I went to Castle Dark tonight for the first time. I must say that while it's a favorite of locals, the experience for me left a lot to be desire as a haunt fan. I'll provide a brief review of each of the mazes for the 2024 year with the exception of the VR attraction. Labyrith: I was aware that I was about to enter a maze but I didnt expect it to be a literal one. I walked around several minutes and forth not knowing what the final room was until I just decide to leave the maze altogether. A few monsters roam throughout the halls but nothing that made me feel like I was being chased or hunted down. Funhouse of the Demented: It's this year's clown maze for Castle Dark with clowns coming on the attack. It wasnt a memorable one despite this gimmick as there's a lot of dark hallways and those rooms are sparsely decorated with props. Even then none of the rooms stood out as it felt as if I was just rushing through the obstacles. Seance: Out of all the maze, this one at-least did something unique that I can give credit. Before entering, I was given a candle and entered a room to see different artifacts that appeared "cursed". Before I was even given a chance to explore this room, I was lead to the seance and then the chase began. It was a maze that has more heart to it but it struggled still with black walls,narrow corridors and Sections with nothing happening. The maze also has the strangest climax being that it ended at a gift shop,which is not themed to the maze, that sells light-up glowing wearable. As for the scare actors, they give a good performance despite what they are given with including the sliders that appeared pulled right from Knotts. Whether in the maze or out In the scoreline, they make the scares work being as creative as they can with their equipment. I only did two rides, the antique cars and the train, but didn't do any shows. The fact that I did all of the mazes in less than 30 minutes may seem good but when there's not much halloween exclusive things to do at the park , then it feels as if the money could have been spent elsewhere for a better payoff. I am aware that this is major haunt in Southern California due to its long history. Yet it felt more like a home backyard haunt than something made for an amusement park. Unless Casle Park decides to hire creative directors,increase the investment to even include a facade in front of the mazes, and add more exclusive halloween haunt experiences, this looks to be my first and last visit to Castle Dark. read more

See all

10/10 would recommend for a great small distraction from your daily life,great value for your buck and the lines are pretty speedy. read more

Castle Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

My review is actually about Castle Dark, and this was my first time there. I drove for LA about an hour and to be honest it wasn't worth the drive for us. I do appreciate all the effort the scare actors put in so bravo to them, but I feel like it was kind of a half-assed event. We went to 2 mazes (I thinks that's all there was? Maybe the others were just shows? ) and the first maze was really good , the one by the arcade was pretty boring but I did appreciate how they separated people by their groups so they get all the scares in (though that might've made the lines a bit longer on the wait times but nothing crazy). We went on a Sunday so the event was only 7-10 so not much time to do to much. We went to the mazes, tried to do some mini golf, go our tasting treat snack package and 1 ride. So unfortunately we could not get to see any of the shows or do any arcade stuff or other rides. The treat tasting card was a good value but to be honest was not very good food. We had the fried pbj (which we could only do one bite of) the voodoo fries might've been good if the workers hadn't forgotten about making it of something (two other people order after us and they got their food pretty fast and before us and though there were multiple employees around talking, when the food finally came the chicken was cold and pretty hard). Also got the mango slushie and it was soooo overly sugary I took a sip and just threw the rest away. If you go though just pay for the parking ahead of time. I don't know if Castle PARK is better, or if I would've had a better experience if I lived nearby and had an annual pass but for me it was not worth it. The idea of it all seemed great but the execution was just not well thought out. Once again shout out to all the scare actors though! read more

Castle Park always has great deals. Been here a lot with my family! Staff members are kind and helpful. Def recommend purchasing season passes, they come with a lot of different perks. Lines are never long. Cove area is pretty cool for the young kids(highly recommend renting a cabana, its just convenient) read more

Evelyn is the nicest operator in the whole park she gives off really great energy :) Very outstanding performance! read more

