Medieval Times offered me tickets for my family to go and see their show, and blog about what I thought of it. This made me feel kind of important, like maybe my little blog could actually provide for my family, in a manner of speaking. Well, now I’m exaggerating…but still! I was thrilled. 

Note: I’m under no obligation to give them a good review. Basically, I can write whatever the heck I want.

I hadn’t heard of Medieval Times, so I went to their site and checked it out – and…oh, my! Hunky Elizabethan knights on horseback! Jaw-dropping horsemanship! Beautiful horses, medieval princesses, an evil villain, music, jousting! A medieval feast (dragon’s blood soup, dragon meat, unicorn horns, and apple tart? are you kidding me? what parent would turn this down?). How had I not heard of this place before? Since I am a person who religiously attends the Rennaissance Faire, and my kids love horses, and my husband loves a good feast, this was right up our alley.

Watch a video of it here.

So on Sunday afternoon we drove up to a castle in Baltimore:

It was at a mall – which doth surprised us – but once we got over the shock of it we noticed that the venue was pretty spectacular. Knights with British accents greeted us jovially, and we got to put crowns on our heads and had our picture taken with medieval royalty. There was a real buzz around the place, and I loved being addressed as “Milady.” As we waited to go into the arena, we hung around the gift shop in the lobby, and an Elizabethan actor came out to warm up the crowd and get us all huzzah’d about going in.

Consider thyself forewarned: In the lobby, we bought Fiona a woodland fairy statue ($15) and Ella a light-up wand to wave in the dark ($15). We bought our photo with the King and Queen ($20). We saw a chess set we liked but restrained ourselves. So parents, be forewarned: prithee clutch thy pocketbooks close to your bosom! There are a lot of irresistable chotchkys like dragons, goblets, and Ren-wear that can be purchased by an unwitting parent who is not on their guard!

When we went into the arena we totally forgot where we were – yes, okay, we were at the mall, but we weren’t at the mall, were we? We had stepped back in time into an enchanting medieval arena, complete with hundreds of twinkling candles on the tables and a truly other-worldly ambience.

Even though we were sitting down to dine in a horse arena, basically, there was nary a whiff of horse manure anywhere, not once, not ever. PRAY HOW DID THEY DO THIS? I’ve been around horses, arenas, and stables…and let me tell you, this was quite a feat.

My husband, who is from Ireland, was completely into the whole experience, and this surprised me because I didn’t expect him to get that into character. The kids were riveted for the entire show, and when “Ella’s” knight rode past and tossed her a flower, I dare say our girl swooned!

A young bard came by selling flags to wave at the knights, so we bought two of those ($20), and another photo of all of us at the table ($25).

I kept telling my family, “Who says a mommy blog can’t provide for the family?”

My husband: “Next time you get something for free, try not to make it so expensive.” (We had spent around $75.00 before the show even began, ahem.)

The show was top-notch, start to finish. We are not the type of family to shout and scream in the stands – but my husband and I were shouting and cheering our knight with “Huzzahs” and booing the opponents – so much so that our kids were on the verge of being embarrassed. We had a blast.

The food was delicious: tomato soup, barbecued chicken, ribs, roasted potatoes (no utensils, you eat it all with your hands! the kids loved this), drinks in tankards, apple tart, Italian ice, and coffee. It was kid-food, but it was adult food too.

A great time was had by all.

Here’s my take on Medieval Times: Our family loved the whole experience. It would be a great place for a family reunion or get together, or if you have people with kids coming in from out of town. It would be a great idea for a boy’s or a girl’s birthday party (they announce the name of the birthday person, and give them a little gift). The food was great, and the horsemanship and the jousting show were fantastic. If you are looking for a special event or a fun family outing – don’t tarry, go, go!

PS: Thank you, Medieval Times, for the day!