Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Review
Travel back in time at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament #Giveaway Ends 2/3

We had such a good time back in 2014 when we first visited Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Schaumburg, IL we decided to go back. This time the weather was a little colder out and a lot more windy. I mean being right next to Chicago (The Windy City) it shouldn't have been a surprise, but man did it blow us around on the highway this time. So much so it slowed traffic down and we didn't get there early enough to do everything we did last time. But we were just glad to be back for another round of fun and some really awesome food! When we arrived we hustled inside to check in and got our team color for the night. This time we were representing the black & white knight. We all put on our crowns and VIP passes and headed for the dining area. Since we were VIP that meant we got to be seated first!

If you've never been before be sure to check out my previous post that gives details and photos of the activities available before the show here. It really is very cool and you'll want to make sure you arrive plenty ahead so you don't miss it like we did this time.

Once we found our table we saw our team colored flags and the place-settings for our meal. You might also notice that there aren't any utensils sitting on the table around the plate. That's because the entire dinner is utensil-free. Yep you guessed it you have to eat with your hands! Honestly I think that added to the fun of the whole evening.

It didn't take too long after everyone was seated for them to get started with serving the food and the show itself. The first course was tomato bisque and garlic bread. It was cool because as they served the foods from their big trays they gave them fun names like dragons blood for the soup. The kids really got a kick out of this part. I on the other-hand was digging in so fast I didn't even have time to think about it. I remembered how good the food was from our first visit and I sure wasn't going to let it get cold.

Since they dim the lights as soon as they started serving the food I wasn't able to get good photos of all of the food, but just look at that chicken! It's definitely well worth picking up and eating with your fingers. In no time at all my husband cleared his plate and then began picking at mine. After the main course was over and they cleared the plates and then they came back through with a really yummy piece of cake. I have to say if you leave hungry you must be crazy because they give you enough food to fill your belly and then some.

As I mentioned before we had the black and white knight that we were to root for. Since we were only two rows up we were able to see him very well when he came around to our side of the arena. My daughter was a little disappointed that she didn't get to catch a flower from her knight this time, but still really enjoyed the show. (The knights get flowers each time they win one of the challenges, then they toss them into the crowd.)

We listened to the king and princess talk about their kingdom with the Master of Horse, saw a Royal Falconer with his bird of prey, and various others from the kings court. We also got to watch the horses perform, see a jousting tournament (and other competitions), and found out which color knight would end up winning overall and defeat Herald of the North. Even tough our knight didn't win we were excited about being able to cheer him on. I'm not sure which was my favorite part, from watching the horses to watching the knights it was all so exciting.

Here's a short video clip I took while watching one of the competitions. This was the moment our knight fell to his doom.

After the show was over we took some fun photos then walked around the rest of the castle checking out the gift shops. There were so many awesome things you could purchase from apparel to themed souvenirs to remember the show. My daughter actually got a light up rose during the show from one of the ladies walking around selling them. It was really cool to see in the dark.

Some fun facts:
• All Knights begin their training as Squires - just as they did in the Middle Ages - learning horse care, sword fighting, and weaponry. It takes a minimum of six months of training to become a Knight.

• Knights perform with real metal weapons and wear authentic armor. During battle scenes, real titanium swords create sparks.

• Every shield must be repainted after every show.

• When jousting, the Knights charge at speeds of approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour and reach an impact velocity speed of about 30 to 40 miles per hour.

• Each year, 25 foals are born at Chapel Creek Ranch, where they spend two years training.

• Our horses enjoy retirement at the ranch after 15 to 20 years of performing.

• 125,000 gallons of soup are served each year.

• 400,000 gallons of Pepsi are consumed each year.

• Each arena is filled with about 4,455 cubic feet of sand - about the load of 10 dump trucks.

• Medieval Times is the #1 breeder of pure Spanish horses in North America.

Plan your visit now and save!  Adults $36.95 and children (12 and under) $29.95 with the code MT3629 through 2/28/17.

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