Medieval Times with Kids – We’ve been busy celebrating my son’s birthday! His big gift / party this year was to go to the Medieval Times. Not only was the birthday boy thrilled, but my 9 year old was over the moon. He loved the acting and thought it was real!
There are Medieval Times locations all over the US. We went to the one outside of Baltimore at Arundel Mills Mall. You can see the outside of the castle from far away. We had to enter from inside the mall. It was perfect and thrilled our kids.
Be prepared for a full experience. Kings in costume, guards at the door, horses, a falcon and more!
Tips for going:
1. Decide if you want a package. It adds a considerable amount to the ticket price. Since this was our first time going, we weren’t sure about the general seating and extras (cake, waving banners, front row seats). What we realized is that you the majority takes in the dark. ….. There really aren’t any bad seats. Our arena was only 4-5 rows high.
2. Order tickets ahead of time over the phone. I felt that there were a lot of add-on fees. As always, know your total before you commit to the fee they want to charge you. I’ve seen a number of coupons recently. I think there’s always a catch (birthday kid is free, but parents are full price).
3. Decide ahead of time if you’ll be adding any of the extras on when you arrive(knighting ceremony for $30, staged photos, lighted swords, gift shop paraphernalia, etc.) It feels a little like the circus or amusement park where there are always extra ways to spend money.
4. Take wet-wipes with you. They’ll give you one at the end of the meal, but there are no utensils for the food! You slurp the soup, gnaw on of a half a chicken, eat the baked potato with your fingers, etc. If you really don’t want to eat with your hands, bring your own plastic utensils. No one cares and you’re eating in semi darkness. *You’ll also want to bring cash for gratuity for the server (it is not included and there is no bill to pay at your seat).
5. Arrive at least 1 hour early. You’ll be given a colored pass that will let you in when the king calls your color area. You are also given colored crowns that represents the knight you’ll be cheering for. * You can check in 75min beforehand and get your seats assigned. Then you can technically leave and look around the shopping mall until they seat about 15 min before the show.
6. Your food and drinks come while you watch the live show. If you have food allergies or vegetarian needs, make sure you address it with your waitress and when you buy your tickets.
7. Cameras and video taking is welcome.
8. Children are more than welcome to wear costumes (princess dresses, bring a sword and shield, etc).
9. *The knights and royalty come into the main area following the show and are very willing to take pictures (for free). The kids were thrilled, especially to meet “their” knight!
*Special thanks to my friend Kerry, for contributing to this post as well and for sharing her experiences marked with an *.
Busy Kids = Happy Mom was not compensated for this post, we just wanted to share our experience!
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There is one in at the beach we visit in the summer. This sounds like a fun place to take my son.
we just went to the location in new jersey and had so much fun!
Thanks, my friend!! We decided to go tonight and got a buy one get one free deal. Will be bringing wipes and a camera and arriving early! Rachel will be in her princess gown, for sure. 🙂 Thanks for the tips!!