Medieval Times Orlando – New Show, More Action (and Upgraded Menu) in 2012
We are really fortunate to live in Central Florida, where the opportunities for entertainment and dining are endless! This week we are venturing away from Disney – repeatedly – with our first stop being Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Kissimmee. I’ve passed the Medieval Times castle hundreds of times when volunteering (it’s near Give Kids the World in Kissimmee), but I’ve never been – until now. Medieval Times debuted a new show this past week, along with an upgraded menu.
The Medieval Times Orlando Castle opened in 1983 – next year will be it’s 30th year! The attraction is located about 15 minutes from Walt Disney World, and even includes a Medieval Village, where the stables and aviary are found.
The new Medieval Times show was two years in the making, and includes new music, lighting, choreography, and battle scenes. More of what guests want – jousting, sword fights and horsemanship – have been added. And for the first time, a Liberty Horse opens the show. This beautiful, pure-bred Spanish horse has been trained to enter the arena without a harness, reins, or being touched.
What I found interesting was how much the crowd really got into the show! There are six sections, and everyone receives a crown that corresponds with the section color. Each section also has it’s own Knight to root for in the show. We were green – green crown, green table seating, and green Knight (each potentional Knight trains for 250 hours after previously being a squire).
We arrived 45 minutes early for our seating, had our photograph taken and enjoyed a couple of drinks at one of the bars. Unlike some dinner shows, beer and wine are not included – but you can purchase alchoholic beverages before and during the show.
Medieval decor:
The Royal Falconer stands with the Royal Falcon. Both are in the show:
In honor of the new show, a Medieval Castle cake was created:
Here we are, waiting to be let into the arena:
It does get crowded (and the crowd was very enthusiastic!) in the lobby. Characters from the show came through, including the King:
Jeff poses for a photo:
Lord Chancellor is the host, and he warms up the crowd before the show. Once the show begins, he spends most of it on horseback.
The seating for the show is very efficient, with each section being called separately. Once seated, our menu was on the napkin in front of us:
A plate, bowl, and cup are already placed – and the carafe to the right holds the soup that is poured by the server (or as Medieval Times refers to them, serfs and wenches). Chris was our server, and spent the evening doing Rodney Dangerfield impressions! We were told that the drinks were limited to two rounds per guest.
Jeff holds up his cup of Diet Pepsi before the show starts:
The tomato bisque was decent, but I think the weakest of the menu items. The garlic bread came in a naan shape (but was soft).
The food is paced very well with the show. As we were enjoying our soup and garlic bread, the Knights were announced. You can see a guest with “thumbs down” in a couple of the photos!
The King arrives on horseback:
The King and his daughter, Princess Catalina are positioned above the crowd. He announces that the feast is ready:
And while guests dine, the show begins:
The Royal Falconer brings out his Royal Falcon, which soared closely over the crowd several times:
Roasted chicken and herb-basted potatoes soon arrive. The chicken was juicy and the potatoes were my favorite part of the meal. It is a lot of food, but we asked for a takeaway container (as did other guests). There is also a BBQ spare rib brought around soon after.
The show features continuous action, and many guests went wild over the jousting and sword play.
These four photos are provided by Medieval Times (it’s hard to get good photos of the action). 5000 lance tips are used each year, and each shield needs to be repainted after every show! While jousting, the Knights charge at speeds between 15 and 20 miles per hour.
Dessert is apple strudel:
The battle is off the horses, and on the ground:
After the show, I walked around and took a few more photos – including of this armor:
We posed with the King and Princess Catalina:
Everyone from the show gathers for photos:
Jeff poses with a suit of armor:
This is the full price at the ticket counter:
However, guests can find specials online, including on the Medieval Times website (often at a significant discount).
We enjoyed our visit to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, and look forward to going back again in the future. The show is a crowd pleaser, as I found out in my research of it before our visit (check out Trip Advisor and you’ll find that the show gets high marks from most guests). The food was a cut above most dinner show fare that I’ve had and the action was nonstop!
Note: The show was free for us, except for the server’s gratuity. The opinions are my own.