I’ve visited Medieval Times numerous times throughout my childhood and it’s always been my favorite dinner show in Central Florida. There was always something special about the Royal Court, the beautiful horses, the heavy duty weaponry and the magic that seemed to encompass the castle itself. I got a rise out of watching the Knights duke it out for the hand of a fair maiden. The entire experience appealed to me.
Recently my family was invited to experience the brand new show at Medieval Times in Orlando, FL. I was pretty excited about this because I had seen the previous show about 5 times over a span of 15 years. I was eager to see the changes and when you consider how much work must go into re-choreographing such a show with actors and animals I knew it would be impressive!
We arrived a bit too early and that is one tip I have for families, don’t get there more than about 45 minutes before the show. Yes, there is a lot to look at and shopping to be done, but you can do all that in 45 minutes. Otherwise the kids might melt down. Mine did. Just take note. The entertainment before the show is great, they have a Falconer and most kids love birds, they have the King and Princess come out for pictures, there are Knights galore for the kids to interact with and the Lord Chancellor will talk to the crowd. There are things going on, I just know how small children can be when they know there is something better to come.
Once you get inside you are seated in a large stadium and served a choice of beverage. You’ll quickly notice a lack of utensils. As your delicious food is being served you’ll have to go at it by hand. Yes I said by hand, so roll up those sleeves and bring some extra hand wipes. The food is so good though and this is something I remember from my childhood and it hasn’t changed. The tomato bisque soup is still thick and creamy, even Spencer my 4 year old was happy to eat it and even asked his Grandma if he could have some of hers. You get a piece of chicken, a rib, garlic bread, an oven roasted potato and then a delicious pastry. None of these items are small so no worries about leaving hungry. I could have eaten more chicken though simply because I don’t eat carbs so I wasted a lot of the other food. If you have a special dietary restriction please call ahead because they won’t be able to help you at the last minute. I asked for a sugar free dessert and they had to bring me an apple and even that seemed to be hard for them to find. I’ve said this before in a review for another dinner show and I’ll say it again here, they really need a children’s menu. My kids simply weren’t thrilled with picking apart a piece of chicken or eating a rib. Simple chicken nuggets and fries with some apples and a cookie would be wonderful.
The show is very interactive as the Knights play to the crowd in competitions such as jousting and sword fighting. Little girls and boys alike will enjoy the beautiful horses as they perform beautiful dressage, a form of horse ballet if you may, for the crowd. But later those same horses duke it out in battle with the glorious Knights and plenty of fine Medieval weaponry and a fight to the death! There can only be one winner, who will it be?
Medieval Times really is my favorite of the local Central Florida dinner shows and I highly recommend it. There are some scary parts with heavy fog and dark lighting so keep this in mind if you have sensitive younger children. Young girls will love the Princess parts and will look forward to The Knights tossing flowers into the crowd. I always hoped to catch a flower as a child. Don’t forget this is a brand new show so whether you’ve seen it before or not it’s time to check it out again! For prices, hours and location please visit http://medievaltimes.com/orlando/
*I received media tickets. All opinions are my own.
Someday I will get down to see one of these shows, we don’t have them on this scale up here in New England.