Halloween Horror Nights 2022 brought back the dining experience known as “Scareactor” dining. This popular themed dining experience used to happen at Universal Studios Classic Monsters Café. Since that has been closed for a new dining experience, the “Scareactor” dining moved to Louie’s Italian Restaurant. Not many details were given this year about the dining event before it started September 2^nd. If you desire a better idea of what to expect, I hope this article helps. I would like to express many thanks to “ThatOrlanDave” for the photos of the event.

Since this dining event happens at Louie’s, the place will not be totally decorated for a Halloween Horror Nights theme. Yet, Universal Orlando has done a good job creating an environment for this meal. Many decorations have been added to set the scarier theme for the character dining.

In addition, a photo staging area popped up with Louie’s Italian Restaurant. Based on the limitations, Universal Orlando did well with this space. Those of us more familiar with the scenery within the former “Monster’s Café” will reminisce about those decorations. Still, this looks decent for this event.

Since this is character dining, the “scareactors” play a significant role. The headliner, Michael Myers, hangs out around his photo op area. Other characters from the original themed houses and scare zones will roam the restaurant. The experience looks good. One valid criticism involves the lack of characters to actually speak with. Still, based on this year’s Halloween Horror Nights 2022 themes, these characters work well.

Of course, a key aspect involves the quality of the food. When this dining got announced, I doubted the expected level of food quality. Universal Orlando would be using a quick service location for a more upscale dining experience. This situation reminded me of the old days of Marvel Character Dining over at Café 4 in Islands of Adventure. That Marvel event worked but the food tasted just okay. However, character interactions were amazing at Marvel dining.

So how was the food on opening weekend for this “scareactor” dining? Based on several reports, the food at this character dining beats the quality of the former Marvel dining. Though nothing served would count as premium dining. However, most of the food exceeded standard expectations. Considering you are dining at a quick service restaurant; it sounds like Universal Orlando did a good job with the cuisine so far.

Now, you will need to decide if this meal merits the $54.99 that the buffet costs. Obviously, you can fill yourself up with food to save on spending money during the actual Halloween Horror Nights event. In addition, dining here will give you early access to a few houses like the Blumhouse house.

This dining experience makes a relaxing “stay and scream” location. Yes, there are pros and cons about this dining. I suspect most guests will find this dining a positive for their Halloween Horror Nights experience. Whatever you decide, enjoy the spooky! As always, eat like you mean it!