Updated for the 2026 season
Dark Harbor returns with a full waterfront festival
Queen Mary's Dark Harbor is scheduled for select nights from September 18 through November 1, 2026. It is a multi-hour Halloween festival across the ship and surrounding harbor, not one haunted house. The official lineup includes haunted mazes, live entertainment, rides, themed food and bars, hidden speakeasies and optional experiences. Tickets are sold online, and individual attractions or upgrades can have separate access rules.
Dark Harbor controls dates, prices, attraction availability, admission rules, parking and operating policies. Details below were reviewed against the official event site on August 6, 2026. Verify the selected date before purchasing or traveling.
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 15 minute read
Current attraction guide
2026 mazes and signature experiences
#1 · Reimagined for 2026
Lullaby
First-class swimming pool aboard the Queen Mary
The maze returns to the ship's first-class pool and follows the Scary Mary story into a water-themed underworld. The location and story make it one of the event's clearest connections to the Queen Mary setting.
- Experience
- Haunted maze
- Setting
- On board the Queen Mary
What to expect
- Pool-area setting
- Scary Mary storyline
- Reimagined for the 2026 season
#2 · Reimagined for 2026
Infirmary
Medical horror across the ship's interior
Infirmary follows the event's surgeon and Graceful Gale story through operating and third-class areas of the ship. The official description presents a revised conflict between the medical characters and their patients.
- Experience
- Haunted maze
- Setting
- Interior ship decks
What to expect
- Medical-horror theme
- Graceful Gale storyline
- Connects to the Gale's Requiem add-on
#3 · Returning maze
Big Top Terror
A sinister carnival maze
Big Top Terror uses the Ringmaster, cursed objects, jack-o'-lanterns and carnival performers to build a maze around the event's twisted circus world.
- Experience
- Haunted maze
- Nearby zone
- Ringmaster's Halloween Carnival
What to expect
- Carnival-horror setting
- Ringmaster storyline
- Nearby rides, games and Bizarre Bar entertainment
#4 · New story for 2026
Voodoo Bayou
A decayed bayou and zombie-sailor storyline
The official 2026 description follows a priestess through potion shops, coffin factories and poppet-filled structures before a finale involving lightning and zombie sailors.
- Experience
- Haunted maze
- Theme
- Bayou folklore and the undead
What to expect
- Potion-shop and coffin-factory environments
- Large finale sequence
- Adjacent themed food and bar references on the event map
#5 · Continuing character story
The Summoning of Samuel
A prison escape built around Stateroom B340 lore
The 2026 story moves Samuel the Savage into a seaside-village jail, where guests are processed as new inmates while the character breaks free and begins hunting through the maze.
- Experience
- Haunted maze
- Story connection
- Stateroom B340 character lore
What to expect
- Prison-processing opening
- Alarm and pursuit sequence
- Continuation of an established Dark Harbor character
Optional experiences
Speakeasies, séances and guided access
Add-ons and experiences beyond the standard maze route
Dark Harbor lists Spirits of Dark Harbor, Scary Mary's Dark Séance, Gale's Requiem, astrology readings, hidden speakeasies, five-minute escape games and limited RIP guided tours. Inclusion and pricing depend on the admission type or add-on selected.
- Speakeasies
- At least four open each night
- RIP tour
- Limited nightly inventory
What to expect
- Some experiences are included with admission
- Other experiences require a separate purchase
- VIP access does not guarantee every hidden experience
Planning 01
Choose admission by the experience you actually want
Dark Harbor offers several ways to experience the festival, and a more expensive ticket is useful only when its access matches the group's priorities. Compare entry time, maze access, line benefits, VIP spaces, speakeasy access and included add-ons on the current checkout screen.
The official site states that tickets are available exclusively online. It also warns that attractions and inventory can change or sell out. Save the order confirmation and review the final event policies before leaving home.
Maze coverage
Decide whether the goal is every maze or a balanced festival night
Line access
Compare regular entry, accelerated access and guided-tour benefits
Add-ons
Check whether séances, speakeasies or escape games cost extra
Group needs
Review scare tolerance, mobility, age guidance and departure time
Planning 02
Plan the entertainment, rides and food between mazes
The festival includes stage and roaming entertainment, the ShipYard, the Maiden Voyage Launch Party, Final Voyage, fire performances and the 2026 Harbor Awakens production. Carnival attractions include Alien Abduction, Blacklight Bumper Cars, Sinister Swings and the Rampage Double Wheel, with published height requirements for several rides.
Food and beverage areas are spread across the event. The official page identifies themed service near Big Top Terror, Voodoo Bayou, the ShipYard, Seaside Village and the on-board Spirits of Dark Harbor area. Build food time into the route instead of waiting until the group is already tired.
Planning 03
Treat transportation and parking as part of the ticket plan
The Queen Mary is at 1126 Queens Highway in Long Beach. Waterfront traffic, event security and walking time can make arrival longer than an ordinary daytime visit. Choose the event night and entry window first, then follow the current parking link provided by Dark Harbor.
Allow time for parking or ride-service drop-off, security, ticket scanning and regrouping. Confirm bag, costume, re-entry, weather and accessibility policies directly with the organizer before departure.
Planning 04
Understand the refund and change policies
The official event states that it operates rain or shine and does not provide refunds, rain checks, returns or rescheduling. It also states that prices, dates, times, attractions and entertainment can change or be cancelled without notice.
Those terms make the final official checkout page more important than an older guide or social post. Verify the exact date, entry window and included benefits before completing the purchase.