 Here we are Park Journey Readers, right in the middle of Halloween Season 2017. It's already been 4 weekends of scary fun for us and it's still only October 6. How crazy is that. Today we have our update from one of our favorite events of the season, Dark Harbor at Queen Mary Written by Gregg Condon Pictures by Scott Linder and Gregg Condon Welcome to Dark Harbor 2017 where the chef is waiting for you ...  Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots!!  This years cast of demented characters
  After a quick stop at the VIP Lounge it was time to start checking out the mazes. First up was Soulmate  Amazing character just as you walk in  Dude got me   We then moved over to B340 and I have to say, this was probably the best year for this maze yet. Incredibly fun and scary.  These "walls" creeped me out  "Go this way, I promise you'll be ok"  Lullaby ... always a favorite    Probably the favorite picture I took all night (Gregg)   Being on the ship is always creepy enough  Last up was the all new maze, Feast  Some behind the scenes, glamorous no? =)   I'm starting to think we shouldn't eat here    INTO THE OVEN!!   Seriously, into the oven!!   Some great views of Deadrise   The swings were back!!  Another one of our favorites   They moved this out of the come this year (in fact, no mazes were in the dome) and combined some of the sideshow acts  Yes, we are worthy!!  Hidden bar!!!   Of course we had to get a drink!! I promise, I hadn't had a drink prior to this ... lol. I'm about to get scurred ..  Our favorite monsters at the exit of Deadrise   Last maze of the night was Intrepid   This was kind of a mishmash of intrepid and voodoo ... it had some decent scares although the theme kind of got lost somewhere.  This was an awesome room  Slider Alley!!  Amazing props!  As sharp drop and a sudden stop ...  Thank you Dark Harbor for another amazing year!!   Be sure to check out Dark Harbor 2017. One tip, be sure to research parking prior to going. You can find more info on Dark Harbor here. Related Updates:
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 Last year when we did our Midsummer Scream updates we called it the "unofficial" kick-off to the Halloween Season. Judging by the growth of this event in just it's second year it's safe to go ahead and remove the unofficial moniker. The event was run like a well-oiled machine given the longer prep time vs last years event. Written by Gregg Condon Before we start diving into Halloween 2017, let's take a look back at the epic 2016 Halloween Season Welcome to Midsummer Scream!! Despite a couple of long lines to kick off the event (everywhere has security, get used to it, plan ahead) we have heard overwhelmingly positive things about this years event.  Our first stop was the amazing Hall of Shadows which was even bigger this year. Hey, we know those guys!!!  With all of the mini-haunts, monsters walking around and the Decayed Brigade shows this was definitely one of the more popular spots this weekend.  Somebody's about to get scurred ...  Despite being called "mini haunts" some of these were amazing and some of these independent haunts are going to have amazing years.  Some of the themeing is on-par with the big time haunts. Shows some of the amazing time people put into these events.  One of our favorite haunts last year is back ... they offered both PG-13 and rated R shows. I'll let you guess which one we saw. =)  You never know who you're gonna find just walking around Midsummer Scream. Hanging out with the legendary Bob Gurr.
Some awesome booths for things we all might want to check out, including Scream Box.  Here's Greggie!! (Seriously, where else can you pull an axe on your son and have him laugh about it)  Knott's Scary Farm PanelOur first panel of the weekend was for Knott's Scary Farm. Despite being a bit on the short side we did get some tidbits about this years event. Their full event will be unveiled on August 31. (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) Fright Fest (Six Flags Magic Mountain)Next up was Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain and there were some amazing things announced (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) Queen Mary's Dark HarborLastly on Saturday was Queen Mary's Dark Harbor, and they announced a whole bunch of new bars, a new maze, hidden bars, re-designed mazes, ice bars, Costume Balls and more bars. (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) Halloween Horror Nights (Universal Hollywood)On Sunday we headed to the Halloween Horror Nights panel which was easily the largest panel of the weekend. HHN fans are crazy dedicated.  Below highlights of the Ash vs Evil Dead maze along with some artwork shown during the presentation. (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) Below highlights of The Shinihng maze along with some artwork shown during the presentation. (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) This year, ORIGINAL SCARE ZONES!! And they look awesome!!! We really loved the Gauntlet of Fear last year although The Purge isn't scary. It seems to be coming back in some form this year on the Backlot. (click any of the pictures below for a larger version) Winchester Mystery HouseLastly on Sunday we attended the Winchester Mystery House panel, one of our favorite places. And this year they have expanded their Candlelight Tours!  The entire panel is a podcast on The Season Pass so be sure you check it out.  20 nights this year!!!  They also talked a bit about Winchester which is in theaters next February. We simply can't wait for this movie.  And because Winchester Mystery House is amazing, they gave everybody in the audience 2 tickets to the all new "Explore More" tour and an amazing print. There will be more of these so be sure you head up to the house and get yours!  And with that, the curtain has come down on another amazing Midsummer Scream.  We are SO ready for Halloween Season and we only have a little over a month until it all begins. Related Updates:  Well, it's finally here. The end of the Haunt Season. As a site, this was our third year covering Halloween and we've had an absolute blast. We attended more Haunts this year than any other year, and it still was just a drop in the proverbial bucket. Below are our rankings, this is by no means a complete list of everything that is out there. Some of these events still have some nights coming up this weekend so be sure to check them out if you haven't already. If you missed ANY of our Halloween Updates be sure to check them out. Best Theme Park Haunt - Knott's Scary Farm With the addition of new mazes and the freshening up of some previous years mazes it was another banner year for the amazing Knott's Scary Farm.
