Hollywood Gothique

Halloween attractions at major theme parks in Los Angeles and the surrounding area

Delirium was the best of three new attractions at last year’s Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt. Although perhaps a bit short on scream-inducing scares, the walk-through maze benefited from a surreal if somewhat vague theme, which allowed for a variety of weird and wild imagery: eyeballs embedded in walls, corpse covered in cockroaches, and assorted [...]

Last October, Hollywood Gothique made its first trip up north to check out some of the Halloween events in the East Bay Area near San Francisco. Previously, we posted the fruits of that endeavor in a review and video of the Candle Lighters Ghost House and in a review of the Pirates of Emerson. The [...]

Dates: October 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, and 28-31
Six October seasons have passed since last we visited the Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest, in the eldritch year of 2005 (review here). That is vast eons of time in the competitive netherworld of Halloween haunted houses and hayrides, and Six Flags has expanded its Fright Fest with more mazes, scare zones, and shows than ever before; we found this year’s event to be much the same as before in terms of its overall impact, but it is bigger and better than before.

Dates: October 7-9, 14-16, 20-23, 27-31
Does Dark Harbor 2011 boldly voyage into darkly haunted seas never charted before? Not quite: much is the same as last year, the old barnacles scraped away and replaced with fresh paint, the cabins aired out and redecorated, the crew primed and ready for another cruise into terror. In fact, the best way to describe this year’s Queen Mary Dark Harbor is to switch metaphors from the bounding main to music: Dark Harbor 2011 is like a remastered CD – basically the same music, with perhaps one or two bonus tracks, but with improved clarity of sound that brings out details you might have missed before, making the result seem new.

La Llarona swallows a victim at Halloween Horror Nights.
Last week – during my other gig, as managing editor of Cinefantastique Online – I participated in an episode of the CFQ Black Hole Ultra-Lounge Podcast, in which host Dan Persons asked me about my experiences at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Although I hit [...]

Dates: October 5-9, 12-16, 19-23, 26-31.
This year, we approached the Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt with an edge of fear in our soul that had little to do with the eager anticipation of ghost town ghouls, fallout shelter mutants, lock-down asylum lunatics, or apocalyptic wasteland warriors. Rather, advance word had sinisterly suggested that the annual Halloween theme park attraction was but a pale, ethereal shadow of its formerly spirited self – a “creaky, middle-aged zombie that’s lost its will to rise from the grave every night,” in the words of this Los Angeles Times review of opening night. To our ghoulish delight, however, these dire prophecies of doom turned out to be ephemeral warnings of a disaster that failed to materialize. True, there is little that is innovative or ground-breaking this year; nevertheless, the depth and breadth of horrors on display continue to make this annual ritual a must-see for Halloween acolytes.

On Friday, September 23, the 2011 Los Angeles Halloween season officially began, with the opening of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Per tradition, Universal Studios launched their theme park Halloween attraction with the Eyegore Awards, which are handed out to celebrities in the horror genre. This year’s recipients were David Arquette (SCREAM), Jamie [...]

The venerable Queen Mary has been in the spooky seasonal business for long enough to make it one of the most popular Halloween events in Los Angeles, and yet is reputation among fans has often placed it in the “also ran” category behind the big theme park attractions Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and the Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt. In this interview, the crustaceous crew of the Queen Mary Dark Harbor muse over their long-term plans for sailing full-steam ahead and into the future, hopefully overtaking the competition in the process.

Dates: September 23-24 & 30; October 1, 7-9, 14-16, 20-23, 27-31
Location: Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza, Univeral City, CA 91608
The high quality of sets, makeup and special effects at the Universal attraction remain unparalleled by any other Halloween event in Los Angeles or the surrounding environs. Unfortunately, the novelty of this year’s mazes is often more a matter of branding than substance.

Location: Legoland California, One Legoland Drive, Carlsbad, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: Once again, the family-friendly theme park presents its Legoland Brick-or-Treat festivities for Halloween: the Brick-or-Treat Trail during mornings and afternoons; and Brick-or-Treat Party Nights during the evening.
The Brick-or-Treat Trail offers seven Lego-themed treat stations with candy, healthful snacks, and a few suprrises along the [...]

