Castle Park in Riverside, CA, announced its plans for the return of its Halloween event, Castle Dark, this week. In addition to a return date, the amusement park announced that this year’s event will feature all-new Mazes, two Scare Zones, new Live Shows, and its first-ever Virtual Reality Maze!
New Mazes
Castle Dark will feature three all-new mazes in 2024 with Fun House of the Demented, Seance, and Labyrinth.
Fun House of the Demented
In Fun House of the Demented, a power outage has shut down a correctional facility full of clowns, allowing them to escape. While Castle Dark has done clown mazes in the past, the park shared at Midsummer Scream that Fun House of the Demented will be different in that it will re-introduce special effects to a maze for the first time in several years.
Seance
Seance will be the second-largest maze at the 2024 event. The maze is set in a museum where guests will participate in an actual seance to summon The Witch of the Forest. From there, they’ll make their way through a pitch-black maze with only a candle to light their way. Like a museum, as they exit, they’ll find the gift shop, which will sell exclusive Castle Dark merchandise. “If you’re afraid of the dark, this is definitely the maze you’re going to want to go through,” said Castle Dark Creative Director Joseph Ancheta during the Castle Dark panel at Midsummer Scream. “We tried it last year with our Night Shift maze, and this is going to take it to the next level.”
Labyrinth
Labyrinth will be Castle Dark’s largest maze ever. The maze will be located on the back side of the castle and will be an actual labyrinth hedge maze. Rather than having a single path, Labyrinth will have multiple paths guests can walk through, meaning that no two experiences will be the same. “Labyrinth is definitely going to be something on a whole new level,” says Ancheta. “We have gone to parks, you know, and it’s a maze, but you’re not really in a maze. This time, you’re going to be in a maze, and I guarantee you will get lost.”
VR Maze: Sinister Inn
For the first time ever, Castle Dark will feature a virtual reality maze. The virtual maze experience is called Sinister Inn and will be located near Castle Park’s Big Top tent. While details about the experience are scarce, during the Castle Dark Midsummer Scream panel, they shared that it is an immersive 5D experience that will be available for an additional fee.
New Entertainment
Castle Dark has announced three new live shows in 2024, including Tea Time with Lady Lou, Countess Elura, and Sliders of the Kingdom.
Tea Time with Lady Lou
Tea Time with Lady Lou will be located in the park’s midway, where Lady Lou will hang out to meet with guests and share gossip about what’s happening around the kingdom. “… She’s got it all for you,” says Ancheta. So, if you want to hear the latest and have some good laughs, you’re going to want to stop by and say hi.”
Countess Elura
Countess Elura, recently appointed queen of Castle Dark, and her vampettes will perform an all-new stage show during this year’s event.
Sliders of the Kingdom
This revamped slider show will see two slider factions, the clowns and the knights, face off in a battle of slider talents. Who will triumph? You’ll have to see for yourself at Castle Dark this Halloween season.
Castle Dark returns on September 20 and will run on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights through October 27. Tickets are on sale now for only $34.99 at CastlePark.com.
