Medieval Times

This article is about Medieval-themed dinner theater. For the historical time period, see Middle Ages.

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Dinner theater
Founded	December 20, 1983 (1983-12-20) Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.
Headquarters	Irving, Texas , U.S.
Number of locations	9
Area served	Florida, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Ontario, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia
Number of employees	10,000+
Website	www.medievaltimes.com

The Medieval Times building in Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada. The American locations, however, are all housed inside replica 11th-century castles.

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting. Medieval Times Entertainment, the holding company for the nine theaters, is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

In 2016, there are nine theaters, located in Buena Park, California; Dallas, Texas; Schaumburg, Illinois; Lyndhurst, New Jersey; Hanover, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Orlando, Florida and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Each location is housed in a replica 11th-century castle, with the exception of the Toronto location, which is housed inside the CNE Government Building, a Beaux-Arts structure built in 1911. Shows are performed by a cast of about 75 actors and 20 horses in each location.

History

In 1973, a medieval re-enactment dinner theater was set up by Jose Montener on his estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Later a private company was formed, and in 1977, a castle was opened in Benidorm, Spain. With the support of investors the show moved to the United States; the first of nine Medieval Times theaters opened in Orlando on December 20, 1983.

The second castle opened in Buena Park, California, in 1986.

In 1989, a medieval village was added to the Orlando castle to augment the experience. To this day, the Orlando castle is the only castle to have a medieval village.

The third castle opened up in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, in 1990, close to New York City.

In 1991, a fourth castle opened up in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb near the city of Chicago. This castle has the largest arena out of all of the castles, as the grand arena can seat up to 2,500 patrons, while most castles can seat up to 2,000 patrons.

In 1992, the fifth castle opened up in Dallas, Texas. Due to the proximity of the Texas location to the headquarters, the Texas location is often used as a test location before changes are implemented to other castles.

In 1993, the sixth castle opened up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This castle is the only castle outside of the United States, and is housed in a Beaux-Arts structure as opposed to a 11-century castle replica.

In 1995, the seventh castle opened up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

In April 1997, Medieval Times' owners sought bankruptcy protection after losing a court battle to the IRS that required the Buena Park location to pay $7.5 million and the Orlando location to pay $2.5 million in back taxes. According to the IRS, Medieval Times improperly deducted royalties, loan interest and management fees in the 1987 and 1989 tax years. When asked why the company was filing for bankruptcy the company’s bankruptcy lawyer, Alan Friedman, said, "one of the primary reasons for filing was to prevent the IRS from beginning to seize any assets."

The eighth castle opened in Baltimore, Maryland in 2003.

In 2006, the ninth theater location was opened in Atlanta, Georgia.

The chain was featured in the 1996 film The Cable Guy, and the 2004 feature film Garden State. It has also been featured in episodes of TV shows such as Cake Boss, Hell's Kitchen, and Celebrity Apprentice.

The shows change about every six years; the most recent change was in October 2011. The music for this version of the show was recorded in Kiev, Ukraine, and mixes an orchestra and show choir with electric guitars and rock percussion, with Russian influenced melody. For the third time, composer Daniel May took part in its development.

A new show is set to debut sometime during 2017.

"North" Show synopsis (2011-2017)

The introduction of the knights

The arriving guests are served bread and soup as they wait for the show to begin. The show opens with the narration of the horse, followed by an Andalusian stallion running in the arena ("Horse at Liberty"), guided by the master of horse. Next, a light show sets the theme and also divides the West side (Yellow, Black and White, Red) from the East side (Blue, Red and Yellow, Green). Each color represents a different city in the kingdom.

Lord Chancellor, adviser to the king and the MC for the show, then introduces the knights of the realm and gives a back story to each color's section. King Don Carlos, knights, squires, and various serfs and wenches parade out; the King and Chancellor then make their way to the dais where they introduce Princess Catalina and call for a toast.

The Long Reins, or Long Lines part of the show demonstrates the skills of the horses, including the Trot in Place, the Passage, and the Capriot. Then the Royal Falconer releases a falcon, which flies about, often directly above the guests' heads. A feast of chicken, corn-on-the-cob, potato is then served.

The King's guards perform choreographed maneuvers, and the Chancellor and the Princess make paid announcements of birthdays or other special events. Fog and haze fill the arena, and the Herald of the North appears; he announces that his king, Lord Ulrich, promises Don Carlos a gift if he will accept it. Don Carlos agrees, although the Princess warns him of the threat Lord Ulrich has posed to other kingdoms.

Next, knights on horseback compete at games, including catching rings on a lance, flag passing, and javelin tossing. After each game the Princess gives the winning knights flowers to throw to the ladies of their section. The knights of the East and West then compete in a relay challenge. The princess gives each winning knight a ribbon which they present to one lady; these are the "queens of the tournament".

At this point the promised gift from Lord Ulrich arrives: a trained Andalusian stallion. The Master of Horse and the stallion perform various tricks. The Herald of the North then announces that Lord Ulrich wants to unite the two kingdoms by marrying Princess Catalina. Knowing of Lord Ulrich's previous nefarious dealings, Don Carlos tells the Herald to return to his king with a refusal.

The jousts and fights begin; the winners change from show to show. Large nets protect the audience from the wooden splinters from the lances and flying weapons. For the jousts, each knight picks an opponent from the opposite side; the winner is determined by the last one to fall, and he is given the opportunity to strike the opponent with the weapon of his choice in the subsequent fight to the death on foot. For the fights, a knight throws a glove to another knight and the two battle on horseback or on foot. The winner of the final match is named champion of the tournament, and chooses one of the ladies from the audience to be the Queen of Love and Beauty.

The Herald of the North now declares that he must either return to Lord Ulrich with the princess or die in battle against a knight of the King's choosing. The King asks the Champion of the tournament if he will accept the Herald's challenge. There is a climatic fight with the Champion and his squire against the Herald and his two squires. The squires are slain, and the Champion defeats the Herald. The King asks the Herald, now in chains, to return to his King and withdraw his request, but the Herald says that he would rather die. The King decides that the Herald is too valiant to be slain and sentences him to imprisonment for life. He is dragged away to the dungeon.

The show ends with a celebration of the Champion knight; then all of the characters appear in the arena to take their bows.

See also

• List of dinner theaters

External links

• Official website