REVIEW: Queen Mary's Dark Harbor 2019

This Halloween season is going to be a little different for me; namely, I will be out of town -- in fact, out of the country -- on Halloween. And while that's terribly exciting, it's also put a bit of a damper on all of my usual October traditions: I simply don't have the time to do everything this year! So that makes hitting up an old standby like Queen Mary's Dark Harbor all the more important. Now in its tenth year, Dark Harbor 2019 is a bit like creepy comfort food: Reliably awesome, if unsurprising.

Overall, Dark Harbor hasn't changed that much from last year, when I proclaimed it to be a veritable maritime mind-blower. But I do have to admit that the tweaks, while subtle, weren't exactly for the better. Gone is the ice bar - not a deal-breaker, but a fun touch that I missed. There is only one new maze for 2019, and the returning mazes seemed a bit shorter this year. Still, I had a great time, and would heartily recommend Dark Harbor to anyone who has yet to check it out, or who hasn't been in a while.

As always, perhaps the best -- and most unique -- part of QMDH is the setting: An actual ocean liner that is permanently docked in Long Beach. She's a formidable old ship, with her Art Deco interior and her numerous (true?) ghost stories. Plus, the narrow corridors and dark recesses of a ship lend themselves well to Halloween mazes. She's a natural! The themes of the mazes are also connected to the actual history and lore of the ship, lending them an eerie atmosphere that you just won't find in your standard theme park mazes based on popular movies or shows.

Of the three mazes that take place on the ship -- B340, Lullaby, and Feast -- my favorite remains B340. There are moments of near-total darkness that I found genuinely scary, and I love the way it leads you through the innards of the ship, including across a startlingly high catwalk. Feast leans more into gore, with its fictionalized story of a cannibalistic chef, while Lullaby takes its inspiration from the ghost of a little girl who supposedly still haunts the swimming pool where she drowned.

Three more mazes take place on dry land: Intrepid, Circus, and Rogue (the lone new maze for 2019). Intrepid is still my favorite of the three, and my favorite maze overall at Dark Harbor. I love the variety of settings that it takes you through, and to my mind, the graveyard that leads into a fog-choked church full of shrouded figures perched on pews is still one of the most beautiful and frightening scenes from any haunt. Circus sets itself apart from other similarly-themed mazes by leaning into the sideshow/demented ringmaster aspect instead of relying on the standard killer clown motif. Rogue -- in which a rogue wave nearly capsizes the ship -- was a bit of a disappointment. While the scenario would, of course, be absolutely terrifying in real life, it doesn't exactly scream Halloween, and the maze consisted of little more than being rushed through by frantic actors repeatedly warning us of the impending wave.

In addition to the mazes, Dark Harbor boasts a number of bars, both secret (look for special clues inside of the mazes) and not-so-secret; spooky-themed food stands (Satanic tacos, anyone?); live performers; a hookah lounge; and one truly terrifying ride in the form of the swings from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

After the complete revamp that took place in 2018, this year's edition may feel like a bit of a letdown for returning visitors. But if you've been looking for an alternative to southern California's theme park haunt megaliths and you've never been, I definitely recommend a trip to the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor.

(Oh, and pro tip? Check out the nearby 4th Horseman beforehand, a self-described "apocalyptic pizza" place with delicious food and atmosphere that will make any horror fan's heart swell with joy.)

Dark Harbor runs Thursdays-Sundays until November 2. Tickets start at $34.


Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary passes to review this event.