The last time I went to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament was for my birthday about four or five years ago. There was a large group of us, we drank too much and had a good time. I couldn't tell you, though, for the life of me how the show was. I barely paid attention. Last week, we got a chance to go to the grand re-opening of Medieval Times with a new stage show and expanded menu so we jumped at the chance. While Henry is still a little bit young for such a show (dinner doesn't start until 8:00pm for most shows), Matt and I happily trekked along with a few friends. I was more than pleasantly surprised. The Medieval Times new show has a lot of great stuff and it's something that the whole family can enjoy.
Medieval Times, for those who haven't been, is a live stage show that is set in the 11th century in a castle where knights joust and fight for the King and his lovely daughter and you, the people of the kingdom. What they have done for the newly revamped show is add more fights, new story and have created a show more centred on the horses that the knights ride. And the horses are beautiful.
The show opens with something that wasn't there last time — The Liberty Horse. The horse is gorgeous and it does a series of complicated moves, choreographed without a rider. The horse's trainer is in the ring with him but he mostly just stands there. My friend Ari and I were literally in tears watching the stallion do his moves. His trainer was beaming ear to ear, too. To call it epic would be an understatement.
Included in your ticket is a meal that is served throughout the course of the show (off and on for about 1.5 hours) and it's alright. You get tomato bisque and garlic bread to start, the main course is a half chicken with BBQ spare rib, herb roasted potato and a pastry for dessert. I didn't know until this visit that they also do Kosher, Halal, gluten-free, and vegetarian options. So basically, anyone can eat at Medieval Times.
We cheered mercilessly for our Green Knight, but alas, he was killed by the Red Knight (who later informed me over twitter that it was due to the non-lady-like hand gestures Ari and I were showing him from our seats while booing). And we had an absolute riot of a time. We got to see all the horses before the show and afterwards, you can meet your knights as they come out into the castle.
While Medieval Times isn't a cheap outing — you'll probably spend around $200 for tickets for a family of four — it's definitely worthwhile for a once-in-a-lifetime birthday or event. And in honour of the new show, they're selling adult tickets at about $45 and kids for $35. Hell, a couple at our table had TWO bottles of Moet Champaign for whatever they were celebrating. TWO. Pop and water are included in your meal ticket, and they do about 4-5 shows a week including a Sunday matinee. When we went for my birthday a few years ago, we had enough people to get a group rate and I got a few extra perks including a free photo of our group (with one of the falcons from the show) and a $30 voucher for the gift shop and all I had to do is call.
I honestly can't say enough great stuff about Medieval Times and if you can, I highly recommend taking your kids out for a fun show. Under five may be a little too young, but over 5 should be just fine.
Even just wearing the paper crown is super fun. I wore mine all the way home.
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