If you're expecting Disneyland, or even Knott's, this is not it...and that's ok. This review is strictly about the amusement park portion of this Riverside everything to everyone arcade/mini golf behemoth. The attraction: a couple dozen rides it seems , most requiring at least 48 inches in height to ride or ride alone but enough there for littler ones too Games, water park (included in the price of admission but we didn't participate), and even live shows (kids enjoyed the Dance party at the Big Top) The food: what you would normally expect at a place like this. Funnel cake, burgers, pizza, etc. Took advantage of the free food with purchase of 4 tix, pretty good deal. Food was actually ok They have beer tho! Staff: Nice enough...mix between middle aged men questioning all their life decisions and college/high school kids at their summer jobs. They are visible and present which is most important. Vibe: went on a Saturday late afternoon (too hot to go earlier) and it was chill. Family friendly and very mix crowd where foreign tourists are in line next to "Kicker" and his homies next to Jim and Michelle from Irvine next to a single mom with her 8 kids :) Overall, yes it's more county fair than Disneyland but the amount of fun/dollar ratio is great Recommend and will be back again! read more

Bought year pass for myself and granddaughter. Rides are old and don't work all the time. Log ride didn't work due to conveyer belt breaking with riders on it. (scary). Very run down. It reminds me of a low class carnival. Lifeguards at water Park non attentive. Golf course run down filled with weeds. Tree roots lifting asphalt. Very sad. Save your money. Not worth it. Scary at night. Alot of very young kids at night and rude. DON'T GO,!!! Big top dirty inside. No shows. read more

have been coming for years just for mini golf it's still as fun as I remembered the only problem that's still remains is the bathrooms not being cleaned they have been a issue for years I'm surprised it has still continued. It's not just your usual amusement park dirty I mean haven't been cleaned in months they smell and the toilets look yellow the sinks are bad I think that all custodians do is take the trash out and fill the soap but everything else nope! read more

Rodolfo Julián and Estrella really good They instructed us good and are friendly 100/10 Summit Church appreciate it read more

Castle Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

Plan your trip ahead, save some money and buy online. This place is well maintained and probably will be here for some time yet! I'd avoid the mini golf course in the afternoon in a summer day though. read more

See all

We bought 12 season passes for ourselves and grand kids. Some Platinum and some standard. We bought these because it's closer to home than 6flags. But 6 flags is cheaper on season passes. I understand that this is an old park and back in it's day was probably very nice. These rides are always broken down or not open. As we continue to come to try to get our money's worth somehow, it just gets irritating rides are closed/broken, obviously under staffed and I'm seeing mismanaged. The only reason I haven't asked for a refund is because it's still close enough to my house to bring the grandchildren while they're here.it's the end of June and the water park (that we paid to use) is not open either. They had a year to fix the issues here and yet they aren't fixed. read more

Castle Park - Broke down rides 2 weeks and counting. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

If you want people to come to the park allow cash not everyone has card to buy a damn soda I gave y'all 6 bucks for it and everything and that old bitch didn't give me it even after she poured it "card only" I had the right amount and everything. read more

5 stars strictly for Jose in the arcade!!! I'm here now and while playing a game where you throw balls at the clown, my ring slipped off my finger and went inside the game. Frantic I went to the prize counter and asked Jose for help. He went over and beyond and opened up the game and crawled in to find my ring. Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!! read more

Castle Park - The trinity ring that I almost lost! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

Mitchell at the water park is absolutely pronominal. He keeps his line in check and is so very helpful with the small children. 10/10 my friend!!! read more

Castle Park - Castle park Riverside CA - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

This is the worst part I have ever been to. not recommend it at all. The website says it's open from 1:00 pm. I went there at 3:00 but all the gates were closed. Nobody answers the phone. Their website is a Bn nightmare too. They just don't let me register so I could not refund my money. Don't waste your time. read more

