Queen Mary Dark Harbor

Halloween Attraction

THE QUEEN MARY
1126 Queens Highway
Long Beach, CA 90802
Queen Mary Phone: 562-435-3511
Email: darkharbor@queenmary.com
Queen Mary Website: QueenMary.com
Dark Harbor Webpage
Dark HarborWebsite

Click here for the latest information on Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. Or click here for our Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2012 review.

Although the Queen Mary is, technically, not a theme park, its annual October event is one of the largest, dankest, and most ominous ways to enjoy Halloween in Los Angeles, one that deserves to be categorized along with haunted attractions like Knott’s Scary Farm and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights – which is exactly what we do in this article: “L.A.’s Best Theme Park Halloween Attractions”

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR DATES: Oct. 5-7, 12-14, 18-21, 25-28, 31

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR HOURS: 7 p.m. to midnight

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR TICKETS:

General admission: $24
Group Admission: $20 each for groups of 15 or more
Happy Haunting Hour pass: $20, available online only – must enter the park before 8pm.
VIP Tix and other packages are also available on the Queen Mary website.

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR PARKING: The Queen Mary usually charges $15 for parking

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR HOTEL PACKAGE: The Queen Mary – which is a hotel year round – usually offers some kind of combo deal, including a night aboard ship, a Fast Fright Pass, and a Dark Harbor t-shirt. Past prices have started around $224 per night.

The unhappy captain of a drowned ship

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR: The Queen Mary’s annual Halloween attraction finally gets around to exploiting the venerable ship’s own haunted history, offering frights and characters based on allegedly documented events. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the aura of authenticity lends an extra layer of unease to one of the most atmospheric of Los Angeles Halloween events. This year’s cast of creepy characters includes:

The Captain – Captain of the Grey Ghost during WWII, he’s still protecting his undead troops.
Samuel the Savage – Locked in room B340 after a violent outburst, Samuel was later found ripped apart in his room and is now locked forever in Containment – or is he?
Graceful Gale – This classic beauty boarded the ship in 1939 and then disappeared without a trace. Now Gale haunts the dance floor looking for a new partner – for eternity.
Half Hatch Henry – A young firefighter who was crushed by hatch #13, Henry roams the ship’s mazes looking for action.
Scary Mary – The ship’s youngest soul has haunted the ship since her drowning in the pool. Mary’s always looking for a new playmate.

The Cage returns as part of Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2012

2012 QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR MAZES: Five mazes return from Dark Harbor 2010 and 2011, plus a new maze.

NEW FOR 2012!! DeadRise: The crew of an escort ship, which sank while guiding the Queen Mary in 2012, emerges from a watery grave to seek vengeance upon the living.
Submerged: Feel your spirit sink.
Containment: A trail of torture.
Hellfire: Your fears ablaze.
Village of the Damned: Mutation, mutilation, and mayhem.
The Cage: Escape . . . if you can.

In addition to the mazes, the event includes The Barricades (a battlefield of brutality) and Hell’s Bell Tower (a stack of steel from here to Hell, belching flame).

QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR FEATURES: The Queen Mary itself is a big feature, with its long spooky corridors, many of them allegedly haunted.

QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR HISTORY: Back when the Spruce Goose was still nestled in the dome next to the ship, the Queen Mary tried a Halloween Party night. Approaching the old-fashioned, faux fishing village through the artificial fog was an eerie experience, but the party itself was mostly just disco dance nonsense, along with a mild-mannered guided tour below decks. Having learned from that long-ago mistake, in 1995 Shipwreck productions tried its hand at turning the venerable sailing vessel-cum-hotel-and-tourist-attraction into a Knott’s Scary Farm-type Halloween event, called the Halloween TerrorFest. Since the bowels of the ship are spooky in their own right, and since there are one or two allegedly authentic ghost stories associated with the vessel, the setting was perfect, and it’s been going strong every since. In 2009, new management took over the haunt, rebranding it as “Shipwreck Halloween located at the Haunted Queen Mary.”

Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2011 Bundara and her sisters

Bundara and her demonic sisters at Dark Harbor 2011

In 2010, the Queen Mary launched a brand-new Halloween event: Dark Harbor, a completely revamped haunt, with a new theme. The premise is that a trio of she-demons, each with her own realm of horror, will take over the ship and ensnare guests in a particular lair; expect some new characters to make appearances. The plan was to create an immersive environment that included not only the ship itself but also the surrounding harbor, with a bar and a stage featuring live entertainment. The long-term goal – to use 2010 as a launching pad for a Halloween event that will grow to rival Knotts Scary Farm and Halloween Horror Nights – continued in 2011, with the Dark Harbor adding some new monsters and effects but not expanding the number of mazes. Check out the design artwork for the demons, below…

QUEEN MARY DARK HARBOR DRAWBACKS: You have to drive to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. There are no shows or rides (such as those availablet at Knotts Scary Farm, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, and Six Flag’s Magic Mountain Fright Fest).

OTHER INFORMATION:

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Halloween attraction is not recommended for children under 13.
The Queen Mary tends to enforce a strict dress code during Halloween, refusing admission to anyone wearing any of the following: , headbands, bandanas, spiked wristbands, belts, and many other items, including “Old English style writing on hats, shirts, or pants.” (???)
Costumes are generally not allowed. In the past, costumes have been allowed on Halloween Night only, as long as they did not include weaponry, such as guns, knives, swords, etc.

QUEEN MARY HALLOWEEN VIDEOS: Check out Hollywood Gothique’s visits to the Queen Mary’s Halloween event.