My Adventure to Medieval Times

So last Sunday, I got to go to Medieval Times, which I’ve wanted to see for a while. The trip was actually a Christmas gift from my sister that she planned to take me on in January, but we waited a bit longer for COVID-19 to go back down, and it was definitely worth the wait. Anyway, here is my recap of the day and review of the Medieval Times show.

So, the day started with my sister and her boyfriend picking me up at noon. We drove to Medieval Times in Virginia, which took about half an hour from where I was. The first thing I noticed when we arrived was the front of Medieval Times, which looks like a castle. We hit a few bumps trying to find somewhere to be dropped off while my sister parked and found the entrance. The exciting thing is that the interior of the venue is set up like a box seat at an Arena, which I didn’t expect. After we got our tickets, we found our way to the seats, which were conveniently just a couple of steps down from the main floor (I walk with crutches, in case you did not know).

The dining experience was one of the most exciting parts of the whole thing. When you first sit down, the menu is placed on a napkin, and the server starts telling you about the show. We were served shortly after the show began, and I got tomato soup to start, with a slice of garlic bread to dip in it. For the main course, I had a large piece of chicken with corn on the side. Of course, they had the standard assortment of drinks, so I chose Pepsi. I thought they would have had creative names for the food items they offer, like wench water or something for soda.

The show takes place in Spain in what I believe is the 10th century, and they did a great job setting the stage with all the props and ambiance. The show's characters included the queen, someone who facilitated the sequence of the display and also showed up on a horse, and, of course, the knights (red, green, blue, and black & white), one of whom was a traitor. The knights fought in a tournament style, and they also sword-fought on the ground after one got knocked off from jousting. I thoroughly enjoyed the cast's acting, but the horses' showmanship was outstanding, too. They could do tricks like bowing to the crowd and standing on their hind legs. Side note: I also wondered where the horses were, if they were kept in a nearby stable or something, and how they got into the arena. I also wondered how long it took them to train the horses to learn all those tricks.

Anyhow, we ended up sitting in the section for the black-and-white knight. The Green Knight team was the most energetic group in the whole arena, and he won. I think my knight won one of his duels, but I, of course, had to use the bathroom mid-show. I also missed out on who the traitor was, which is a bummer. The other incredible animal they brought was a falcon, which they had to fly around. I had to have my glasses on for this part, mainly because I wanted to, of course, see everything, and that bird was just so small in a big arena. The downside of all the action was that it was hard to multitask and follow the underlying story, or even eat, because your brain is mesmerized by the sights and you don’t want to miss anything. I was very impressed with their fight and wondered who would win if they were dueling for real. There was a funny joke about Valencia oranges because the queen’s uncle was the Duke of Valencia, a famous region for orange groves, so one of the characters kept asking for oranges.

The show was about 2-3 hours long, so I got home around 5. I thought everything was fantastic—I did feel like I got to that period. I wish they had speakers in their bathroom, though, so I could hear what was happening. But the show, acting, animals, and food were all fantastic. I recommend going to Medieval Times if you can, especially if you’re a fan of history like me!