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Hey, Kids!
MRS. JERHOW decided to surprise MR. JERHOW with a first-ever journey into Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary!
I’ve always been a fan of horror mazes during Halloween. Knott’s Scary Farm has been the granddaddy of these types of events. The experience at Universal Horror Nights is always epic in scale. Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain is more coaster-driven, as you’d expect.
So how does Dark Harbor compare to these other experiences?
Let’s find out!
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So…impressions of Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary…
Overall, this was really well-done. If you haven’t been, and you’re a fan of these types of experiences, it’s well worth it.
If you can splurge, the VIP tickets are a must. Very quickly, the park gets crowded and the lines for the mazes back up considerably. The staff isn’t as polished as what you’d expect from, say, Universal Horror Nights, which contributes to a bit of a lack of efficiency with moving guests though. So these lines take longer that you might expect.
Having the “front of the line” access is a huge timesaver, and will ensure your ability to make it through each of the experiences. Even the VIP lines tend to back up as it gets later in the evening, so if you can, get there right at the start and conquer a few mazes right from the get-go before settling into a churro or a bacon-wrapped hot dog.
Speaking of which, I enjoyed the carnival fair take on the food, with a fun horror overlay, for example “Killer Tacos.” Dark Harbor’s accessibility to fun foods to indulge with and snack on is better than what Universal or Knott’s presents.
As far as the horror, the immersion, the quality of the mazes, when compared to Knott’s or Universal…
Dark Harbor reminds me of a good solid B-Movie horror movie. Without a mega budget for crazy makeup and special effects, the park relies on ambiance, atmosphere, lighting, smoke, and the psychology of it all to deliver.
There weren’t nearly as many cast members in costume terrorizing you through the park and the mazes. Knott’s is chock full of these creatures, but Scary Farm, with it’s makeshift plywood maze structures, doesn’t provide nearly as realistic an environment as Dark Harbor.
The mazes that take you into the bowels of the Queen Mary itself were particularly engaging. It was awesome heading down a dark stairwell through a tiny corridor only to emerge in a massive interior space, once used as the indoor pool, which I never even knew existed, for the ship. Or you walk around a corner and find yourself able to look through actual porthole windows and see the ocean outside. This gives the mazes a unique sense of a tangible space. These are physical places that exist. It added to the sense of realism, and brought a unique dimension to the “horror maze” that I hadn’t experienced at Knott’s or Universal.
Knott’s Scary Farm, for whatever reason, seems to have taken a step back in recent years. Universal Horror Nights seems to be the reigning crown jewel of these mainstream offerings.
Dark Harbor fits snuggly, and surprisingly, in between these two. It’s a solid effort, scary and fun, and I will be back next year.
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