Castle Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

See all

My 6-year old son loved it here!!! We came for the mini golf. The pricing is pretty confusing. I think you can just pay for mini golf, but that wasn't clear to me. The bronze pass is the same price as a 1-day admission, so that's what we got. It includes all 3 mini golf courses and all the rides. It took a long time to get the passes at the guest services desk after we got into the park. Security was typical--bag check and metal detectors. The place is clean, but all the attractions are pretty run down, & the mini golf courses look pretty rough. It could definitely use some TLC and updating. However, it didn't take away from the fun for us. We will definitely be back in order to use our passes and only pay for parking next time. Beware that carnival games & the arcade are additional costs. We didn't eat or drink here today, but likely overpriced carnival food as stated in other reviews. read more

See all

The employees are incredibly slow. They go at a snail's pace when it comes to getting people on rides and serving food. The bathrooms are also not clean. It is incredibly disappointing everytime I go. read more

The service is bad. They banned me in my friends from a ride called Merlin's revenge because we were singing and they also made me and my friends throw up. We were going on a ride that would make you spin and they made it faster than normal because we told them not to and so me and my friends threw a horrible service. read more

Castle Park is a small but cute theme park. It's very reasonable for the entire family, compared to other theme parks. We payed $24 for each person and $15 for parking, we got them online so they just scanned our phones when we arrived. They have many rides for small kids and a few for teens and the entire family. We arrived around 1 which wasn't packed at all, the lines were very short no longer than 5 min wait. Also they don't take cash at any of the shops or food places so they have machines to easily put cash onto a card for free. There are many seating areas all throughout the entire park. And many under shade. I definitely would recommend bringing your little ones to this place. read more

See all

I have driven past castle park for years! I finally decided to check it out. It is a decent amusement park however, the rides are pretty old. I still had fun but when I looked around, i noticed trash around the park. read more

We have never had a bad time here. As Annual pass holders this place is just great family fun. Really miss the spider ride, however love Castle Park. read more

Castle Park - Chillen at Buccaneers Cove. Castle Park is a family fav!! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

Most people work there are nice. Almost don't need to wait on weekdays. My four year old son love it. read more

Castle Park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

See all

It's like the entire left side of the park is closed. Staff were super kind! Food was bland but at least hot and fresh. It was 5th grade field trip day. The kids had fun but I'm not sure why so many rides were not working with so many kids here today. The kids still had fun but man, get the rides all going to an accommodate special days like this. read more

The worst choice I made for my daughters 7 th birthday. She was charged full price and was not let on 90 % of rides cause she is too small . There are height restrictions on every ride . If your kid is under 50" this is not the place . Plus half of the rides or under maintenance. Spend your hard earned money somewhere else please read more

It's small enough that you can't really lose your group, but big enough that you have plenty to do. I liked the little train ride and love the peacock! Funnel cakes were the best. read more

Bought tickets for my 3 boys to go Castle Dark. They are 20, 19 and 14 years old. Prior to buying the tickets I read thru all the mumbo jumbo that they had on the post for the tickets. I saw 2 or 3 times not recommended for kids under 13. NOWHERE did I see anything that minors needed to be accompanied by an adult over the age of 21!!!!! So the kids get to the park and the little one can't get in. I call up to the park to find out what's going on and they said it on the web page, the employee was unable to find it himself. So this little clause is no where on their ticket page, like really Castle Park??? I had to buy another ticket and my daughter walked him in, and walked out. This was the first time going to this event and the last. Castle Park you should be ashamed of yourself!! read more

This place is cool! I've been here quite a lot. The service is always good, never any problems. Everyones always helpful when it comes to the games they have. I feel the pricing is reasonable, never too expensive. I've never had any issues here when I would come in. try checking this place out, you'll love it!! read more

I am reviewing this based on just the mini golf experience. I loved it! They have 4 different tracks you can take so if you get stuck behind people, just go to another track. Their decorations are also so fun with different themes in each, and well thought out at that. I bought the unlimited mini golf for the day online and thought the price was so fair for unlimited. I'm glad I got an outdoor experience here with mini golf instead of some of the indoor options at other places. It's in the back of the theme park so you have to pay $10 for parking then walk all the way towards the end but I loved the experience. read more

