The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor 2025

Ahoy there! The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor returns to port for 2025 bringing a host of horrific Halloween fun. This iconic haunt features multiple shows, a ridiculous amount of food options, four carnival flat rides, hidden bars in each maze, and a total of six mazes. Admission gives you access to the shows and mazes. However, if you want to explore more, you can purchase everything from a seance experience to rides and even time at a hookah lounge.

Here we will share our thoughts of the mazes, one of the shows, the overall event, and we will point out what we thought were a DO NOT MISS. We will also give you advice on how to attend the event based on your budget.

Mazes

What makes The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor so very special is that it is the historic location and rumors of actual hauntings. Here the collection of mazes lean in to the creations of years past while giving them new life.

Voodoo, The Queen’s Curse – DO NOT MISS

The glorious Voodoo Priestess character is back in an all new maze with Voodoo: The Queen’s Curse. Situated in the Voodoo Bayou area of the event, Queen’s Curse is an impressively themed walkthrough. Crossing through the main entry for the maze we find ourselves in front of a potion shop. Soon we wander through a portal and into the mystical bayou and home of the Queen.

We really enjoyed this maze. Not just because of the scares, but because of the obvious ambition behind it. A themed walkthrough like this, created from the ground up is impressive. Make sure to hit Voodoo: The Queen’s Curse.

Feast, The Final Cut

In what is said to be its final year, Feast returns for a “final cut.” The Chef welcomes guests into his kitchen where we learn that we are the main course. Situated at the stern of the ship Feast is the classic cannibal maze but the saving grace is the great character at the center of it all.

On our tour through the actors were all serving up bloodthirsty rage and classic jump scares. However, this one is showing its age Feast is fine, but was lacking the carnivorous rage it once had. Still, this one is worth one last bite.

Breakout, Maximum Security

Last year, the origin story of Samuel the Savage was explored in the maze Breakout. From his conviction, jail time, his escape, and eventual place aboard the Queen Mary, Breakout was easily one of the longest mazes in Dark Harbor history. This year, Breakout: Maximum security distills the experience to give just enough story and plenty of scares.

This is a loud, brash, often disorienting walkthrough that leans heavy on fog and strobes to an almost painful degree. Full on Epilepsy warning stuff here. That said, the sets are nicely reconfigured from last year and the performers are aggressively scary. Good times.

Lullaby – DO NOT MISS

There’s something about Scary Mary that we can’t get enough of. The fabled little girl that tragically drowned in the first class pool years ago, Mary is the focus of this meandering maze that takes us through some of the most interesting parts of the storied ship including the boiler room and a glimpse of the actual pool itself.

While not as strong as it has been in previous years, Lullaby is still a haunting tour of the ship that features enough highlights to warrant a call out.

Infirmary – DO NOT MISS

Infirmary is an interesting maze. We begin in what is supposed to be the infirmary of the Queen Mary and end up at a Halloween gala. How, you ask? Good question. The first half of the maze starts off in the bowels of the ship where the sick and mentally ill are escaping from their high-security cells. We next wander through a surgery viewing gallery, (why would a viewing gallery be on an ocean liner? Because it’s scary.) Then we navigate the darkened passages of the front end of the ship and into the upper decks where a Halloween party is happening.

I get the idea. Patients break out of the infirmary on Halloween night during an ocean voyage. But as it stands this experience feels like two very disconnected concepts.

The real highlight of this maze is the “hidden bar” that takes you down deep into the lower levels of the ship. Just about midway through, you will spot a “hidden” symbol projected on a wall and a friendly Dark Harbor team member. Here you present your token for admission and are guided to an elevator that drops you down into the engine room and lower passages of the ship. The bar is here, with the basic drinks offered at the other bars, but here we have the most extensive opportunities to explore the scariest passages of the ship. This experience is worth navigating through the maze to get to.

In the end, Infirmary is a strange mash up that needs some polish to really work. It feels like a David Lynch movie with its pastiche of strange and disturbing imagery that is no doubt effective but mostly puzzling. Go for the scares, stay for the speakeasy.

Big Top Terror – DO NOT MISS

The classic Big Top Terror maze returns for another year of circus terror. It’s nearly impossible to walk through this maze without some sort of scare. It has clowns, loud noises, clowns, Geek performers, clowns, freaks, and clowns. Around every turn there is another scare or a creepy carny waiting.

This year, the design feels a little less focused and more like a collection of Dark Harbor moments and props than a circus. This isn’t a dealbreaker by any means though as it all works as a hodgepodge of hippodrome hysteria. If you find your way to the speakeasy in this maze you can even trigger scares inside the maze. It’s hilarious, good fun.

While there are a number of up-charge experiences, the Spirits of Dark Harbor exhibit is free. Here you can explore the history of the Queen Mary and explore other, more secluded sections of the ship. While it is a $10 fee, we were able to check out Lady Mabel Presents: The Summoning of Samuel.

Lady Mabel Presents: The Summoning of Samuel

The Summoning of Samuel is a theatrical presentation that features live actors and sensory effects to stage a terrifying seance. A medium welcomes the crowd and, once connected to the spirit realm, she summons the violent ghost of Samuel the Savage. Of course, things go horribly wrong and Samuel finds more victims.

If you saw this last year, it is exactly the same show. The tech seems to have been tightened but there is still a fair amount of light leak that ruins the scenes requiring blinding darkness. This one is fun, for sure, and worth the money. But if you saw it before, you don’t need to see it again.

RIDES

On our trip we merely observed the rides from afar. There is a certain kinetic energy that this collection of carnival contraptions brings to Dark Harbor. It’s a frenzy of neon chaos for only the bravest of souls.

Parking

We also recommend grabbing your parking ahead of time too. The price for general, off-site parking is between $25-$30 with a free shuttle to the event. There are other parking options, but really, the shuttle is just fine if you are looking to save some cash.

The Verdict

13th Floor, the relatively new caretakers of this southern California haunt institution have again delivered a fun event despite the difficulties of the venue. Dark Harbor remains a unique haunt event at an iconic piece of history that is simply a one-of-a-kind experience. If you plan the night right, you can have an affordable night of Halloween fun.