Medieval Times - Dinner & Tournament

We have heard a lot about the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament and have always wanted to go experience being whisked off to 11th century Spain, being addressed as Mi Lord and Lady and join King Philippe for a feast in his castle. I found a coupon online that gave 50% off all admission tickets. With a price of $56.95 (excluding tax) per person, we certainly welcomed the 50% off coupon :P So, we bought the tickets, got on our chariot (also known as our trusty old Chevy Lumina) and headed towards Lyndhurst Castle.

Medieval Times is a four course dinner and show, having locations in nine different venues all over America. The royal guests (that's us!) gets to join King Philippe and Princess Leonore for a feast as well as enjoy watching knights compete on horseback in various tournaments, displaying authentic classic equestrian skills and medieval pageantry. This is inspired by true medieval traditions of royal families inviting guest to their castle for festivals and feast.

Upon arrival, the royal guest will be given their table number as well as a crown in their respective section colors. Guest will be seated in sections named after different regions of Medieval Spain and they are encouraged to cheer for the Knight representing their respective regions.
After receiving our crowns, we were ushered into the Hall of Arms. This where we will have to wait until they are ready to seat us. The doors to the castle open 90 mins prior to the show, so we are encouraged to come early because sitting is on a first come first serve basis. After getting your table number, you can walk around the Hall of Arms. There are many medieval weaponry and armours on display.

You can also look for souvenirs in the many souvenir counters located all around the Hall of Arms.

There are also two full cash bars open in the Hall. You can get alcoholic and non alcoholic frozen drinks in souvenir glasses there.

The Knighting Ceremony also happens there. You can join in the ceremony and be knighted by the King for a small fee. You will also get a souvenir photograph. If being a knight is not your cup of tea, you can dress up in Medieval clothes and get your souvenir taken. Of course everything comes with a fee.

For $2, you can explore a tiny dungeon where a showcase of medieval torture devices is displayed.

Once they are ready to seat you, they start calling out the colors. You will be seated according to your colors. The arena sits a little more than 1,000 people...so it's not a small feat to get everybody seated. I managed to take a photo at the entrance on the arena before the crowds came in!

Once everybody is seated, the show begins. The King makes a grand entry with all the knights, squires and colorful banners. This marks the beginning of the feast.

Wenches and Pages would go around serving food. The first course was Tomato Bisque with garlic bread. It's pretty interesting to see them carry a large pail of soup, going around serving the guest. There are no utensils whatsoever, so we all have to eat with our hands.

The main course was half a Roast Chicken, Ribs and half a Roasted Potato. Again, in line with how people eat back then, there were no utensils :D While we were eating, we were kept entertained by the Master of Horse showing us his wonderful displays of horsemanship. The Royal Falconer also brought out his collection of birds of prey.

For dessert, we were served an Apple danish and a big mug of coffee to end the meal. We also had steins of Pepsi that came along with the meal.

Now, the real show is about to begin. The crowd really got into the mood and was cheering for their knights. The tournament was starting! There were jousting on horseback, all kinds of sword fights and a host of other things. It was really exciting and entertaining. The lighting was very dark, so I didn't take many photos. Here are some of the photos and videos I managed to take.

All in all, it was a good experience. I would definitely recommend to it anybody who is looking for a fun night out. However, be careful not to get sucked into buying all the souvenirs and drinks from the bar. They are way overpriced and I feel that it's not really worth it.

Note: The coupon code that I used when I bought the tickets online was AKFEB109. It's valid until the end of February. Also, you can view more photos of Medieval Times in my Facebook photo album. Just click here!

Medieval Times - Lyndhurst Castle
149 Polito Avenue,
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
Tel: 1-866-543-9637
Web: Medieval Times Website