See all

CASTLE DARK REVIEW: literally only two monsters walking around the entire park for 4 hours. Then I realized that 6 more monsters were all standing by the exit scaring people as they leave, but no other monsters throughout the park. We paid $170 for our tickets and it wasn't worth it this year!! Not sure if the other monsters called off last night, but if you are going to hold a Halloween event, then pay for extra employees when you have families who are willing to pay for this. Save your money and go to Knotts Scary Farm where the scare and monsters are guaranteed. I will not be going back next year. read more

This is a review specifically for Castle Dark 2023. I really like Castle Park as a local on regular days. It's a cute local theme park with a great mini-golf. But I'm compelled to write a review for Castle Dark 2023 because it's so bad. Marketing grossly inflated the expectations. Of all the haunted attractions advertised, there are only two actual walkthroughs. The Cinema of Fear Traditional walkthrough. Pretty empty with cavernous rooms and hallways. Decorations are minimal but okay and get the vibe across. Okay number of scare actors, that doubled as guides to point you away from exits. It would be a huge improvement if it were compressed so the few elements that they do have are better presented. Night Shift Traditional walkthrough with a small flashlight. The flashlight is the "interactive" part. Supposed to be a toy factory but almost 99% empty inside. Mostly just wall panels with paint. You basically walk in the dark hallways with no decorations, and then get jump scares from actors. A good number of scare actors. The actors do try so I commend them for it. If you just want to get jump scared you'll have fun. If you're looking for anything else, stay away. Haunted Highway Cute decorated Antique Cars ride track, with a couple of scare actors outside the fence. This is mostly a kids attraction. Shipwreck Cove This is a total joke. It's a pathway around the water slide with netting. When we went through, there was 1 pirate and 1 mermaid actor. Devoid of lighting, sound, and decorations. It's really just a path to The Cinema of Fear. Slider Alley This was 1 show on Sunday night. Not a haunt. We missed it but it's your typical Slider show. Camino de los Muertos A decorated zone that's not actually available during Castle Dark evening. It's a kids/family thing in the afternoon. The shrine was nice but it's not really an attraction for Castle Dark. The scare actors overall, especially the ones in the park, together with the overall park atmosphere are probably the best part of Castle Dark. The haunts and decorations are nothing compared to all the good home haunts, let alone compare to Knott's. If someone's just looking to hang in a theme park, and get jump scares from actors, it's more than adequate. No shade here as this is a perfectly legit audience. If you are looking for any level of production value, story, or cool props, this year's Castle Dark is not what you want. read more

Worst customer service ever, I have left a minimum of five detailed messages just asking to see if they were open on Thanksgiving because I pre-purchased tickets for my whole family and friends already. Not one person has attempted just to leave me a message or get back to me in any manner, I hate to leave negative as anyone can see by my post if I do, it has been beyond reason that I've made several attempts to rectify things, I pray they have enough money to get someone to reply to customers to help their business and their customer service area. Thank you. read more

Patricia, Tyler and Danielle are amazing! They really made our experience much better! Thank you, Castle Park! Will be back many many more times! read more

Went for the first time today with my husband and four girls all under the age of 8. We got the deal where tots were free and Groupon deal where my husband and I got in for $20 each. So we all got in for $80 which we thought was great! I think going in with the proper expectations is the key to a good time. This is better than a mini golf and arcade park but by no means can be compared to Knotts or Disneyland. We loved how the waterpark is included in the tickets. The girls loved it but were excited to go on all the rides. All the rides are fair rides which was great height restrictions are reasonable. The food prices were also reasonable. Overall we'd definitely go back especially when they are having the deals to get in. read more

