I was a fan instantly after that first exposure as the whole of the experience was amazing to me; it appealed to multiple aspects of my personality seeing as how I've always been interested in medieval warfare and I don't know any little boy (even those of us who happen to be masquerading as grown men) who doesn't get a kick out of action sequences like those from movies involving things like horses, swordplay and fisticuffs. I guess it tickles that same part of my childish brain that draws me to something like professional wrestling.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I've become one of their best customers, however I will tell you that I've been to at least 6 performances at this particular location over the course of roughly the past 5 years which represents the length of time that my wife & I have been together (we dated for about 2 years and have been married a little more than 3). Yes, my wife comes with me to Medieval Times - yes, she enjoys the experience just as much as I do or at least I think she does. She may only be in it for the tomato bisque; I'm fine with that, so long as it means I don't have to be the creepy guy who comes to Medieval Times by himself.
In case you weren't aware, Medieval Times is an action-packed dinner show the setting of which is that of medieval Spain involving knights of the realm who compete in a jousting tournament but also highlights such things as horsemanship and falconry. Why Spain and not England or somewhere else in Europe? Because the Medieval Times brand actually began in Majorca, Spain back in 1973. The brand would migrate to the United States a decade later when the first North American castle debuted - that being the Kissimmee, Florida location - in 1983. 8 more locations have opened since then, each of which run multiple performances per week year round. It's a huge operation that employs a multitude of individuals and South Carolina is fortunate to have a castle to call its own.
The Medieval Times experience begins the moment you walk through the doors. In our case, we typically will go to the castle to procure our tickets although you can just as easily purchase them online or by phone in advance. I kind of like that opportunity to see the interior of the space when it's not packed from wall to wall with patrons. You get a much better sense of just how large the facility actually is.
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| A Google Maps view of the building - smart idea to make the roof a billboard as Myrtle Beach's airport is nearby. |
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| A ground-level view of the Myrtle Beach castle's entrance - sadly, there is no moat. |
I will say this upfront about Medieval Times; the tickets are not cheap. A non-discounted adult ticket will set you back $50.95. (That's for the 2013 season at the Myrtle Beach castle, the admission fee varies from one location to another.) I say "non-discounted" because there are ways of getting a lower cost ticket as you can find coupons available locally or you can sometimes get discount codes online via the Medieval Times website as well as others. (There are pagodas in most of the nearby shopping malls that offer discounted tickets but you have to hear the sales pitch for whatever product they're hawking in order to get the deal.) I think the coupons may get you as much as $10-$15 off, which isn't bad by any means. What's more, if you take the time to sign up for the King's Court (their email distribution service) you'll get a free ticket for your birthday that can be used throughout your birth month. This is what my wife & I did for our most recent visit to the Myrtle Beach location as my wife's birthday happens to be during the month of September. Her freebie combined with the fact that all regular tickets had been discounted to $35 in celebration of Medieval Times' 30th year of operation meant the two of us got dinner and the show for around $40. Take it from me, that's a sweet deal!
Notice that I used the phrase "regular tickets" towards the end of that last paragraph. The base ticket price will get you in the door with a spot in one of the standard seating areas with a full 3 course meal (more on the vittles later). There are upgrades available in the form of what are referred to as Royalty packages. You can choose from either the Royalty package or the King's Royalty package. (I'm not going to take the time to detail what they include, rather if you want more information on them visit this page.) We opted for the King's Royalty package earlier this year more so than anything because we'd never done it before. It was nice and the included group photo was quite good but when you consider the fact that it's an extra $20 per person, it's not something that I would necessarily encourage you to do. If you want to make it a memorable evening, maybe, but even so I think most people would have a hard time justifying the extra expense considering what you get in return.
Once you have your tickets in hand and you prepare to enter the castle you are recognized as a lord or lady of the realm, meaning the admissions staff will assign you to a seating section denoted by the color of armor your unique knight happens to wear. There are 6 knights; Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, and Yellow. I believe they have names (I was right!) and they're meant to represent geographical regions of Spain from the era. More importantly is the fact that this is the stage in the procession where you receive your crown, which of course must be worn at all times lest ye be mistaken for a commoner whilst on the grounds.
PRO TIP: The castle will open roughly an hour and fifteen minutes prior to showtime. The time that you arrive and are processed through admissions is the determining factor as to what knight for who you'll be cheering. Guests are seated in such a way as to make the sections comparable in terms of their population so that they don't wind up having 20 people cheering for the Blue knight and 160 cheering for the Black & White knight. Sometimes the admissions staff will be able to accommodate a seating request but not always. In other words, don't arrive at 5:40 PM for a 6 PM show thinking you will be able to sit wherever you want.
From there you'll be ushered into a photography area where you'll be posed with either the King or his daughter, the Princess. The photos are not included in standard admission; if you would like to keep your photo you'll have to pay for it when a member of the staff brings them around during the tournament, unless that is you opted for one of the Royalty upgrades that involve your photo. The quality of these pictures is usually fairly high although the skills of the photographer you get will vary. I'm not certain but I want to say they will set you back in the area of $15.