Small improvements like the Skeleton Key rooms and new effects in mazes made the event seem fresh. The moving of Infected from Camp Snoopy to it's own maze not only made the overall experience for Infected that much better but freed up Camp Snoopy for an all new Scare Zone. Best Independent Haunt - Motel 6 Feet Under This was a tough category as there were 3 amazing Independent Haunts that could have claimed this spot (we'll touch on those below). But this event works in every way, not because it's extreme, not because it's gory, but because it's just a FUN Haunted House.
Best Home Haunt - Backwoods So let's say you go to some imaginary "Haunt Graveyard" and get animatronics and sets that basically tells the history of Southern California Scary Events and put them all in your house. And then it all works in an amazing way. That's what Backwoods is and it's amazing.
Best Maze - The Exorcist (Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood AND Orlando) Yep, this maze was our favorite at two separate events 2500 miles apart. And for VERY different reasons. The Hollywood Maze edges out the Orlando maze EVER so slightly but this maze had the perfect blend of storytelling and amazing effects. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and Unviersal Orlando are both open November 4 and 5 Best Scare Zones - Fright Fest - Six Flags Magic Mountain This is now the third year SFMM has taken this award from us and for good reason. SFMM is HUGE but they manage to pull off filling almost every inch of their park with monsters and the best make-up team in the business.
We will say that there were a few dead spots this year (namely on the back side of the park). We are pretty sure this was because the area around Riddlers was supposed to close prior to Fright Fest and then they decided to keep it open. The Suicide Squad scare zone was great and we hope we'll see the expansion of the DC Universe Scare Zone into Metropolis for next years event. We'd also like to see the expansion of The Ruins near Apocalypse. Best Talent - Queen Mary's Dark Harbor This category wasn't even close. The talent at Dark Harbor has so much freedom it's really hard for the other events to compare.
Not tied to any corporate structure they are free to interact with the guests as they see fit, free to do things that other parks would freak out about while still maintaining safety for themselves and guests. Best New Maze - (tie) Shadowlands - Knott's Scary Farm and Aftermath 2 - Fright Fest We typically exclude Halloween Horror Nights from this category as they don't tend to repeat mazes, but that's not to take away anything from these two amazing mazes. One (Shadowlands) a completely original idea that we've never seen before and the other (Aftermath 2) a resurrection of a previous maze but on steroids.
Best Returning Maze - Reign of Terror If you've never done Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks you are really missing out. This event is on par and in some ways exceeds even the biggest and baddest theme park haunt maze. The talent here is amazing and the size of the haunt is staggering. It takes a good 20-25 minutes to get through the entire event. And something we've never seen before, in-maze line control that totally works.
While this is the best "Returning" maze, they change it up enough each year to keep it fresh and exciting and you shouldn't miss Reign of Terror in 2017. Best "First Year" Event - Gorlesque With so many existing Haunts in Southern California you'd think there wasn't room for anything new. You'd be wrong. But you've gotta be different to make a splash, and Gorlesque found that happy place between interactive, scary, sexy and amazing. One of the most talked about events for 2016. We can't wait to see what they come up with for 2017.
Best Haunted Ride: Crash Test Zombies - Busch Gardens Tampa Bay How do you make awesome bumper cars even better? How about adding Zombies and naming it after an obscure Canadian band from the early 90's with a hit song that still doesn't make any sense (not sure if that last part is actually true ... well, MmmmMmmmMmmmMmmm still doesn't make any sense).
Best Family Event: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party Haunted Events are getting better every year, but so are the family events. But there's something about this party at the Magic Kingdom that's just so special and fun each and every year.
Best "New To Us" Haunt - Sinister Pointe: Fear The Mark There are SO many events to cover that we only get to see so many each year, which is why we hadn't been to Sinister Pointe before. And now I'm sad because we had such a scary good time at this event and their 4 realms. To be fair, some of us on the staff had experienced Sinister Pointe before, but we'd never reviewed it as a website.
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