I have to say castle dark 2025 is a major disappointment. There is no sliders this year which is my favorite thing when it comes to haunt season! There. is such a big difference in out in streets scare actor cover to the amount in mazes. The ferry tales maze was just confusing the first several rooms had no theming really. then they had Cinderella in a bloody wedding dress with reindeers that look their from frozen. The out break maze was a different take on zombies and seemed like almost a knock off on last of us due to them being from flowers. Some of the actors costumes in that maze looked like Audrey II from little house of horrors. Midnight manner would have been cool if there was better work on the theming because it seemed like it's supposed to be spooky and ghost like but the scar actors again just didn't match that theme while also just having so few in the maze. Also the line control for all these mazes was nuts it was like a conga line in the maze and I wasn't able to experience a scare at all because I already knew it was gonna happen. Also with the lines the conga line wasn't even needed because there wasn't that many people in line in the first place. I was able to get through all three mazes in the first 15 minutes after rope drop which also to mention started late. read more

Been here several times. Not expensive like most parks. Kids love all the rides particularly the sea dragon. Attendants are helpful. Would recommend. read more

We were shocked with the $39.99 price for an adult ($34.99 for kids) but I guess if that included unlimited rides and mini golf.. I guess that's ok. We purchased the $14.99 for unlimited golf. There's four different courses. The courses may need some TLC. But the whole group had fun going through the 18 different holes. It takes probably about an hour to go through one whole course (we had 5 in our group). Golf course is by the arcade. The snack area is inside the arcade. Prices for food was kinda expensive (about $10 for pizza.. drink not included.. and didn't taste that great). They had a good arcade deal $5 for one hour unlimited play for rainbow scanners. Overall, kids had a blast! So would probably go again. read more

Castle Park - Arcade - Amusement Parks Near Me - Riverside, California

Rides are only open weekends and holidays. My most recent visit was on New Years day. I thought this place would be crowded but it wasn't. Half of the park is sectioned off and not operating. The open rides were operated by a single employee. He closed off one ride, then walks over and operates another one. We just follow him around the park. I wish the Ghostblasters ride and the carousel had been operating. Their website does not say which rides are open. Here is a list of rides closed or non-operating that day: ghostblasters merry-go-round log ride bumper cars space ships dragon flyer flying saucer tug boat riverside express train (the other train was operating) bumper cars whip So...what was open? We did the antique car ride three times...That was alright. The highlight of our visit was Anthony's magic show. His act utilizes live animals. It was really amazing and made our ticket price worth it. read more

See all

I grew up coming here and it made some great core memories for me . I decided to take my kids there since ever time we pass it on the fwy they want to go . Sad to say the owners have let this place get run down . Mini golf course has tears , most of the little buildings on the mini golf have been left to rot it seems , and the water fountains all over the park are now empty making it almost feeling like we're at a shut down park . There used to be so many more video arcade games inside the castle upstairs and downstairs ( not anymore) . Most of the games are to win tickets to win overpriced crappy china toys . They only do rides and water pad on weekends. Wish I new this before purchasing there annual passes ( I work weekends so can't fully enjoy the park ) . They definitely should of made that clear to me before purchasing. They mainly have young kids working there. There HR needs to teach them about smiles and being polite and caring for the park better ( we call it pride guys ) . It is a kids wonder park after all right . The food is substandard 7/11 style food . This place totally needs to rethink there business plan . Being Substandard isn't cool in 2023 . Maybe should look for new investors or reinvest into the park rather then there pockets . If your charging amusement park prices ya should keep up the parks quality. Maybe only try this place on the weekends. And be prepared the spend money. read more

Went here with my family, we really enjoyed it! The ride operator Erick M. did a really good job instructing us about the ride very good costumer service would 100% come again! read more

Went to castle park( Dark) for Halloween. Extremely disappointed. One of the haunted " mazes" was a regular ride with two random monster scaring you. To me this was a waste of money. I would not recommend to any of my friends. The parking was horrendous so we decided not too park inside, with a line that possible took us an hour to get in. On the website it stated it would be 10 dollars more if I didn't buy, when I finally arrived to the park it was the same price. Plus had to pay a 10 dollar fee so not even sure if I saved anything if I paid online or at the park. The restrooms smelled disgusting. Like people were just peeing on the ground. read more