Experience at Med. Times
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 9/5/06
The castle and arena were beautiful, and the decor added to the "medieval feel". There is where my enchantment ended. First, when you reserve for tickets, you are recommended to get there 1-1/2 hours before show time. That is so you can spend time at the various "souvenir" kiosks, which were very overpriced and attended by impersonal, rude staff. There is a "dungeon" museum, which consists of a 1 minute walk through a poorly lit hallway displaying torture contraptions you could hardly see. There were no "warnings" for children - in case parents don't want to have to explain what the hideous items were for - and you had to pay $2.00 per person. This exhibit should have been free. Regarding the show, there was more attention paid to "method acting" and extreme theatrics by the knights than to showmanship, pageantry and exciting visual images, which the show lacked. The acoustics were poor, and it was difficult to understand the narrator/presenter or royal court. The jousting and fighting sequences did not start until the last hour of the show. The first part of the show was boring and monotonous, with the knights entering and leaving the arena what so many times without any real action. The king and princess were located at the top of the arena entrance. You could hardly see them or hear them. I would have preferred seeing some sort of parade or better presentation of these characters. The horses were beautiful and performed admirably; but there should have been more of them performing together to give the show more excitement and grandeur. My favorite part of the show was the flying falcon. The food was terrible--most children in the audience did not touch it. I understand the purpose of the bland food is to be consistent with medieval fare, but then what's up with the garlic bread, the broth water that stood for soup, and the "apple fritter" which resembled a garden variety pastry pie you get at a local fast food place. All in all, I felt ripped off and did not receive the entertainment value I sought. $170.00 was paid for 2 adults and 1 child for tickets. A plastic laser pointer, which of course, every child will ask for, was $15.00. I would recommend this place only with discounted tickets or free children's day, and an inclusion of dinner or lunch out anywhere but here. There is no kid friendly entertainment in the castle itself, so don't arrive early unless you plan to spend lots of money on souvenirs and drinks, and walk around with nothing much to do until show time.