Last week, The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor opened for its tenth season and on opening night, my wife and I were fortunate enough to be invited out to see what the ship had in store for their tenth anniversary.
This year’s haunt features a total of six mazes (five returning and one new), two performance stages, 13 bars, and a slew of horror talent lurking around every corner. 10 years in Dark Harbor continues to be a massive, ambitious, and enjoyable haunt that’s a must-visit for fear fans young and old.
Historically, we’ve worked our way from the back to front starting with Feast and ending with Intrepid, but after hearing Jon Cooke hype the event’s latest maze Rogue at Midsummer Scream, we opted to experience it first.
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?
Going into Rogue we weren’t sure what to expect. When Jon Cooke gave an overview of Rogue at Midsummer Scream the latest Dark Harbor maze sounded ambitious. It was going to be contained in a dome, it was going to be dark, you were going to get wet, and as Cooke explained, “As you’re walking through this experience…the whole ship is going to be doing kind of a twisting as it’s turning over…As you’re walking through it and you’re looking out the windows, you’re going to see the waves coming and it’s going to be matched with 4D effects to make it feel like the whole ship is moving.”
Whether it was due to technical difficulties on the night we attended, or it simply missed Cooke’s vision when it came to execution, I don’t feel we got the full experience Cooke described.
Upon entering the maze you find yourself on the bridge with the ship’s captain as he tries to navigate a massive wave, which you see projected onto the dome outside the window. From there it’s a constant rush to get through the maze as the maze talent continually yells at you to get to safety.
While the intent was clearly to make the situation feel chaotic, I feel it came at a bit of a detriment to the experience as you were rushed through the maze so quickly you miss out on a lot of the set pieces and elements that were meant to make the maze feel different. I understand there were supposed to be other projection elements that add to the immersive experience, but I never saw anything beyond the bridge scene. So again its possible technical difficulties limited the experience or I just missed these elements due to the rushed nature of the maze.
All that said, Rogue wasn’t a bad maze. I think I just went into it expecting more than what I experienced. I applaud Dark Harbor’s efforts to try something new and I look forward to seeing how this maze evolves in the years to come. One thing I will say, the end of the maze is a lot of fun and it’s not at all something you would expect to find at a haunt.
Feast
You’re late to clocking in for your shift aboard the Queen Mary, your only chance of survival is to escape the wrath of Chef. Duck into the meat locker, crawl through the food processor, hide in the oven—anything to avoid being fried or worse, being served up as his latest dish.
Feast got an all-new footprint for 2019 with the maze expanding deep into the bowels of The Queen Mary to take guests through the engine room and through door 13, believed to be the most haunted spot in the ship.
The core maze is as good as ever with plenty of solid scares from the cast of cooks, waiters, and bellhops throughout, and of course that wonderful smell of “meat,” but I do feel the expanded footprint created a lull in the experience as you spend a good chunk of time just walking up and down stairs, which I feel hurts the experience a bit and takes away from the overall storyline of Feast.
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.
Circus was another maze that was said to have undergone some changes for 2019. Most notable were the new secret areas that you could find yourself in depending on how the talent in the maze directed you, or separated you from your group as you made you way through the maze.
Overall this was probably my favorite maze of the night as it continues to just be a fun overall experience complete with a maze of mirrors, ball pit, moving floors, and all the other things you’d expect from a circus or carnival themed maze. This was actually the maze where I got the most scares, which is amusing since these scares tend to be more playful than in the other, more darker mazes.
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 continues to be one of my favorite mazes. From story, to set design, to soundtrack and talent. The execution of B340 continued to feel perfectly in balance for 2019.
This was one of the only mazes we found a secret bar in this year and we were pleasantly surprised to see that those in the bar had a means of triggering an experience for those on the outside with the push of a button.
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.
Lullaby got a complete story overhaul for 2019 suggesting that a seance conjures up Mary who then leads you to a similar fate as her own as she drives you deeper into the ship and then ultimately into the bottom of the pool.
Lullaby and its army of Scary Mary’s continues to be playfully spooky, which continues to be a highlight of the maze and sending you into the pool with a new water effect was a nice addition to the story the maze.
There’s definitely some fine-tuning needed here to better tie the new story together, but overall this is still one of the more fun mazes at Dark Harbor.
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.
The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and Dark Harbor seems to have stuck to the mantra when it comes to Intrepid. After being reworked last year by Jon Cooke and his team the maze appears to have gone practically untouched for 2019 and that’s perfectly fine.
This maze continues to have plenty of solid scares and some of my favorite more elaborate sets at Dark Harbor. It’s always a great way to end the night.
For a tenth anniversary year, Dark Harbor shows it still has a lot to offer in the always growing landscape of SoCal haunts. Jon Cooke and his team are clearly trying to move the haunt forward by trying new things and even if they don’t always hit their mark, the effort is noticeable and can be appreciated.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor continues this Thursday and on select nights through November 2. Tickets for this year’s event start as low as $20 on select nights, but there are plenty of ticket packages to choose from depending on your needs.
- Fast Fright Tickets – Starting at $74 Fast Fright tickets get you into Dark Harbor and provide you with expedited entry into the event and mazes.
- Evil Express Tickets – Starting at $94 Evil Express tickets get you into Dark Harbor and provide the most expedited entry into the event and mazes, ensuring you experience the shortest lines possible.
- Ultimate Scream Experience – Starting at $209, this 21+ experience is the most exclusive ticket available. You and up to nine other Ultimate Screamers will join a guide who will escort you to the front of the line of each maze. You’ll also have access to an exclusive RIP Lounge located above Dark Harbor.
- Dark Hour: A Look Behind the Screams – $180 online in advance, this special cocktail hour and backstage experience lets you mingle with the monsters before Dark Harbor and more. See the full details here.
You can check out all of the Dark Harbor ticketing options and purchase your tickets ahead of time over at QueenMary.com.
