The Queen Mary hasn’t been the host of Dark Harbor since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic, ownership issues, and the actual boat itself made it so the event had to lie dormant for several years. Shaqtoberfest took over for two years, but now the Queen Mary and Dark Harbor are ready for the spirits to rise once again. In 2024, the event returns to Long Beach hosted by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment with five haunted attractions, food, games, rides, and plenty for guests to do.

If you’ve never done Dark Harbor before, it’s similar to spooky events like Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest, or Knott’s Scary Farm. It might have a smaller selection of mazes compared to those events, but it has the allure and mystery of the Queen Mary. The ship feels like a character in the event, as important as any scare actor or special effect. Dark Harbor runs on select nights from September 20th until November 3rd, and tickets are available exclusively online. Hours for the event vary depending on what day you’re going.

This year’s event has five mazes, four of which are brand-new and one retooled for 2024 with new additions: Lullaby, Infirmary, Feast, Big Top Terror, and Breakout (On The Run). Lullaby is a holdover from previous years, while Feast and Breakout carry over characters from previous event iterations. Lullaby, Feast, and Infirmary are on the ship, with the other two mazes on the outside dock area.

There are also speakeasy bars to look out for, Lady Mabel’s Summoning of Samuel, axe throwing, rides, food, and other entertainment.

The Mazes Of Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Ranked

5. Breakout (And On The Run)

Breakout is the first house that you see when you arrive at Dark Harbor, and it’s also the longest. The maze is touted as a “double length” experience but it’s really a tale of two halves. The first half is the Breakout section and follows the story of Samuel The Savage as he makes his way out of prison and back to the Queen Mary. You follow his footsteps after his prison break back to the small town. It’s an interesting story filled with scare actors dressed as prisoners and prison guards. It does have some strange moments that don’t really fit with the theming though.

Random monster animatronics are cool, but they take away from the story of the whole thing. There are some religious elements with nuns and chapels (including a spot with a speakeasy somewhere). The second half of the maze is less inspired and definitely feels like recycled parts from the Shaqtoberfest maze last year. It didn’t help that it was far more sparse with scare actors than the first half. Overall, this one had the potential to be something special, but making it double length only makes for a house that takes far too long to get through.

It really doesn’t help that some sections are confusing and actually like a maze. They need more attendants throughout the maze to show guests where to go.

4. Big Top Terror

Shoutout to the Dark Harbor employee photobombing.

The Ringmaster is a new character for 2024’s Dark Harbor event, and they get their own maze to boot! This one is the other maze that’s not on the ship, and part of it is leftover from Shaqtoberfest, but it does have some nice moments. If you don’t like clowns, you won’t like this maze. There’s a ball pit, a spinning tunnel, floorboards that shift underneath you, and plenty of circus-themed scares.

Those holdovers from Shaqtoberfest last year like the mirror room and some of the outdoor scares are fine, but they feel a bit cheap to be reused. The highlight of this one is definitely the ball pit. Overall, the Ringmaster deserved a brand-new maze that was ALL brand-new.

3. Feast

Feast is a maze that’s reimagined and updated from previous versions of Dark Harbor. The story follows The Butcher before he turns into The Chef and his evil exploits, killing and serving people on the ship. These next three mazes are all on the ship, and that adds a massive element to the overall mystique and scares. This one takes you through dark corridors, kitchens, and meat lockers. There’s even a section where you crawl through a meat grinder that’s quite awesome.

Feast doesn’t quite get up to the great frights of the next two mazes though. There’s an ingredient missing and a bit of a reliance on animatronic scares in sections that easily could have more scare actors.

2. Infirmary

Infirmary is brand-new for 2024 and takes guests through the hospital wing of the Queen Mary and features the relationship between Graceful Gale and a sadistic surgeon. Go from the first-class decks to the bowels of the ship and Dr. Edwin Master’s specialized surgeries. This one sees some of the best gore effects in the event with twisted bodies, scarred remains, and even a Hannibal reference or two.

I’m not usually a fan of animatronic scares; they just end up feeling cheap for something that a scare actor could do, but this one has two scares that are quite good and only things that an animatronic could do. One features a guest losing their guts hanging from the ceiling. It’s a spectacle, to say the least. The makeup and costumes for the various Gales and surgeons throughout the maze are top notch, some of the best in the entire event. This one is a fantastic addition to the Dark Harbor lineup.

1. Lullaby

Lullaby takes guests into the infamous pool of the Queen Mary to see Scary Mary and her ghost haunting the proceedings. This maze has some of the best environmental effects combined with tons of scare actors to take the mantle of Main Event of Dark Harbor 2024. The watery abyss also has one of the best scares at any haunted event with a catwalk that carries you above the boiler room of the ship. No spoilers here, but if you’re afraid of heights, this is a devilish surprise.

It all culminates with a trip to the bottom of the Queen Mary pool (although a fabricated one, you don’t actually go into the real pool for safety reasons). The various lifeguards, Mary actresses, and other scare actors make for an excellent addition to the Dark Harbor lineup. If you find the Speakeasy for Infirmary, you get an insane look at the catwalk section of this maze from below.

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Is Great, But Could Be Better In Some Ways

The Dark Harbor event coming back is a win by itself. The ship is a character that drives the proceedings surrounding it. You come to this event for the mazes and the characters inspired by real people who inhabited the boat. The mazes that aren’t on board the vessel do feel like lesser attractions because they’re not on the ship. That doesn’t mean that they’re bad, but it does feel like 2024 is an ironing-out-the-kinks kind of year for this event. New leadership and producers mean new problems to be solved. If you loved the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor in previous years, the 2024 version is still worthy of the name and a visit.

Outside the mazes, the food options are plentiful if you enjoy Fair food. They’ve got tacos, pizza, fried foods, and loads of carnivorous options. The drinks at the event are reasonably large and pack quite a punch. There are two bars, and they both have a variety of specialty-themed drinks. If you’re looking for speakeasies that have drinks hidden in the event, those also have some good options for drinks to enjoy.

Finally, it does feel like the event is wringing every dollar out of people with some of the practices. To get into the speakeasies, once you find them, you have to have a token. You can either get tokens at the opening ceremony of the event, or pay to get them. Once inside, you can pay for a drink as well. Those expenses add up, including the cost of entering, food, and the rides/experiences also cost money. The Lady Mabel Summoning Of Samuel also costs extra to enjoy, which really feels like it could have been included with tickets.

Overall, Dark Harbor is still plenty worth your time and money, especially the mazes aboard the ship. It’s a Halloween institution, and it’s great to see the ship back for guests to enjoy and scream.

For more on Halloween, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

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