Scare Actor Dining

I forget exactly where it originated from but here's a screenshot.

 

Looks like that was just a play on the "Chance" in the ad for dining. If she is available (or an acceptable stand in) I am all over it. Well worth the price IMO

 

It's probably also worth mentioning this as another option for those looking to get photos with Chance. By the time you pay for admission it probably works out the same, just a very different experience obviously.

 

We went last Friday, (and went to the first sitting of the first night last year for comparison).

• Food was OK. Worse than last year. Seemed like more generic flavorless sides and more time spent under a heat lamp. Last year's food was more interesting and fresher.
• There was a Michael Myers and a Tree Witch character walking around among the tables. They were great with the interactions and scaring while eating, and posing for pictures etc. Last year there was lots more characters. The two this year were great but there were clearly fewer than last year.
• Then there was Chance. She ignored half of the tables in the room. It's not like she was on a specific pattern and eventually circled back to certain tables - she just walked the fsck past people.
• On her second pass through the room a short time later with the same guests at the same tables (it's not like the tables were turned over and new guests were there etc.) she did the same thing. Re-visiting with the same people and ignoring the same people. Being at one of the loser tables I finally got up to chat with her photographer/handler. He kinda weaseled out and said that she goes where she wants to go and he has no control.
• I am not normally a big complainer about this kind of thing but if the event is billed around Chance specifically, she better damn well stop at every table. On the way out, I asked for a manager and calmly explained what our issue was. The manager gave an explanation saying basically that they had changed how Chance went to tables because some guests had complained that she was spending too much time at some tables and not at others. WTF? The solution to that isn't to make the time spent at some tables 0 minutes.
• Last year there was a specific location for character M&G pictures that were included with the package. The Usher, Storyteller, etc. were there to take pictures. This year there was no such thing - it was supposed to be replaced by Chance at your table.

So in conclusion, I can't recommend this event, and would not do it again next year.

 

Thanks for the report,I went last year and was considering booking again but with that setup I will pass. Maybe that is why they are adding an A&D person to 10/1 and 10/8 to flesh it out a bit

 

I totally agree.

This was my first year doing the experience, so I can't compare it to the previous year.

I went on Saturday, Sept 17.

I personally thought the food was delicious. The meat was tender and tasty, the sides were fine and the desserts delicious.

It's the scareactor part that killed me. We went when Tim and Jenn Tracker were there, as well as View from the Cheap Seats' Kyle and Zombie Chris (all of whom were very friendly, polite and unassuming).

We saw 4 scareactors - pumpkin man, myers, a gnarled wood monster, and a chainsaw geisha. "Chance" was also there (not Erin, of course).

I feel as though part of this was my fault. I wanted to book the dinner and did so at a kind of crappy time (5:15), which conflicts directly with my wanting to get to the event on time, so we didn't stay for 2 hours. Maybe an hour. I often hear that the "best" experience and most value comes from sticking around as long as you can.

With all of that said, we had to literally chase Myers down to get a photo. The other mentioned actors popped by once for a quick photo, and Chance stopped at our table for about 30 seconds. I thought to myself that it wouldn't be our only shot with her, but realized afterwards that the photographer took our "digital photo" while she stopped by the table to briefly insult us before immediately disappearing and not returning.

So, to get a group shot - we had to chase Chance down to do that at the end of our dinner.

At the end of the day, I thought the food was very good but I felt like I rushed myself - my own fault. Chance's interactions were almost non-existant, and I was shocked there was no "photo area" where you get your well-lit shots instead of your crappily lit selfies.

I was also quite disappointed that Erin wasn't doing the scareactor dinner, but by the time it rolled around I was absolutely positive she wouldn't be.

I wouldn't do this again, based on the high price tag.

 

We went first night and all the scare actors were really attentive, Chance visited all tables (that I could see) Wonder what happened?

 

I agree with your points. We went last year and this year. I also felt the food was better last year...maybe it was helped that the chef was there last year to brag about everything he had come up with, I didn't see him this year.

I guess we were at a good table as we did get a few chances w/ chance, but I did find the photo op change a bit odd but I figured it had changed when I saw the photographer with chance.

We did enjoy it though and it was a decent meal. I did feel bad for some other guest though. We were talking with some guy and his son at the table next to us. They were excited to get started on houses, so I asked an employee (for them really) about early entry to the houses (like stay and scream)...the guy started talking about it being an up charge...I did my best to clairify what I was asking...he went off and asked someone else, came back and said they would tell us when we could go.

