So excited to share the return of the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor! It’s been four years since we last stepped foot on the legendary haunted ship. It has been said that the ship and it’s hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in the country, but the event had to take a pause during Covid and allow some time to do repairs to the ship. But 2024 they are back and better than ever!
What makes this such a go-to attraction during the halloween season is the simple coolness of the environment. You’re on a haunted ship for Pete’s sake! A marine layer adds some additional natural fog on certain nights that make any fog machines secondary. Walking through the deepness of the boiler room, or down the service hallways (usually without a lot of lights) is pretty darn creepy.
What sets Dark Harbor out from the other haunts is 100% the cast of characters. The event does an absolute fabulous job in casting every member of the event. Lady Mabel, Samuel the Savage, Graceful Gale, every Slider. bartender, food vendor and of course The Ringmaster makes the experience feel intimate no matter how crowded it can get on a sold out night. Add in the opportunity to score a coin from one of them that allows access to hidden speakeasy’s through the event makes this top notch fun in our book.
“The Spirit Rise Once Again” is the perfect welcome back. Catch an epic night to get in the Halloween spirt! Running from September 20th through November 2nd, 2024 at 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach CA 90802.
My first San Diego Comic Con was 2009. For 2024, it was an absolute blast to ride along on Kyle’s first attendance, and seeing things through a newbie’s eyes. He embraced the mayhem in stride and taught this veteran a few things as well.
Wednesday started off with the hellacious drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. As we say around here “Took THE 134, to the THE 5, to THE 805….” We made it just in time for Kyle to run at Olympic Speed onto the floor to the Hasbro booth to snag his Preview Night Exclusive of Star Wars Black Series - Darth Maul with Sith Speeder. Preview nights have even gotten bigger over the years! But no SDCC is complete w/o a trip to Tivoli’s (the oldest bar in Downtown SD) once the floor closes. A great place to meet back up with old pals and new friends. This has been a tradition I follow, as they have stiff drinks, affordable prices and a great neighborhood vibe. There has been many hours in the past at these tables, excitedly recapping the day, formulating game plans and catching up with colleagues. This year did not disappoint.
Kyle outside of Tivoli’s with his Preview Night Haul.
On Thursday, Kyle truly impressed me by being up before the sun to run down to the Marriott Marquis to get in line for the Dragon Ball Z exclusive pass. I lagged but met up with him later to snag our “I PLAYED DRAGON BALL: SPARKING! ZERO” lanyard (and I was reminded how very VERY bad I am at video games - and how good he is). The Dragon Ball Z activation is an awesome family friendly (no badge needed) activity. They do such a great job with the various elements to make them feel obtainable and in turn - incredibly enjoyable. In addition, Kyle officially gained the name “KING OF THE FLOOR!”. He ran back into the mayhem to snag his exclusives he woke up so early for.
Kyle & Jenny’s silly photo op & Kyle’s swag
Thursday was a blast and possibly the busiest of our days! We continued over at Social Tap (fond memories of the 2013 Black Sails party at same location came flooding back to me) for The Op Games Party Games & Whiskey party! This event encompassed everything I love about SDCC. We were welcomed with Whistle Pig cocktails as we bounced around various game tables meeting new people. There were so many laughs as a bunch of us (some we knew, some were new) played TAPPLE AFTER DARK or attempted new languages with for DADADA. Having 10 seconds to come up with a word for “Sexual Positions” that starts with a specific letter in TAPPLE AFTER DARK…let’s just say, PG ratings were not met. The OP Games nailed it by making an event that became an easy ice breaker for attendees to meet and become new fans of their games (the games are so fun!!).
The Op Games - Party Games & Whiskey
Thursday wrapped up with dancing to Jason Deluo at the Fandom Party. The expanse that is SDCC has no limits. Cosplayers dancing to songs like Wiggle was quite the sight! And the audience was an interesting mix of attendees that were dressed to the nines while the other half was trying to figure out how not to crush their swag bags. It was a surreal experience but proved why so many, try so hard, to attend. I’ll note that I do appreciate the passes are handled by accumulating points to be entered to win, but did notice most attendees appeared to be industry guests. Aside from that, DAMN GREAT SHOW at a wonderful location at the Float in the Hard Rock. I was so caught up in dancing, I sadly totally missed the Deadpool drone show that night (Link HERE). The only true disappointment of the day was the Focus Features Shaun of the Dead Experience. It was pretty sad. They ran out of all the exclusive branded cans of beer ridiculously early (which you also couldn’t drink because they didn’t get a liqueur license). So most attendees just received a non-branded can of local beer. To add to the frustration, they also sold out of most of the merch, leaving just a couple t-shirts in size small or 3X, a Foree Electric Trucker hat (which I couldn’t figure out why a trucker hat?) and a pair of socks. All overpriced. The line to get in was also chaos, making the online RSVP a bit of a waste of time. Do better Focus Features, I hope you learned from this failure. And high five’s to everyone with early reservations that had the opportunity to score a better experience earlier in the day.
