Storybrooke Heritage Park

Storybrooke Heritage Park
Storybrooke Location
General Information
Status:	Existing
Character Affiliations
Visitors:	Charon Eighteen Dark Ones † David Nolan Elsa Emma Swan Fury Gorgon † Henry Mills Hook King Arthur † Leroy Mary Margaret Blanchard Mr. Gold Nimue † Regina Mills Robin Hood † Roland Zelena Zoso †
Show Information
First appearance:	"The Tower"
Latest appearance:	"Last Rites"
Relevant Pages

“

This pond holds a portal to the Underworld itself.

”

—The Darkness, under Rumplestiltskin's appearance, to Hook ^src

Storybrooke Heritage Park is a Storybrooke location on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the fourteenth episode of the third season.

History

During Second Curse

When Henry returns to Storybrooke during the second curse, he has no recollection of his adoptive mother, Regina, and growing up there. He spends the day with Regina (although he only knows her as the mayor of Storybrooke), who treats him to ice cream, and they take a walk in the Storybrooke Heritage Park, by the duck pond. Henry relates his concerns about his biological mother to Regina, suspecting she dragged him to Storybrooke for more than work-related business, and believes Emma is struggling since turning down Walsh's proposal. ("The Tower")

On a different day, Henry meets up with Emma by the duck pond. Emma sadly reveals her reason for coming to Storybrooke was to save his biological father from bad people, but she was too late and he died as a result. ("Quiet Minds")

After Second Curse

During a celebration at the diner, Hook hints that Emma desires to leave town. Emma eludes the issue by leaving the diner. Hook finds her sitting on a bench by the pond. He comes over and hands Emma Henry's storybook to show her the family she will be leaving behind. Emma, however, only sees fairytale stories in the book and believes she doesn't belong. The conversation is cut short when Emma notices the strangle light coming from Zelena's time portal. Together, they run off to investigate. ("Snow Drifts")

Emma is planning to get rid of her own magic in an effort to protect her loved ones. As she's standing beside her car, overlooking the Storybrooke Heritage Park duck pond, Emma calls her mother and informs her that she found a way to fix everything. Mary Margaret is shocked by what Emma has to say next, and tries to reason with her daughter, before being hung up on. After finding out about Emma's plans, Elsa proceeds to use a Locator Spell to track down her friend. After pouring a potion on Emma's scarf, Elsa follows it through the Storybrooke Heritage Park, to an abandoned mansion. ("Smash the Mirror")

During a trip to the park, Robin Hood and Regina sit at a bench while Zelena, who is masquerading as Robin's wife Marian, plays with his son Roland beside the duck pond. Robin tells Regina that he wishes to be with her, but suddenly, Roland calls to them after "Marian" fainted. Regina, recognizing "Marian" is freezing because of remnants of Ingrid's ice magic, suggests leaving town will save her life. Sacrificing her chance at happiness, she pushes Robin Hood to go with "Marian". ("Heroes and Villains")

On a rainy evening, Mary Margaret meets up with Regina by the duck pond. She confesses to Regina that she and David caused Maleficent to lose her child, and she asks her to keep the secret from their daughter Emma. She asks Regina to go undercover as a villain to find out Maleficent's plans. ("Unforgiven")

After the mysterious Author runs away, Emma and her parents search for him in the Storybrooke Heritage Park. David and Mary Margaret admit to Emma that they already know him, because he was the one who put them on the path that caused Maleficent to lose her child. Emma, who is already angry with her parents for lying to her about these events, is deeply upset. Her parents assure her that they've changed since then, and they only lied to her about this one incident, but Emma does not care care, and says that none of that matters now, since they need to find the Author before Mr. Gold does. ("Heart of Gold")

After Third Curse

A Fury, hoping to collect the price for unpaid magic, shows up and abducts Robin Hood. The demon brings the unconscious Robin to the park's duck pond. As the moon reaches zenith, a portal opens, and the ferryman, Charon, appears as the Fury prepares to drag Robin's soul to the Underworld. Regina, David, Mary Margaret, King Arthur and Leroy band together to save him, and the Fury backs off. The ferryman disappears into the mist. ("The Price")

