A Knight to Remember at Medieval Times

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Atlanta. I took my mom, my sisters and the girls to the show and we had an absolute blast! It truly was one of the best dinner shows we have been to and I was so glad that we were all able to go. If you're looking for a dinner show, this is a great one! If you're in the Atlanta area this is great because you don't have to travel too far to see a dinner show. If you're not in the Atlanta area no need to fret because they have 9 other locations. It is perfect for any occasion from family outings to date nights and birthday celebrations (if you click here to sign up for the birthday club you can get a free ticket for your birthday). I want to share a bit about our trip to the Atlanta castle then offer some tips on booking a show for you and family!

Medieval Times is such a fun experience from the minute you walk in! While waiting in line, the knights come out with the royal trumpeters and announce the arrival of the Queen. She comes out and greets the guests, you finish going through the line and have your picture made with your group, then enter the common area. In this area you'll find a gift shop, restrooms, a beautiful fireplace area with seating, a bar counter to order drinks (alcoholic and non), and lots of great photo spots. It's so inviting and the architectural design is beautiful. They do such a great job of bringing the 11th century ambiance to you from the lighting to the employees costumes and lingo. This waiting area opens before the arena does so you have something to do while you wait to be seated. When you check in you receive details on which section you'll be sitting in, and will determine which knight to cheer for and which to boo for (booing is encouraged). When you go into the show arena you will see that it's set up so perfectly. There really are no bad seats, because they have designed it so that you can see well from every area. You are really close to the fun even in the 4th or 5th row (there are only 5). I thought that was really nice because if you don't feel like you can splurge for the VIP upgrade to sit in the 1st row then you aren't going to regret that too much here! I will say though the front row was REALLY neat, and the girls loved it! It could be something to consider it if you have kids as it just makes the experience more fun and the girls got a flower from our knight as he rode by on his horse.

We were so impressed by the kindness of the entire staff. Everyone we encountered seemed like they loved working at Medieval Times and that was really nice to see. Our wench who served our dinner during the show, Leah, was fantastic! If I could request her when I go back (because I know I will go back) I would! She was fun, sweet and great with the girls. With the girls' allergies, sometimes servers aren't as kind, because of the inconvenience, but she was beyond accommodating and kind. Our meal was amazing, and everyone enjoyed it. The taste of the chicken, potato, and corn was delicious and full of so much flavor! Lil thought eating with your hands was pretty fun too!

The show was filled with magnificent performances from the horses who are trained in advanced dressage, and you can see the tight bond between the knights and the horses as they entertain the crowd! A knight may have a horse serve him for up to 12 years, so the connection is very present. LG said it looked like the horses were doing ballet, and it really did. It's really beautiful to see. The Master of Horses takes care of all the horses and looks after the stables of the castle making sure the horse are comfortable. They receive the finest grain and hay in the entire kingdom! The Royal Falcon and the The Royal Falconer perform as well. The falcon's hood is removed and it flies around the entire arena in circles trying to get the treat that the Falconer has on a string. Really neat to watch!

There is lots to watch as the knights participate in heated tournament games, jousting, sword fighting and more! The knights are trained for years in order to perform because they use real weapons like swords, alabardas, maces, and lances in the show. Some of the best parts were watching the swords clash and sparks fly in the air from the intensity of the battles. The girls would crack us up through the jousting tournament because they were so into it. Lil would cheer and yell, "Yeah get em, he's down!!" The girls were captivated by the entire show and waved their flags the whole time in excitement. Mom may or may not still be recovering from the 167 times Lil hit her with her flag while cheering, but hey.. worth it right? Seeing LG's face light up when she got the flower the knight threw to her was just too cute! Then seeing the same sweet smile when Lil got her flower from the knight on his next trip around was priceless. He may or may not have seen the same pouty face we saw when she realized that her sister got one and she didn't. She said she got her rose because she was "pecial". Details though, details.

The dinner and show was such fun, and when the show ended we got to visit with the knights and the Queen. The girls just died over that because all of the actors were so kind to them. The girls got a kick out of the fact that the Queen ruled the castle and I heard little voices on the way home chatting it up in the back of the car about how cool that it would be to be the ruler of a castle! Little sweeties! She gave lots of hugs to the girls and the Chancellor of the castle spent lots of time talking to us about his family and how he started working for Medieval Times years ago!

It's obvious now that Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament is the perfect place to bring your family!

So here are a few tips to help your family have an amazing time:

1. Arrive early. If you plan to attend the show at 7:30 then you actually need to be there (in the ticket window line) at 6:00. The Atlanta location is in the Sugarloaf Mills Mall, so account for time to park, get into the mall etc. The reason being is you still have to sign in at the ticket windows to get your exact dinner table seats assigned to you. If you purchased VIP ticket upgrades, you're guaranteed a front row seat with the Queen package like we had. There are 3 different upgrade packages so make sure you look at each to see which fit your needs for your visit. If you don't want to pay the extra for the VIP, you HAVE to get there early like I described. The 5pm shows are usually more crowded than the 7:30 show as well. Don't forget your license as you have to show it at the window!

2. Bring your appetite! The plates are large and so yummy. For parents with little ones under 3, there was plenty to share with them too since they're free!

3. Relax and enjoy yourself! Medieval Times is a place that everyone can enjoy from kids to grandparents. So figure out who you want to experience it with, and buy your tickets here! Use code WINTER20 to save if you buy before 2/2/20.

XO,

Emily

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