Dark Harbor — Attraction in Long Beach

I was a scare actor and bungee performer here in 2018 and 2019 and back then, when entertainment company Mycotoo was in charge, I would have died on this hill saying there is no Halloween time event that I've found as high quality at such a great price as Dark Harbor. It coming back this year after thinking it never would was a dream come true. Unfortunately, so far the event has fallen very short of my high expectations as a guest. It was only opening night, which is always the worst because there's always kinks to work out and scare actors are only just beginning to find their footing, but it shows that it's ran by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group (their hands are in too many haunts across America and the quality and organization always suffers). There is still some of the classic Dark Harbor charm, like two of the original mazes (Feast and Lullaby, as well as some of the same elements and props from Circus in Big Top Terror), and those mazes having different routes that you can crawl and duck through, but mostly the scares were severely lacking. I'm sorry but clearly they lost many of their best actors to Knott's and they didn't get them back. Many seemed like first-time scare actors with no guidance or training. They often gave themselves away and missed the mark in actually trying to get the scare, and resorted to saying "Boo" and "Rawr" instead of any unique noises or clever lines. And many large rooms throughout the mazes lacked scare actors completely, were too dark, and utilized a lot of cheap animatronics or loud popping noises instead. The event was also missing the classic characters advertised like Gail and the Captain, but maybe they were there for the opening or I missed them, but at least they managed to get the classic Ringmaster back (and she's the best one!) and many Scary Marys. The restrooms were mostly porta potties that were very poorly maintained often with no toilet paper and overall very disgusting, and only a couple porta potty sinks around the entire venue had any water to wash your hands and didn't offer sanitizer instead. They also did not offer ANY free water, not even for employees, which I thought was illegal? Because so many people were wasted, there was SO much alcohol being served and they only had a couple places at most allowing you to purchase water bottles only. Free ice in a cup was the only option.

Now for those who need to know and are in a wheelchair or have other disabilities, there is no system in place to truly accommodate us properly. There were far fewer wheelchairs here than at Knott's and Universal (literally like only a few total) so they didn't offer any pass (besides the expensive fast pass addition) or assistance at their makeshift guest services tent. They informed me that most of their mazes are ADA-compliant, except for the ship mazes, namely Lullaby and Feast (there is a back way to go to Infirmary and enjoy the maze fully once you go all the way around to skip the initial stairs, but the other two have a lot of stairs in the mazes since it's an old ship). BUT while the other 3 mazes were probably technically ADA, they were certainly not wheelchair-friendly, as the turns and paths were tight (I have a narrow wheelchair and got trapped in a section that it couldn't fit through in Breakout and an actor had to break character and block groups from coming through so I can squeeze my way back to an open section and make the ADA detour) and they utilized a lot of wood chips/mulch in sections outside and in Breakout, which is very hard to wheel on even if you have someone pushing you. There were also a lot of bumps that I had to get over by rolling backwards only. From the front gates they use strobe lights heavily everywhere, so those with epilepsy beware. FORTUNATELY, when I plead my case of multiple disabilities to the staff in the front of each maze, they were all ultimately kind enough to let me and my small group use the fast pass line even though were GA. Again, there is no true system in place for this, but it was subject to each individual...

We went prior pandemic and it was always amazing with always shitty parking but if you got there early you were good.

We arrived 2 HOURS prior to early entry and were STILL led to park on a literal PARK with trees and people walking around because it was an actual park by the bay and I was terrified of driving out of it at the end of the night because there was no one to direct you and a sheer drop into the bay if you made a wrong turn.

We were first in line for Fast fright only to suddenly be in the wrong line because security decided to lead us the wrong way!!! Absolutely NO ONE knew what was going on. I’d kindly ask a staff member for direction and they’d either know absolutely nothing or they were rude and acted like I was an annoying bother (and often gave me the wrong info!). Asked for a program so I’d know when shows were, they don’t have them!! So how do you know when shows are? You don’t! So how do you plan your night and hit the things you paid for! Oh silly, you don’t!! Because Dark Harbor is a chaotic garbage fest!