Dates: October 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, and 28-31
The misty Magic Mountaintop beneath the Six Flags once again unfurls its hideous Halloween entertainment for trick-or-treaters both young and old. Hours are 10:30am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays (except October 7, which closes at 10pm, and October 8 which closes at 11pm); 10:30am to 10:00pm on Sundays; and 10:30am to 10:00pm on Monday, October 31. There will be no Fright Fest on Monda, October 10, although the park will be open for daylight hours.

Dates: September 16 to October 31
Location: Disneyland Resort, 1313 S. Disneyland Drive, naheim, CA 92802
Link out: Click here
Description: Disneyland presents its annual Halloween fun spectacular. The event offers spine-tingling thrills that are not too scary for even young children, including a Halloween Screams fireworks spectacular, photo ops with your favorite Disney Villains, a costume party [...]

[ October 8, 2011; 7:00 pm; ] Dates: October 7-9, 14-16, 20-23, 27-31.
Hours: 7pm to midnight.
Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: The Queen Mary launches its annual Halloween event. The venerable ocean-liner-turned floating hotel has offered various versions of its October festivities; 2010 saw the debut of a new incarnation, Dark Harbor, which returns for [...]

Location: Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza, Univeral City, CA 91608
Link out: Click here
Description: Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood opens its crypt on yet another  extravaganza, which promises to be even bigger and better than past incarnations.
This year there are six mazes (instead of four), and almost all of them are new for [...]

Dates: October 7-31 (night-time scares Friday-through-Sunday only)
Location: Castle Park, 3500 Polk Street, Riverside, CA 92505
Link out: Click here
Description: Starting on October 7, family-friendly Castle Park transforms itself for the month, offering Halloween tricks and treats: Castle Park: Fun by Day provides daytime rides and activities on weekend afternoons; Castle Dark: Fright by Night inflicts nighttime [...]

Location: 8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90620
Link out: Click here
Description: True to form, Knott’s Berry Farm launches their annual Halloween Haunt during the last week of September, getting a jump on the competition, most of which waits until October. As in 2010, the Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt makes its debut on a Friday, [...]

We have heard a couple of disheartening reports about over-crowding at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Sure, if one delays one’s visit until this late in the season, waiting in line behind large numbers of people is inevitable. Nevertheless, it is disturbing to hear from people who paid their money, got in on [...]

Planning your Halloween Weekend? Wondering What to do with these final days of October? Looking for something new and different? With the opening of the Theatre 68 Haunted House this past Friday, all of Los Angeles’s professional Halloween haunts are in full swing, leaving the Halloween yard haunts to dominate the concluding weekend of October, along with various horror movie screenings. Here is a rundown of Halloween events and attractions opening around Los Angeles this weekend.

Want a glimpse of the terrors that lie within the Queen Mary this Halloween? Then check out this video tour of the theme park Halloween event. Part 1 of our tour takes us through the land-locked attractions: the main entrance, the flaming tower, the Village of the Damned maze, the Barricades scare zone, and the [...]

We certainly hope you followed our advice and got a jump on the Halloween season by attending the Knotts Berry Halloween Haunt, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and the Queen Mary Dark Harbor. If you failed to heed our sound suggestion, it may already be too late to catch up, because even more [...]

Location: Castle Park, 3500 Polk Street, Riverside, CA 92505
Dates: “Fun by Day” throughout October; “Fright by Night” October 8-31
Hours: “Fun by Day” noon-closing time; “Fright by Night” 8pm-closing. (Castle Park closes at 8pm weekdays, 10pm Fridays & Saturdays, 9pm Sundays.)
Description: During October, Castle Park bills itself as “Castle Dark.” During the day, it claims to be “the perfect place to bring the kids for Halloween” – promising that children “can trick or treat, ride the rides, and enjoy all the fun and excitement of the Fall season, without a single scare.”

Location: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
Dates: Oct. 1-3, 8-10, 15-17, 21-24 and 27-31
Description: The Queen Mary launches a brand-new Halloween event for 2010: Dark Harbor.

A ghoul stands before the flaming "Hell's Belltower."
In an effort to draw new and bigger crowds to its revamped Halloween attraction, which was unveiled on Friday, Queen Mary Dark Harbor is offering discount rates for the next two weekends: October 8-10 and 15-17. During this time, the General Admission ticket price will be $29 (a $6-discount), [...]