Friday. Oh Friday. Kyle continued to walk the floor noting “The sheer size of some of the booths was just unbelievable. The Marvel and DC booths were among the booths that were needed to visit while I was there. The Marvel booth had cosplay competitions and costumes set up from Deadpool and Wolverine and Captain America: New World Order!” And I hit the streets to stand in line at the Paramount Lodge. Without the tickets, I waited in stand by. This worked because I got in line early, and was prepared to wait. I ended up waiting about 2 hours. Because I was in line, had some wonderful conversations with others and a man who had done it before gave me some valuable tricks (“Go to the Star Trek area first to get a ticket for a t-shirt, then pizza, then drinks - or they’ll run out”). So I did exactly that! The cosplayers there were mind-blowingly awesome!
Jenny with @waltimusprime Marvel Cosplayers at the Paramount Lodge
Continuing Friday, I was excited to attend the FROM (streaming on MGM/Amazon) panel on the IMDB boat. Season 3 looks so creepy good (check it out - premiering 9.22) while Kyle continued to master the floor and tribbles, “The Star Trek booth was a mini zoo of aliens all centered around an episode of Lower Decks, The Menagerie. At the end of that experience you can take your photo in one of the displays and act like you were being attacked by one of the inhabitants.”
Kyle's Star Trek booth experience.
Then wrapping up the day with FX photo ops and XLE PartyPocalypse. XLE had multiple themed nights of parties (Legends of Fantasy, Anti-Hero, etc) that you could purchase tickets through Eventbrite. At $35 a head, it was an affordable and exciting way to continue the evening! The dance floor was jumping with cosplayers decked out in the theme, and a live band playing all the hits. Special shout out to some amazing cosplayers for the introduction to these long standing parties (for fun photos - check out cosplayer @sierramm on instagram).
XLE PartyPocalypse SDCC 2024
Saturday we were loosing steam and caffeine was a #1 necessity. I started the day with Kyle back on the floor. Per Kyle, a standout was “The Star Wars booth. It housed many costumes and props from The Acolyte and was playing scenes on a giant screen from different movies and shows.” We jumped on the IMDB Boat and did the Rings of Power photo op before I ran to the Wynonna Earp panel. That was one of my favorite highlights this year. I fell in love with the show back in 2017 after SDCC introduced me to the wonderfulness of that silly SyFy show. After it’s final season on SyFy a few years back, fans are now SUPER excited for it’s return on Tubi with the 90 minute Vengeance special. We all have high hopes this will mean more seasons to come.
Wynonna Earp panel
Saturday wrapped at The Penguin Lounge. Boy O Boy did Max do well with this off site. I was truly impressed by the amount of detail both in the location, as in the staff/actors. Every step inside felt like you were deep in the underground trying to snag drugs to get invited into the “secret lair” of criminals. The actors embraced their rolls, interacted with the attendees and provided a fabulous time.
Inside the Penguin Lounge - MAX
We wrapped up the con Sunday by revisiting booths on the convention floor, grabbing lunch at one of our favorite spots, and braving Sunday traffic back up north. Sunday’s are always the best “Chill” day to just take in the sights. I loved having the time to actually pay attention to the elevators, walls and buildings. It’s also a wonderful day for families to just walk around and admire those monsterous building wraps, store fronts and local shops. We walked away from SDCC2024 very VERY happy geeks indeed.
We hope all our followers have the opportunity to visit. The outside stuff takes work but with some good sleuthing, socials media follows and alerts, emails, memberships, etc. all is possible. With hard work, comes a full 4 day geek love schedule. Long live the CON-LIFE!
High quality amateur cosplayers and talented original artists helped brighten up a some-what dull Long Beach Comic Con at the Long Beach Convention Center held on September 2nd and 3rd, 2023. This year's con was in a small room smashed in between two other events which made finding the entrance very confusing. The attendees consisted of mostly families with young children, which unfortunately did not benefit the provocative professional cosplayers who acquired a booth for selling pics and making fans.
Among the vendors selling superheroes' faces on t-shirts and stickers sat the stand out original artist Karina Gazizova. With the clever use of markers on watercolor paper, Karina creates peculiar female characters against a stark white background, “It is important for me to do monthly art challenges to push myself. A strict personal goal of mine is to support myself using only my artistic talents, so far I have been successful.”