We bought early entry but only TWO MAZES were open, they did not mention that ANYWHERE online or on the early entry ticket. Food and drink prices were OUTRAGEOUS. $6 for a liquid death and that was the only option for water. $32 for a cocktail bucket, or $25 for the worst cocktail I have ever had in my entire LIFE. My husband got meat on a stick and it was $22!!! Also all the prices listed for food and beverages were WRONG. An item would be listed for 9.99 and you’d go to pay and it was $22!!! Then the staff would see your face and say “oh yeah the prices are wrong” no apology, they acted annoyed that they were robbing you.

Mazes in the Queen Mary were the best (except Feast where it was just a line because they let too many people in so it was a test of what would win, my claustrophobia or my desire to stay calm) and all mazes had tripping hazards with no staff to direct you. In breakout there’s a room where you see absolutely nothing because there’s so much fog and strobe lights that I was hit by a giant animatronic snake trying to find the way out. He popped out and slammed into me, just like the reality of this event being complete, absolute, GARBAGE. I will never be coming back, I will tell everyone I know, never to go. It’s simply not worth it. When you live in SoCal with Horror night and Scary farm, this place is not worth it.

Dark Harbor lacks direction, safety, quality staff, management, and intelligence. Why would you not have showtimes? Why do you have 4 different levels of tickets? That eliminates the point of even buying fast fright because we still waited 45 mins. What is GA waiting then? 4 hours?

Why are all the bathrooms disgusting porta potties THAT NO ONE IS SERVICING so they ran out of toilet paper and seat covers at 9pm? Obviously this event was over sold, understaffed, and poorly managed. A huge disappointment and a huge...

My visit was on a Wednesday evening with Early Entry. Please keep this in mind when reading my review as I feel I went during the best time to be able to see everything I wanted without any rush.

First of all, I removed one star due to the use of generative AI in the opening ceremony videos. I can not confirm seeing it anywhere else but I am a little wary of some of the artwork and shirt designs because of it. I do not support generative AI (especially when it was so ugly and noticeable) but since I was not the one who paid for my group's tickets I can let it go with just one less of a star.

Food and drink was expensive as one can expect and I did not purchase any myself. Smelled great, and people seemed to be enjoying it. Lots of variety so there's something for everyone including coffee! Good for a night event.

On to the mazes! Three of them are on the Queen Mary herself and I was pleasantly surprised to see this. I had only expected two to be there. These three were also the best and the longest mazes. I felt as if I got a good chance to be on the ship and the theming was the strongest. These were Infirmary, Feast, and Lullaby. None of them were particularly scary to me but I've never found much fear in any haunted event. Since they were on the ship the air got a little stuffy but hey, maybe that just adds to the atmosphere!

Infirmary was early access with my ticket and the wait was only a few minutes.

Lullaby had a long line even before it opened and could have had better direction by staff to preventa this. Line moved quickly once it was open.

Feast had no line at all and I walked right in despite it being the third maze I went to. Probably due to it's location and not obvious entrance.

Voodoo was just fine, nothing really to say about this one. The theme was alright but it seemed a little out of place besides being "oooo scary".

Breakout was the weakest of the mazes and I can't tell if this was because of a lack of scare actors, poor props and decor, or just a bad theme. It wasn't interesting or scary at all and was the shortest walkthrough despite having the longest line.

Merchandise was very disappointing as the only event themed items seemed to be shirts and hats. Plenty of generic horror themed pins, patches, and goodies but none of these appeared to even have the event logo or the Queen Mary on them. The merch store after the exit had generic Queen Mary merch which I was happy with but I was hoping for something... I don't know, a bloody boat pin or sticker? It was difficult to find something to buy to take home as a souvenir.

My rating overall is just Average because I don't feel I would have regretted paying for my own ticket at normal price but I would also not pay a penny more. All in all I was pleasantly surprised and overall did enjoy my time here. I don't know if I will be back in a future year and I hope to not see AI...