When the sun goes down Riverside’s theme park Castle Park transforms into Castle Dark. This year there were three new mazes and five scare zones.
Scare Zones
There were five scare zones: Dark Harvest, The Lady in White, Dia De Los Muertos, Nightmare, and The Midway. The two that were most noticeable and my personal favorites of the night were Dark Harvest and Midway. Both scare zones had more actors. Harvest had some cool characters, who were attentive to guests, and were putting a good effort in throughout the night. Midway’s scare zone involved a variety of clowns who all had different personalities. Again, just having higher numbers made these scare zones recognizable. The other three were slightly more difficult to realize you were in a scare zone. If you didn’t pay attention to what they were called or you did not read the description it would be easily missed. The other zones did not have as many actors working, which was the downside.
Deadly Harvest
Dia De Los Muertos
Woman in White
Midway
Mazes
Jinxx and Havoc’s Twisted Circus
The first maze we walked through was Jinxx and Havoc’s Twisted Circus. I enjoyed the performance that happened outside of the maze. As guests waited in line both Jinxx and Havoc were there interacting with guests and welcoming them to their house. I definitely appreciated that there were actual characters associated to the maze and they were a fun pair playing off each other. The ringleader was also quite an entertaining character. Unfortunately, the maze itself was lackluster. It wasn’t very long, the maze design had room for improvement, and the actors were absent. I could see the potential places for scares to occur, but they were empty and so the maze was underwhelming.
Meltdown
The second maze was called Meltdown. It was described as a fallout ridden nuclear plant with mutated scientists. This maze had more actors than the previous one. I certainly got the theme of nuclear waste. The maze itself was fairly simple, black walls with splattered UV reactive green, and a few places to bend over to get through. The improvement here was more actors and that the theming was understandable. I was distracted by actors continuously telling me to push a red button that didn’t actually exist until the very end of the maze. This detracted from just experiencing what was happening in the moment of the maze.
The Crooked Man
The final maze was The Crooked Man. I would say this was the most ambitious build this year, however I personally didn’t understand what the characters within the maze had to do with the recitation or the crooked man. I enjoyed the rhyme itself which plays over the walkthrough. I also liked the writing of the rhyme on the walls. Similar to Jinxx and Havoc’s Twisted Circus, this maze was lacking scare actors. A majority of the walkthrough was empty and perhaps having places where there clearly was supposed to be a person there scaring us was more hurtful in the end. It was a longer maze than the other two, but longer was not necessarily better due to the absence of scare actors inside.
Ghostblasters
Miniature Golf
Overall the mazes and scare zones were fitting for people new to haunts and geared more towards a younger audience. There were many children enjoying the mazes. There is room for improvement, but I can appreciate the efforts that were put forth. This is a great entry level experience for people of all ages who are not sure they are ready for something a bit scarier.
Something I enjoyed about Castle Dark is the fact that you are in a little theme park. So, mixed into the mazes and scare zones guests also have access to unlimited rides as well as mini-golf. While not specially themed for Castle Dark the ride Ghost Blasters is not to be missed. I thoroughly enjoyed this ride with its bright colors, ups and downs, and ghosts. You can find this ride inside the large castle where the arcade is located.
This event has a variety of entertainment to choose from whether it’s rides, the arcade, mini-golf, or mazes.
Castle Dark runs from September 28th through October 27th with a variety of ticket selections:
Castle Dark Admission Ticket $19.99
Enjoy Castle Dark from 7pm – 11pm, unlimited rides and miniature golf. Valid any Friday, Saturday or Sunday from September 28 – October 27.
Halloween’s Duke Deluxe Ticket $24.99
For families and kids 12 and under enjoy Dia De Los Muertos Event from 11am – 5:30pm and Castle Dark Event from 7pm – 11pm. Ticket also includes unlimited rides and miniature golf. Valid any Saturday and Sunday from September 28 – October 27.
Dinner and Castle Dark Ticket $39.99
Admission to Castle Dark 7pm – 11pm, Pre-Scare Dinner at 6pm, Lanyard, and Trading Card. (Must arrive by 6:15pm to receive meal.) Dinner Includes: 2 BBQ Ribs, 1 BBQ Chicken breast or thigh, 2 Corn Muffins, Coleslaw, Mac & Cheese, and a Souvenir bottle with unlimited refills all night.
Annual Pass $49.99
Enjoy Castle Dark all month for only $49.99! Plus, you’ll get a year of fun for unlimited rides, mini golf, Buccaneer Cove, monthly annual passholder days and more!
Castle Dark Behind the Scenes Scare Actor Experience $99.99
Admission to Castle Dark 7pm – 11pm, Dinner at 6pm, Lanyard, Trading Card, Castle Dark T-shirt, Castle Dark Drawstring Back Pack, Tour of Mazes, and Scare Actor experience. Dinner includes 2 BBQ Ribs, 1 BBQ Chicken breast or thigh, 2 Corn Muffins, Coleslaw, Mac & Cheese, and Souvenir Bottle with unlimited refills all night.
