, offers the climax Intrepid had previously been missing.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor 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 year after year. The street performers are highly energetic – running, diving, sliding and coming at you from all angles, completely out of no where. In short, expect “all hell breaks loose.”
It should be noted that there is no real theme or décor to the park-wide Scare Zone, beyond lighting and fog – but the energy of the cast still creates a scenario where it works better than most other venues could ever dream of.
We’ve been long-time fans of The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. Its stand-out for quality décor and over-engaged team of scareactors make Dark Harbor feel more like an intimate one on one experience than the mass-produced conga line theme park haunts found elsewhere in the Southern California market.
Over the years, we’ve experienced some ups and downs in the events history, but with the help of a new design team, Dark Harbor has more than steadied its course and head for smoother waters. Vast improvements in storytelling and immersion continue across the board – to nearly every haunt, as well as the midways and entry experience have the 2019 event not only feeling fresh and new again, but a standard-bearer that sits atop the list of its very best years.
The Queen Mary has partnered with our friends at Plague Productions – the horror geniuses behind some of our other favorite Southern California haunted attractions, as well as an epic escape game they briefly operated on their own. It’s clear that the team brought their multitude of experience to the table, while also showing love and respect to the things that have always made Dark Harbor unique. What results is a season that embraces everything that has made the event a must see for so many years, while simultaneously patching all of the leaks that held it back in earlier years.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor once again made us believers in its haunting legend – as well as excited to see what the future holds when this iconic ghost ship hopefully sets sail once again in 2021.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor 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: The Queen Mary
Location: Long Beach, CA
Dates: Select Nights September 26th – November 2nd
Hours: 7PM – 12AM or 1AM depending on the night.
Cost: General Admission prices vary, starting at $20 or $69 admission plus Fast Fright (Highly Recommended)
We thank The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor for inviting us to experience this haunt. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.