Well, I do not think he was coming back, so when I heard the event BGM start, I suggested we go out to the patio to see if we were realsed (and we were), so I at least helped them get a start before gates opened, but man, their employees should have been more helpful in letting them know they could get at least one house in with S&S

 

and one w the Family

 

I have reservations for this dinner next week, after reading the reviews on here, I was wondering if maybe I should request to be seated in a specific area in order to get photos with the scare actors?

Brand new to posting here so I apologize if there's any mistakes, but any & all help is greatly appreciated as I'm not quite sure whether I should cancel my reservation or not!

Thanks in advance! -Allison

 

The thing this year is that the photographer really only takes your picture with Chance and it is done at your table....so if she comes by early in your meal, try and make sure you get the photos/interactions you want for she may not come back by. The other actors that come around, you need your own camera/phone/something.

Last year, actors came around to the tables that you needed your own camera for, but the for the free download, they had a seperate area where you could get a picture taken with Storyteller and or Caretaker (at least that was my experience).

We did enjoy it and it is more comfortable than a some of the S&S areas (if you have an early seating).

 

I just realized from you pic that Chance is wearing a wig.

 

Having the one professional photo with Chance is great, I'm just worried now that she might not come to our table. I'll have my phone with me for photos with the other scare actors in attendance but I am really hoping to get a picture with Michael Myers!

It's a shame that they don't have the photo set up with Chance in the same way it was last year, as it does sound like it was easier to do.

Our reservation is for 5:15, so the plan is just to have dinner and hopefully get some fun interactions with the scare actors as they come around!

Your photos are great by the way!!

 

Mike & TJ are here tonight and Chance has been methodically going from table to table to do the photo op. Not sure how it'll progress later into the night. Depending on how they seat later arrivals, it could all fall apart.

 

Went Friday night, September 30. Had seating at 5pm and was let in a few minutes prior. Check in was easy and a breeze. Every single person working this event, in my opinion, went above and beyond; offering to carry your food to the table for you, cleaning your table, encouraging you to get more food, etc...

Michael Myers came around first and interacted with every single table in the room (we were seated in the Sci-Fi room). A banshee came over and did the same thing. Chance stopped at each and every table and made it a point to speak to each person at the table. We joked with her that one person in our party kept forgetting her name and she threatened to slice his neck if he even muttered the name Harley Quinn. The pro photographer took two photos of Chance with each of us and discreetly gave us the pass card.

We thought the food was good for an all you can eat, mass produced buffet. Beef was tender. The pasta was a bit bland, but I got over it. A bartender walked around asking about drinks but was not pushy at all.

We got in a bit before 5, started eating immediately and around 5:45 decided to walk outside and the park was already open. We started towards The Exorcist and noticed they were letting people into AHS and went there (glad we did as we waited maybe 15 minutes and as we exited, the wait was already up to 65).

I would recommend it if you want a nice relaxing place to 'stay and scream' with some decent food and a roof over your head. The air conditioning was a bonus!

 

Great review man! Looks like they've taken some of the initial feedback on board and are ensuring that all tables get a good amount of attention from all the roaming actors.

 

I'm glad they seem to have improved things.

 

We attended on 10/8 and I'm so glad we did cause we had a really good time!

We originally had reservations on 10/6, but due to the hurricane cancelling everything we were able to move our reservation to the same time on Saturday. Our reservation was for 5:15 but we were let in earlier, I didn't check the exact time though.

I figured it'd be really crowded, but it was shockingly pretty empty. The section where we were seated was close to full but the other rooms back near the bathrooms only had a few tables occupied.

Moving through the buffet line was a breeze. I really enjoyed my food, however, I am a vegetarian and since all the entrees included meat the chef made the pasta dish without meat for me. It took some extra time so it was hot & fresh when I got it, which could be why I liked it. My mom tried a little bit of all the entrees offered but didn't care much for them. We both really liked the cakes for dessert though! I also loved that the Coke freestyle machines were free flowing.

The scareactors made their way into our room-don't know the name of it, but we were next to a bust of the Wolfman-midway through dinner. Chance stopped by multiple times throughout the night and she was fabulous. We absolutely loved her she was so funny & so nice!! Michael Myers took a lot of time taking pictures with us, and we also had really great interactions with the geisha, pumpkin man & the banshee character. To be perfectly honest we had better interactions with the characters here then at the character meals we've had in previous years down the street.

So despite my mom not loving her food, the scareactor dinner was still the highlight of the night for us. We received a survey from Universal about it, and they asked questions about next year so we're hoping it'll be available again cause we'd actually love to go back!

Also, I have a question about something in regards to the dinner that I was wondering if I could PM to someone that might be a lot more familiar with the event than I am? Thanks in advance!

 

What's the question? Post here so that all may share in the info.