Notable eye-catching cosplays included a spot on Weird Barbie from the recent blockbuster film, a detailed Star Fire from DC’s Teen Titans, and a very fitting Crowley from the fantasy novel turned TV series Good Omens. Star Fire commented that she had been cosplaying for five years and also cosplays as crime fighter Black Canary, whose first appearance was in a 1947 Flash comic book. Crowley stated that they relate to the character’s backstory of a falling from grace in their own personal way.
It’s unfortunate that the talent who made the con worthwhile had to pay out of pocket. Perhaps one day the cosplayers will unionize. What do you think? Leave a comment to join the conversation.
Knotts Berry Farm is the gentler of the Southern California theme parks. Charlie Brown and his Peanuts gang welcome kids of all ages. BUT after dark during the Halloween Season, the Berry becomes Scary. We have done a lot of haunts this year (some recorded and some not). Knotts is contender of being one of the best. They really upped their game this year. Legit jump scares and beautifully freighting props. The atmosphere can make the hairs on the stand on the back of your neck. Some walkways were so creepy in the way they were lit, it felt that average guests were zombies in front of you. Big thumbs up for a great event this year.
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Atomic Geekdom returned to the Queen Mary this year but was greeted by Shaqtoberfest instead of the familiar Dark Harbor extravaganza. When we arrived, we walked under the huge inflatable Shaquille O’Neal walkway, loaded with skulls and smoke machines. Keeping with the nautical theme of the Queen Mary, the mazes were set up for Pirates and Monsters alike. A carnival was awaiting, equipped with the Gravitron, a carousel, and even a fun house. At 8pm, the spooky characters emerge and the event takes on a more adult theme. For example, you can purchase a glowing necklace that scores you a shot of rum in the Pirate’s Cove. Before 8pm, families are encouraged to trick-o-treat and enjoy the rides which also include bouncy houses and slides.
This was a lot smaller than the older Dark Harbor because everything was on land since the boat is under construction. This did not take away from the fun though. It felt very much like small town community carnival despite being set in the busy Downtown Long Beach area. It brought back all those memories of county fairs growing up but also a bit of scariness.
The cast of characters (ghouls) were the stars of this event. You never knew when one would come up behind you or jump in your way. This added to that crazy fun haunt mentality.
It’s so awesome that Shaqtoberfest kept the location alive this halloween with their mazes, walking through a monster, grabbing a drink near a paddy wagon and realizing the Gravitron is pretty intense the older you get. Totally worth the ride.
Cemetery Lane is not like Atomic Geekdom’s normal haunts BUT has so much charming spookiness. Nothing is more fun than kids of all ages dressed in their favorite costume having a candy rush.
Located in Heritage Square (a “gated, safe and secure” historical mock neighborhood), Cemetery Lane feels like you stepped back into a time where the original Twilight Zone aired. Each of the historical houses are decked out in Halloween scenes that are kid-friendly creepy.
This may be one of the best family-friendly events out there. The cast of characters worked so well with the young children to make sure they were not scared. For example, the “Spider” house had large robotic spiders that would lunge at you when you walked up. The “Sisters” who worked that house would introduce the spiders to the young kids and let them pet them (as if they were just like a cat or dog). As an adult, the props were so cool and detailed that it was a WIN for all ages.
If you do not have kids, don’t worry. This is a spectacular location for a Halloween Date-Night. Grab a taco or hot dog from one of the vendors and sit at the many picnic tables to watch the various costumes pass by.
This is a must add to your halloween event list (and the haul of candy you receive doesn’t hurt too).
Let’s kick off our Halloween fun with some rad haunts around the country.
Dave & Kyle had a blast exploring “The Hill Has Eyes” in Franklin, Wisconsin last week. Despite having to channel their inner patience for the sun to set, both highly recommend checking this one out.
Before starting the maze, you’re brought down to the opening area where you can warm up by the fires, grab a drink (both alcoholic and kid friendly options) at the Umbrella Bar or treat yourself to some food from the many food trucks on site.
Kyle loved the Carni Vore maze. He’s not afraid of clowns but enjoyed watching others in his group who were. “They pulled off the scares really well. There was a kaleidoscope-like hallway that moved back and forth. Made me think I couldn’t walk straight!”
Continuing with Dead End, Failed Escape and Hunger Hollow mazes, this gets a big ol’ bloody thumbs up.
Both agree that with near 2 hour drive, a Chicago to Franklin roadtrip would be totally worth it for this haunt that is nestled just outside of Milwaukee.
