Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Review, Baltimore/Washington D.C.

by EJ on 07/03/12

There's nothing like feasting on half a chicken with only your bare hands while armored men pummel each other with battle axes for your entertainment. This may sound like the stuff of medieval times and that's because it is - Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, to be exact. There are nine US locations nationwide, including the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. castle at Arundel Mills Mall, which we had the pleasure of visiting earlier this month. When Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament reached out to Four Little Monsters Blog, they explained how they'd just unveiled their new show, set in 11th century Spain.

Of course, I knew that Medieval Times would be a hit with my seven year old KM but I wondered what my special needs four year old LT would think of the show. Would he sit still? Would he get upset? When we arrived, and he saw the castle out the car window, he could hardly contain his excitement. Hubby and I didn't tell either child where we were going as we wanted to surprise them, which isn't normally how we handle new experiences with LT. Normally, we have to over prepare him for everything to keep him comfortable. With his eyes on the castle and with no clue what we were doing, LT just beamed. Unfortunately the new casino was opening that same weekend so we had to park light years away and LT put up with that just fine.

Once we were inside the Medieval Times castle and each of us crowned, LT's smile grew ever bigger. I was so proud of him and so excited for the rest of the evening to unfold before his eyes. KM was equally pleased. The employees who took our tickets and sat paper crowns on our heads, then ushered us over to meet King Don Carlos and Princess Catalina, were all dressed in impressive costumes.

The Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Royalty Package

After touring the main lobby, with its grand arched ceilings and dramatic stone floors, hubby and I took the kids by the hands and traversed through the crowd into the dining room/arena. We found our seats in the second row, on the left side of the arena, facing the castle balcony where the king and princess would soon greet the room.

The arena seating, comprised of banquet tables in a stadium format, each row higher than the one before it, circles around the "stage" which is actually a huge sand-filled space that stretches from one side of the arena to the other. Our table, located in the Royalty section, included preferred seating (pretty close to the action), a souvenir cup, a commemorative program, a cheering banner and a "Behind the Scenes" DVD.

* Diners who pay full price admission can actually get the Royalty package upgrade for FREE using the promotional code FRWEB through December 31st 2012.

The Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Experience

Just before the King and Princess arrived on the balcony stage, our waiter arrived with tea, soda and tomato soup. As the two hour show started, we were each served a sizeable round of seasoned bread. The King and other various actors laid out the show's plot, which was hard to make out at times. There was the Princess Catalina, King Don Carlos and suddenly the Herald of the North, who promised a bond between the two realms but I knew from the looks of him that he was up to no good. The Lord Chancellor, who paraded out into the sand pit on a gorgeous horse, introduced the knights of the realm.

Each section of the arena was assigned to a particular knight and our section stood behind the Black & White Knight, the warrior priest known as Don Iofre Santa Creu. Each section is marked with the appropriate colors of their knight and is instructed often and loudly by the various servers to cheer for that designated knight.

Before the jousting and thwacking of armor and weapons, however, the King and Princess treated guests to a breathtaking show of falconry, which involved a Falconer who stood in the center of the sand pit and a falcon that flew over the heads of guests in circles around the arena to music. Then the Andalusian horses were introduced. They were absolutely beautiful and they even glittered under the spot lights. 

Throughout all these initial introductory parts of the show, the remaining elements of our meals were brought out. The complete Bill of Fare included garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, oven-roasted chicken, spare rib, herb potatoes an apple pastry and drink.

* A vegetarian Bill of Fare is available upon request.

When the jousting finally began, LT got upset because somewhere along the line he'd gotten it into his head that he would be out fighting with swords in the sand. When he realized that he would be sitting the whole time, he got a bit grumpy. Soon enough he was chomping away on his huge cut of chicken and enjoying the battles.

While the jousting and battles are obviously rehearsed, there were some very impressive and tense moments. At one point, the Red Knight pulled a spiked bola off the wall to fight his adversary and the ball bounced back and smacked him in the hand (covered in armor, luckily). He paused and shut his eyes for a moment and just worked the pain right into his act. The various knights traded out their lances for swords, then went for battle axes and a mace. The colored sections of the arena shouted and screamed for their knights and some sections were much more obnoxious than others, which was all hilarious fun.

Before each battle, the knights would take a favor from the princess on the balcony and then proceed to their section and throw it out to a girl in that section. When our Black & White Knight tossed a carnation directly to KM, she thought she was something really special.

All of this battling went on for another hour and LT had completely cleaned his plate and worked his way toward KM's leftovers. The Red Knight won the whole tournament, then succeeded in defeating the Herald from the North as well, saving Princess Catalina from some doom I still hadn't been able to understand with all the noise in the room (I'm assuming they change out the winner every day so that the show isn't completely predicable).

Needless to say, we all had a blast and LT really handled the crowd and action well. He absolutely had to have a photo of himself with the King and Princess so to celebrate our great time, we gladly purchased a $20 photograph and book before leaving. He talked about kings and knights for days afterward and KM wrote all about her evening at the castle in her summer journal.

To Go Or Not To Go?

To Go! The Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament show is two hours long and includes a huge meal. The action is non-stop and regardless of whether or not you can actually hear the plot unfold, it's great entertainment. The actors, horses and weapons are all very impressive and adults and kids alike will get a thrill out of every spark between swords.

Not To Go!  The Medieval Times experience is pretty pricey and for a big family like ours, would be next to impossible to afford at whim. However, the experience is worth saving up for if you can!

Check out Medieval Times Special Offers and Discounts.

Regular priced tickets start at $56.95 per adult and $35.95 per child 12 and under. Upgrades are available for additional fees, including the King's Royalty Package, the Royalty Package and the Celebration Package.

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Four Little Monsters Blog received four complimentary admissions to Medieval Times for the purpose of this review. All opinions belong to the blogger.