Hook, who is now a Dark One, is standing at the spot where the Fury tried to abduct Robin. The Darkness informs him that the pond contains a portal to the Underworld. For a Fury, the portal only appears when the moon reaches zenith, but it's always existed. Hook opens the portal, and a boat appears, carrying all of the past Dark Ones, in the flesh. The first one to step off is Nimue, who tells Hook that it's time to get to work and snuff out the light. ("Broken Heart")

The Underworld only provides the Dark Ones with a temporary stay in the land of the living, and the only way for them to stay here is to trade places with living souls. The Dark Ones take Henry, Regina, David, Mary Margaret, Robin Hood and Mr. Gold to the duck pond to prepare them for transport to the Underworld. When Emma, who is also a Dark One, shows up to stop them, Nimue hits her with magic, telekinetically choking her. As Hook watches the woman he loves suffer, he has a change of heart. He takes all the Darkness into Excalibur, and all the Dark Ones, minus himself and Emma, are absorbed into the sword. He then sacrifices his own life by having Emma drive the sword through him, releasing them both from the darkness.

Emma is determined to bring Hook back, and returns to the pond with her family. Mr. Gold cuts his hand and drips the blood into the duck pond, opening up the portal. Charon appears, ready to transport them to the Underworld. As they begin their journey, Emma promises that she will find Hook. ("Swan Song")

After Emma and her family return to Storybrooke, Regina and Robin are standing by the pond when Regina's sister Zelena walks up to them. Robin wants to know where his infant daughter is, and Zelena answers that she is with Hades. Regina tries to convince her sister that Hades is not to be trusted, but Zelena angrily tells them that if she and Robin try to hurt him, there will be consequences. She teleports away in anger. ("Last Rites")

Trivia

• On-Screen Notes
• Production Notes
• Set Notes

On-Screen Notes

• This location is separate from the Storybrooke Wilderness Park.

Production Notes

• Burnaby's Central Park doubles as the Storybrooke Heritage Park for the show. The pond featured in every scene, is Central Park's Upper Pond.

Props Notes

• A third Storybrooke park, the Storybrooke Centennial Park, appears on Greg and Tamara's map of Storybrooke. ("Lacey")
• The Storybrooke Daily Mirror has an article about a hiking location called the Storybrooke Heritage Trail. ("A Tale of Two Sisters")
  • One of the classified ads in the newspaper is about a house located near the Storybrooke Heritage Park. ("Birth")

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Three
"The Heart of the Truest Believer":	"Lost Girl":	"Quite a Common Fairy":	"Nasty Habits":	"Good Form":	"Ariel":	"Dark Hollow":	"Think Lovely Thoughts":	"Save Henry":	"The New Neverland":	"Going Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"New York City Serenade":	"Witch Hunt":	"The Tower":	"Quiet Minds":	"It's Not Easy Being Green":	"The Jolly Roger":	"Bleeding Through":	"A Curious Thing":	"Kansas":	"Snow Drifts":	"There's No Place Like Home":
Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Four
"A Tale of Two Sisters":	"White Out":	"Rocky Road":	"The Apprentice":	"Breaking Glass":	"Family Business":	"The Snow Queen":	"Smash the Mirror":	"Fall":	"Shattered Sight":	"Heroes and Villains":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Appears
"Darkness on the Edge of Town":	"Unforgiven":	"Enter the Dragon":	"Poor Unfortunate Soul":	"Best Laid Plans":	"Heart of Gold":	"Sympathy for the De Vil":	"Lily":	"Mother":	"Operation Mongoose Part 1":	"Operation Mongoose Part 2":
Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Five
"The Dark Swan":	"The Price":	"Siege Perilous":	"The Broken Kingdom":	"Dreamcatcher":	"The Bear and the Bow":	"Nimue":	"Birth":	"The Bear King":	"Broken Heart":	"Swan Song":
Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears
"Souls of the Departed":	"Labor of Love":	"Devil's Due":	"The Brothers Jones":	"Our Decay":	"Her Handsome Hero":	"Ruby Slippers":	"Sisters":	"Firebird":	"Last Rites":	"Only You":	"An Untold Story":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent

Other Appearances

The Storybrooke Heritage Park is mentioned in the newspaper in "Birth".