Medieval Times: A Firsthand Look At Their New Myrtle Beach Show
Never having been to Medieval Times, I got the chance to go last summer and had a wonderful time. Now that the show has changed and been improved, I wanted to go again to see what the buzz has been about.
I attended the Myrtle Beach show with 9 people total; my mom, visiting from Wisconsin, my boyfriend, and my two friends from Michigan and their family. We were graciously all seated together at table 11 in the red and yellow section.
Excited to see the new show, we sported our red and yellow crowns as our server, or “wench” as she was called, introduced herself.
“Cup on the left if you want diet soda, cup on the right if you want regular,” she said as she demonstrated with a large mug, like the ones if front of us. “Sideways if you want water and wobble it if you’ll be having a beer,” she joked.
Decked out in Medieval clothing, the servers brought out each course of food throughout the show, starting with a large focaccia bread with olive oil and seasoning, steamy tomato bisque soup, savory roasted chicken, BBQ spare ribs, herb roasted potato, and braided apple strudel for dessert. The bigger and better food is one of the new changes you will see.
The trick is, no one gets to use silverware and you eat off of metal medieval looking plates as they would have back in those times (before silverware was invented)! But, alas, I got to use silverware. Being a vegetarian, the main dish is different (and delicious!) and part of it would have been nearly impossible to eat without at least a fork. My main course consisted of hummus and pita chips (my favorite snack), a rice mixture with all sorts of deliciousness added to it on a mushroom top, and a skewer of roasted vegetables and potato. Kosher meals are also available. Almost too much to eat, but too good not to, the food kept our stomachs well occupied throughout the entire show.
Now to the entertainment!
The castle has 22 horses on hand that take years to train. They use two types of beautiful horses for their show: Spanish PRE (PuraRaza Española) and Andalusian Stallions. One of the horses, a 1,300 pound Liberty Horse, makes a very memorable entrance at the beginning. With no rider on board, the horse makes its way around the arena, marking the beginning of the show. Throughout the show the horses make their part look effortless, from kneeling down on one leg, to looking like they are dancing, these horses make the show exciting to watch.
Let’s meet the knights!
The show has six knights total from both the east and west realms of Spain: the Green Knight - Don Temple of Leone; the Yellow Knight - Del Rey of Nevarre; the Black & White Knight -Iofre of Santiago; the Blue Knight - Del Mau de Valiente; the Red & Yellow Knight -Del Font of Perelada; and the Red Knight-Ruis of Castilla.
Being in the red and yellow section, we were introduced to our knight, Del Font. We couldn’t easily shout his name (hard to remember!) but we sure could cheer as loud as we could every time we saw that swoosh of red and yellow fly past us.
The storyline unfolds as we learn that we are guests of the king and the knights are brought in as part of the entertainment as they will compete in the Tournament of Knights. We meet various characters including King Carlos, his daughter, Princess Catalina, Lord Chancellor(who leads a spectacular procession at the start of the show), the evil Herald of the North (a new character), the Royal Falconer (who brings out the Royal Falcon and sets him on his flight above the audience) and the Master of Horse. The addition of the Herald of the North sets the show on a different storyline path than it had gone on previously.
Throughout the show, guests will notice two more major changes: the music and the costumes. The music was composed by Daniel May, whose work has appeared in movies including “The Blind Side,” “Fast & Furious,” and “Fight Club.” Throughout the show, all of the choreography was in sync with the music. The costumes and horse dressage were amazing; quite the step-up from how they looked before.
The new show was impressive, exciting and very fun. You never know which knight will win the tournament and it is fun cheering your knight on. Plus, the food was delicious and you get to meet the knights after the show. It can’t get much better than that!
Here are some fun facts about this Myrtle Beach attraction:
- David Thomas, who is the cast manager, also plays Lord Chancellor
- Lap Children under the age of 3 get in free
- The new show took almost 2 years to create and perfect
- The Myrtle Beach location opened in 1995
- The castle can hold 1,257 guests for its feast
- The show is held on 4,445 cubic feet of sand
- The knight’s shields get damaged each night and therefore must be repainted every time
- The show’s horses feast on more than 35,000 pounds of grain each year
-Julia, Vacation Myrtle Beach
