The summer I turned 21, my parents took my then boyfriend (now husband) and I to a new place that had just opened up in New Jersey. Medieval Times!
You with your hands while watching jousting tournaments based on old time games. The British accents were barely believable. The plot lines were corny. Yes, it was cheesy. But the horsemanship was awesome, the costumes were sparkly and I loved it. I didn’t even mind that I dripped chicken fat all over my best clubbing jacket.
We had a blast.
I can’t even fully explain why. It was just tremendously fun, and funny too. I haven’t been back for years and years but when I recently had the chance to take my two young sons and teenaged daughter to Medieval times in Buena Park California, I was excited to go.
First of all, my boys are the perfect age. They love the pageantry and nobody can suspend disbelief like a seven year old.
“Mommy! Are those ninja’s really fighting to the DEATH?!” my son asked.
“Ummm… they are knights honey. And no, it’s pretend.” A part of me hated telling him it was make believe, although I think he was onto the “baby dragon” actually being chicken. My four year old was all in though. He couldn’t believe he ate REAL DRAGON. He hid under the table during parts of the tournament, peeking wide eyed over the edge.
“The horse is dancing!”
My almost 16 year old rolled her eyes at her little brothers for the first ten minutes and picked at her meal before turning to me.
“So which Knight do you think is the hottest?” she asked.
She had already decided however. Ours of course! She dug into her ribs and ate a potato spear. We were winning!
My husband, a fan of Game of Thrones, cheered heartily. “What? I’m just pretending it’s House Stark!”
By the end of the night, everyone wanted a photo with our knight, the overall winner, and oh.my.goodness. This photo is so perfect it will probably make me smile ten years from now.
My kids had a blast. All of them. The 4 year old to the nearly 16 year old.
Is Medieval Times still a little cheesy? You betcha. How could it not be when they are serving ye olde Diet Pepsi and cocktails in souvenier plastic mugs and handing out paper crowns to grown adults. You eat with your hands and you clean up with a little plastic wrapped towelette.
But if you are willing to be more like my young sons and fun seeking daughter, if you are willing to get into it like my husband and pretend you’re cheering for the hero of your favorite series, you are going to have a great time.
It’s pageantry, it’s theatrical and it’s a whole lot of fun. And all that aside? Man can those horses dance!
Disclosure: Medieval Times provided tickets for our family in order to facilitate this reciew. All opinions and chicken fat stains on my best clubbing jacket are my own.
Leave a Reply