Castle Dark is a ticketed event at Castle Park in Riverside. You're not familiar with this park. It is historic. Bud Hurlbut who designed some of Knotts Berry Farms rides established the park in 1976. Hurlbut actually invented the log flume ride, and the original prototype is at the park and still in operation.

The park itself has a few retired rides from Knott’s like Gasoline Alley. And it has a miniature golf course. When I learned they had a Ghost Blasters Ride I had to go! I am a huge Halloween fan and love Halloween haunts, I knew this was a must-do!

This Halloween Haunt has two original walk-through mazes. I found them to be nostalgic in the sense that I felt like I was going to a Halloween Maze someone had set up in the 90s. As the theme park itself is vintage and many of the rides are vintage, this makes this event special. If you frequent Disney or Universal, this is not the same. It’s like going to Halloween carnival in the 1990s.

If you’re expecting Castle Dark to be like Knott’s Scary Farm or like Universal Horror Nights, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. This is a small mom-and-pop type of theme park that's very vintage and nostalgic. Knowing what you're going into, you're going to have a lot of fun, and this makes for a perfect date night. Being Gen X myself, I was so excited because this literally felt like going to Halloween carnival in the mid 1990s, and it did not disappoint. I knew it was walking into because I watched videos on YouTube. I had a great time.

And this might be a deterrent to some people. For me, it was not there was no alcohol. I love beer, but it was nice to be at an event where people were sober. If you frequent theme parks in So Cal you know what I'm talking about! Taking alcohol out of the equation just made it funner.

I think this is family friendly, but I wouldn't recommend bringing small children. If your child can't handle going to the Spirit Halloween and stomping on the switch for the animatronics and this isn't for them. The monsters don't go out of the way to scare children or anything, but they are there. I don't think there is an appropriate age to start brining kids because all kids are different. If you want to know if your children would like this, I would recommend that you go to YouTube and watch some vlogs about it.

What really sets Castle Dark apart is the monsters themselves. Three monsters in specific that I found to be delightful. One monster in specific was very good at her job. She handled the children exceptionally well and made it fun, not scary. I also watched her scare the crap out of people, and it was pretty fun. She also was dancing and singing, and I have not seen a monster with that much personality before.

Pumpking Gourdo was hilarious. He roasted my husband for wearing a summer shirt to a Halloween event. Throughout the night we were running into him and we just saw how funny and charismatic he was.

And for some reason, I really loved the werewolf. He said little, but he didn't need to.

Because the theme park is older, accessibility can be a bit of an issue. I found that to get into the arcade after the Cinema of Fear maze was not easy. I would have to go around out of my way to get to a ramp. This is common with places that repair the floor of the Americans with disability act. I was not using any mobility aids that they sell wasn't as frustrating as it could've been, but I could see definitely being annoyed if you had an ECV or a wheelchair and having to go out of your way for the ramp.

They offer an accessibility program as well. They call it the ride admission program, and you go to Guest Services to inquire about it. Honestly, I didn't intend to go on many of the rides, so I opted not to do that. I wish I had because the line for Ghostbusters was actually kind of long. It's located inside the arcade, and it's kind of a tight squeeze, and I wish I had just gone and signed up for the ride admission program.

My experience was that it wasn't very crowded, and the lines were not long for most of the rides. If standing for longer periods is an issue for you, definitely use the ride admission program. They can also be a little bit confusing because they also have another program, the alternate access program, and that lets you use the ADA compliant entrance. Honestly would recommend that you call ahead or visit the guest services center to see which program would be best for you.

If you have sensory issues, there are some quiet places to go, like the lunch tables near the log flume. It won't be 100% quiet, so I recommend bringing headphones. Also, I believe there were some flashing lights in one of the mazes, so be aware of that as well. Ask before entering any mazes if there are flashing lights if you are photosensitive.

I have food intolerances and I opted to just not eat the evening because I couldn't find the menus online before leaving. I now know if you would like to know what the food options are ahead of time, just email sjimenez@PalaceEntertainment.com. The food locations should also have a list, if you ask. So if you have a gluten or a food allergy, I would email them in advance and ask for a menu.

In addition, parking is $25 per car for Castle Dark. If you can carpool, I would recommend that.

Cost of admission varies. I recommend if you're reading this after Halloween 2023 that you bookmark the Castle Park site and buy tickets as soon as possible when they are at a discount. As of now, the price is $29.99 depending on the date. And the gold pass members get in for free. There is a chaperone policy for anyone under 17. You need to be with an adult 21 or older with a valid ID.

Comment if you’ve been to Castle Dark and let me know what you think.