After 2 years of social distancing, Jenny has ventured back to THE CON!
Los Angeles Comic Con - Dec 3rd - 5th, 2021 @ the Los Angeles Convention Center
By Jenny Robinson
It felt so good to be back on the floor at Comic Con! I will admit, I was a bit nervous. I was very impressed by the system LA Comic Con had in place to assure safety as we hopefully are coming out of this pandemic. The floor was busy and felt very welcoming. Vendors were stocked, and options were plenty. The main stage was a must-see with guests like Bruce Campbell , Frank Miller, Jason David Frank & David Yost from Power Rangers, Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series), Will Friedle (Batman Beyond), and John Glover (the Riddler) just to name a few. Side panels included the Women of Resident Evil, The cast of The Sandlot, and even a Trek Jeopardy Feud room.
All in all, it was an amazing “re-introduction” to Comic Con after being stuck in the house for close to two years. Everyone was in great spirit and I walked away feeling the love of the geek community strongly.
I truly love the “Con Life”. Thumbs Up LA Comic Con!
Mazes, monsters, and hidden bars...oh my! The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor is back and Atomic Geekdom's own Jenny and Patrick take it on with help from our friend Director Dave Palamaro. It's a scary good time! (evil laugh)
On March 22nd 2019, Atomic Geekdom hit the red carpet to talk with the cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Join us on the red carpet and dive into the characters first hand. Season 9 has been a gift to us comic book readers with its adaptation of the comic. It was a blast talking with the cast on how they see their characters and where they want them to go.
Atomic Geekdom would like to give a BIG shout out and thank you to Paley Center for yet another great year of fan coverage with Paley Fest. The organization provides such considerable attention to media that we are truly grateful. Please be sure to check out their site (www.paleycenter.org) for membership opportunities and other upcoming events.
This was my first time doing the Haunted Hayride. It has been on my list for years now since it screams Los Angeles. A haunt deep in Griffith Park at the old zoo, that alone is the makings of something great.
What I really enjoyed about this one was the community feel. It is much mellower than some of the other haunts, but I think that is what gives it some charm. Kids and adults alike can enjoy and be scared without any lasting trauma (but some keeping with some good jump scares). The kids we encountered were excited, parents were wide-eyed, and everyone having a blast. They do such a great job with costumes and set design, that gives it chemistry unlike any other. Piled in the back of a tractor full of hay, we round the trail with something new at every turn. The actors are what really bring this to life. From zombie rock stars to killer bikers, each embraced their rolls and had the spectators closest to the edge of the cart shrieking with terror and delight. I sat in the center and had an absolute blast watching everyone trying to avoid the ghouls as they lean in.
There are a few mazes to partake in as well. The “Trick or Treat” maze was a more safe for the younger crowds. Each door you approach had some new character to make you jump and interact with. On the opposite side of the spectrum was the “House of Shadows” maze. I will warn anyone with light sensitivity issues to maybe avoid. It took me a good half hour to get my head refocused when done. Noise, strobe lights, dead ends and mischievous characters leading you astray, by the end I felt the walls were moving on me. So in summary it gives you anxiety, which is what an intense maze should.
Take a ride through the woods of L.A. and enjoy being scared within nature.
Article by: Jenny Robinson / Video by: Patrick Nagy / Photos by: Scott Feinblatt
Halloween events always try to make each new year bigger and better. Some succeed, some fail and some stay “as is". This is our second year attending Dark Harbor in Long Beach, CA and they really outdid themselves!
We were lucky enough to attend ScareLA for the second year and a row and had an absolute blast. As avid fans of the horror genre and just spooky stuff all around, there was an endless amount of awesome things to see (…and buy if you have the cash). Here’s a look at some of the things you might have missed out on if you weren’t able to attend!
(Filmed: Patrick Nagy & Jenny Robinson-Nagy / Edited: Patrick Nagy)
Convention season is upon us and the coverage here at Atomic Geekdom is coming in fast and furious. Long Beach Comic Expo came and went with Justin, Jenny, and Patrick filming the entire event! Check out our video below and the photo gallery below that and if you're in our footage, let us know! @AtomicGeedom on Twitter and Instagram!
Jenny had a chance to visit the Long Beach Comic Con a couple weeks back! She had a blast walking the floor and meeting a ton of cosplayers! Check out the video below with some of the highlights and also the photo gallery at the bottom of the post!
We were found wondering the Pasadena Convention Center over the weekend of August 6-7th. This was our first time at ScareLA which started back in 2013 as the “first fan convention dedicated to celebrating Halloween”.
