Don't know if this really belongs in this thread, but not really sure where else it should go. But got to do Dark Masquerade at Queen Mary last night.
While my expectations were low, I did generally enjoy myself! In a big surprise, operations were the smoothest I ever experienced. from 13th Floor (which, IMO, is their largest weak point). Shows they can actually handle themselves when the crowds are a reasonable size.
It was not really a haunt, but more of a ball with haunt adjacent activities. Main room was a dance floor. Food and bar items available. To get around to the various activities, you got to pass a significant portion of Infirmary. While there were not scareactors, all the props were out, so it was fun to get a sort of mini-backstage tour.
2 out of 3 activities has near zero lines all night. All were not bad, but the most maze-like was The Search for Mary, which I think used parts of Lullaby (not sure), but you were given a single red glowstick. Maze was about 1/2 the length of a usual maze, but they did have a few scareactors, and it was very, very dark in a few sections... so add that to it basically being a walk on all night, it was still worth it to me. We also got to cross the bridge that looks far down to the old abandoned chasm of the ship (and over see the other activity, Gale's Requiem). Since the line was so short, we ended up doing it three times.
The most crowded of the night was Sweetheart's Slaughterhouse, which seemed to use large portions of Feast. But this time, they used actors to be interactive and tell a story of a missing chef who was using *gasp* human meat in his dishes. It was not meant to be scary, but fun and entertaining. Overall, I think they did a good job of re-inventing it. We got to do it twice, once towards the beginning of the night and once towards the end, and both times the actors (who were all the same people as far as we could tell) did a very consistent job. Bonus: you were given the option to crawl through the "meat-grinder" tunnel at the end if you wanted! For some reason, crowds gravitated to this one, and it had lines ranging from 15 to 40 minutes. At one point, the line was so long, they ushed people into a nearby movie theater and invited people to sit and watch horror themed music videos while you waited, which was actually a pretty good idea.
Final activity was Gale's Requiem, which was basically a glorified walk thru bar... but it was a very sumptous visual treat, as they added a singing Gale as a focal point and a number of projections on the walls. Even though it was mostly a one trick pony, it was a very entertaining trick.
Outside of the main dance floor area, they also had a small outdoor area with bar, hooka, and a live jazz band, which was a nice touch.
There was one more activity, but it was only for VIP, and we really wanted to try it, but it was sold out: Pressure Test: Bound Below. So curious to hear about what it was if anyone else got to experience it.
More pics and thoughts at my
Bluesky. But I must admit, for 13th Floor, this was one of the better run events. I do wish there had been a bit more decor, and maybe one more activity. But for the price we paid, it was surprisingly worth it.