I was BEYOND excited when Medieval Times invited me and my friends to experience their dinner and tournament – the show I begged my parents to take me to for years to no avail. Well, after watching their flag happily flutter from my condo window for years, my patience finally paid off this weekend. And it was totally worth the wait!!
I immediately felt like a kid when I walked through the castle doors (always a good thing in my books). The operations manager was kind enough to take me and my friends on a private tour. Eeek! He escorted us to the Courtyard of Andalusians, the knighting ceremony in the Hall of Arms and then through to the Grand Ceremonial Arena where we met the Royal Falconer!! This was definitely a highlight for my hubby who is obsessed with birds. We got to meet Guinevere – a beautiful falcon who later soared over our heads during dinner.
We then made our way backstage where the Knights of the Realm were busy prepping for the show. This is where the magic happened – something many people only dream of – I met my knight in shining armour!! He was dreamy and took the time to introduce us to the beautiful horses.
We learned about how the knights are trained and got a sneak peek of their armour. Check out those ponytails!
Oh, and I got to try on a helmet…like my scary face?
On our way back to the arena we ran into none other than King Carlos himself! I obviously had to seize the photo op – when else would I have a chance to get a photo with a King?!
We could hear the crowd cheering as we approached the arena. My group was greeted by our amazing wench Cici who seated us in the green section. We proudly sported our crowns and waved our green flags while cheering for our knight.
The opening act was beautiful and showcased the magnificent Andalusians (the preferred mounts of knights and royalty in the eleventh century). They were so graceful! The arrival of the King and Princess signalled the celebration and, more importantly, the royal feast: garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, oven-roasted chicken (the size of our heads), herb-roasted potato, spare rib and apple strudel. Needless to say, we ate and drank until our buttons popped off. AND we got to eat with our hands, which was oddly satisfying…
It was a bit difficult to digest with all of the excitement during the tournament! Six armour-clad knights fought to become champion as we devoured our meals. We cheered as loud as we could for the green knight (I almost lost my voice) and he WON!!!
After the show we stopped by the dungeon to check out various medieval torture devices (this was interesting, but creeped us out) and then quickly moved on to see the cool swords. They allow guests to hold everything – from magic wands to daggers.
Sigh, it was such a memorable experience! The food was great (much to our surprise), the entertainment was exciting and the service was spot-on. I wish I had gone when I was a kid, but I’ll just have to make up for it now. New goal in life: visit all nine Medieval Times castles in North America.
Oh and some fab news: the lovely folks at Medieval Times Toronto gave me four tickets to give away to one, lucky winner! To enter, just comment on this post (scroll all the way down to the “Leave a Reply” box) and tell me who you’d take with you and why.
Good luck m’ladies and m’lords!
Update: thanks to everyone who shared their comments. The lucky winner is Rachel L.!
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