Medieval Times in Baltimore

As we prepare our vacation to Washington, D.C. I decided to check if there was a Medieval Times in the area.   Well, I found out that there was one in Baltimore (about 30 minutes of drive from Washington, D.C.) and an idea slowly germinated in my head.  You see this coming September, our homeschool coop will be studying the Middle Ages and why not trying to go to Medieval Times to stir up the appetite of knowledge for my kids.    A few email exchange between the castle in Baltimore and myself and they graciously gave us tickets for the family to attend.  I was delighted and very excited about it.  When I told my husband, he quickly said “Let’s surprise the kids.”   We didn’t say anything to them as we packed for the vacation, drove to Washington and explored it.   Even on the day of our Dinner & Tournament we didn’t say anything to them.  We actually made them believe that daddy wanted to go see the Bass Pro Shop in Baltimore (which we did by the way because fishing is a family activity for us).  

A few times during that week our oldest said something like “Is there a Medieval Times in Washington?” The answer was always a “We didn’t check and this is not something we are planning to do this time around if there is one.”   Somehow he was disappointed because he liked going there.  Nevertheless, a quick look to each other we knew that the kids would love going there the following Saturday.

Saturday arrived and the kids were told we would do some shopping in the afternoon.   It wasn’t an enthusiastic crowd that we had but they followed.    As we arrived to the mall, when we parked all reacted when they saw the castle.  But mom and dad kept them from getting overly excited by saying – “Oh! I guess there is a castle here… maybe next time we will go.  We can’t do it today.”   We went to the store dad wanted to go and shopped a bit.  Then we looked at the time and said “We should get back on the road so we can eat supper at the trailer.”   We all walked toward the truck and I was getting slightly excited in surprising them.  In my purse I had my daughter’s Medieval princess dress which she didn’t know I had brought.   The kids climbed in the truck and then we said “Let’s go back inside.”   They were surprised and then we told them.   The joy in their faces and all.   I even showed Jasmine her dress and she was extremely overjoyed that I had thought of bringing it.    We had a bit of time to kill before the show and walked a bit in the mall.

What is Medieval Times?

Medieval Times is an exciting family-friendly dinner attraction inspired by an 11th century feast and tournament.  A four course banquet will feed your belly as you watch and cheer one of the six knights competing in the joust and other tests of skills like swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, horsemanship and falconry.  The story is set in Medieval Spain.

Sitting in our section – Black & White Knight

Everyone in the family were thrilled to be sitting in the Black & White Knight section.  

The Menu

As noble guest of Medieval times, you will be serve a four courses dinner including garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, roasted chicken, spare rib, herb-basted potatoes, pastry as well as beverages.  Vegetarian meals are available upon request.

Here’s the tomato bisque soup that is serve in a bow with a handle.  The soup was very warm so kids might want to wait a bit before drinking it.

Beware that no utensils are available during the meal.   You will have to eat your food like the people during the Medieval Times – your hands…

The Tournament

The show started with a beautiful demonstration of how knights would connect with their horse and a parade of all the differents knights with their horses and attendants.

The king giving instructions to all six knights for the tournament.

A person of the Northern Kingdom came to offer a gift to the king.  He wasn’t the nicest person and wanted the hand of the princess for his king.

Falconry was a skills developed by people during the Middle Ages.   We were able to witness some of the skills developed in Falconry.

Jasmine was wearing her princess dress  and made quite an impression on the staff there as well as some other guests.   Even our server said that she looked lovely in this dress.  But the high point of her presence that day was to receive a flower from the Black & White Knight which we were cheering.    She was delighted to get the red flower and quickly put it over her ear.

The jousting was the best part of the tournament I find.  We were able to witness many aspects of fighting as a knight during the show.

After supper, I intertwined Jasmine’s flower inside her braids and she said she had a great time at the Dinner & Tournament at Medieval Times.   The boys were also happy to have attended and were thankful beyond measure.

Needless to say, we had an amazing time at Medieval Times Baltimore/Washington, D.C. and recommend this Dinner & Tournament to anyone visiting the area – whether you are American, Canadian or from elsewhere in the world.   You will enjoy experiencing the Middle Ages from the 11th century Medieval Spain era.

At the time of posting this review, a special price is offered for everyone who wants to attend the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament.   The price for all seats is $35 and this gives your two-hour tournament, four-course medieval feast and a great evening with your family.   This special is valid until July 31st, 2014.

Homeschoolers might like to discover that you can access the Educators section of the website of Medieval Times in order to learn more about the Middle Ages.   This section will highlight the life at the castle, the science and technology of the Middles Ages, the life in a Medieval village, the weaponry of the Medieval Age as well as some insight on dramatic acting.

Medieval Times Baltimore/Washington, D.C. is located at 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover, Maryland 21076.  Note that the castle is attached to the Arundel Mills mall and the entrance is located inside the mall (park near the Best Buy for close access).

Medieval Times has numerous locations throughout the USA and Canada.  See the map below to discover your closest location.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Medieval Times Baltimore/Washington, D.C. for letting us attend the Dinner and Tournament at no extra charge for review purposes.   I was not monetarily compensated for this review.   Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way.   All opinions expressed here are only my own.