From there you're able to make your way into the Great Hall, which is more or less an assembly area where all the lords & ladies of the realm (that's you, remember - staff at Medieval Times will always address a patron as either "My Lord" or "My Lady") gather prior to the tournament. You'll notice a pattern has started to emerge here as every stage I've described thus far has presented a variety of situations where guests can be separated from their money with haste. The Great Hall is perhaps the most prolific example of this as it contains a number of bars and souvenir stands.
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| A panoramic view of the Great Hall; from left to right, the torture chamber, main entrance, gift shop, and bar. |
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| The second floor of the Great Hall; from left to right, the dance floor, Red/Black & White/Yellow entrance, bar, Green/Red & Yellow/Blue entrance, gift shop and restrooms |
The bars are full service, offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can get your beverage served in a number of various collectable mugs, goblets, etc., all of which are available at an additional charge. Truth be told, to my knowledge there are no cups for which you will not be charged. The most low-end cup you can get is a plastic cup that has a series of animated holograms on it. Obviously you don't have to buy a drink but to give you some idea of how much markup we're talking about when it comes to the price of beverages due to their being served as described, on our most recent visit I paid $17 for a Sam Adams' Oktoberfest draft and a virgin strawberry daiquiri.
The souvenir stands are loaded with overpriced baubles, generally speaking - everything from children's toys to replica swords and shields. I've never seen anyone buy a sword so for all I know the blades there now are the same ones that were there when the castle first opened.
Also in the Great Hall is the Torture Chamber, a display of - you guessed it - medieval torture devices that can be viewed for - you guessed it - an additional fee. (I do not think Torture Chamber admission comes with any of the seating packages, even the King's Royalty. It's been a while since we went through the Torture Chamber, but I want to say admission to it was around $2.) All I will say about it is that it's a brief exhibit featuring items that range from the perverse to being downright ghastly in nature. I find it amazing the sort of things we humans have managed to come up with over the ages in the name of harming one another.
In wrapping up my comments about the Great Hall, I'll mention that guests celebrating a special event may choose to participate in a knighting ceremony where the King will declare the individual an official knight of the realm. ("Special event" meaning virtually anything under the sun - I've seen people get knighted for anything from graduating college to their first visit to Medieval Times. One cool thing we saw on our most recent visit during the knighting ceremony was a guy proposing to his girlfriend while she was being knighted.) This, too, comes at an additional charge of around $20 but I believe you get a commemorative photo as well as a printed scroll.
I've talked about expenses a lot up until this point. For the sake of looking at this from a logistical perspective, here's an example of what you might be spending for an evening at Medieval Times; these figures are all based on two adults with regular admission.
- Admission: $50.95 x 2 = $101.90 (not counting tax)
- Commemorative Photo w/King or Princess: $15
- Beverages: $20 ($3 tip included)
- Knighting Ceremony: $20
- Torture Chamber Admission: $2 x 2 = $4
- GRAND TOTAL: $160.90
It's entirely possible to spend upwards of $200 for an evening at Medieval Times, and that's for only two people. For what it's worth, that $200 would make for a very memorable experience, especially if you were taking a child, but it's not necessary to spend that much. My wife & I typically go for the most bare-bones combination possible and we have never had a bad experience.
Finally, after much fanfare and celebration in the Great Hall, you'll be called to your section inside the arena. There's a procession to it as one section at a time will be allowed in so as to not cause a stampede. I may be wrong but I believe the order of entry at the Myrtle Beach castle is usually this: Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, Yellow.
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| A panoramic view of the arena - to the right you can see one of the servers giving instruction on who to boo |
The arena is massive - I have no idea how many guests the place could hold at maximum capacity but I would hazard a guess and say there's seating for at least 1,000 souls therein. (As you enter the arena, pay attention to areas that appear to be draped off; these are auxiliary seating sections that are kept covered when not in use.) It could rival certain small-to-medium athletic facilities meant for sporting events, and along those lines I would estimate that the actual floor of the arena where the action takes place is roughly the same size as a hockey rink or basketball court. Once you're seated, all you need to do is settle in and get comfortable because the main event of the evening is about to unfold before you - it's a double-header as you've got a feast as well as a tournament to enjoy!
Your server will introduce you to the particulars of the meal by making you aware of several factors, most notably that you'll be dining without the aid of silverware. Don't worry, you don't need it - and yes, plenty of wet and dry napkins will be available for when you're done. The only metal objects you'll come in contact with are the plates and bowls upon which your food will be served. When it comes to your beverage, you have a choice of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, tea, or water and there will be two rounds of whatever you choose (your initial fill-up plus one refill, in other words). Alcoholic beverages are not included in the meal and your server will not bring you one, however you do have the option of either going back out to the bars in the Great Hall or waiting until a barmaid (yes, you read that right) comes by offering to fetch you something.
In regard to the service you receive during the meal, the folks attending to you are waiters and waitresses who happen to be serving potentially upwards of 50 people at a time. While they are more than able to attend to your specific needs, do realize that they've got a lot of mouths to serve. At the same time, also realize that they are working very hard in dim lighting to make you as happy as possible - tipping is always appreciated.
The meal itself consists of three courses - an appetizer, the main course, and desert. The appetizer comes in the form of a piping hot bowl of tomato bisque served with a piece of buttery garlic toast (I believe the style of bread varies from one location to another; in our castle it's more or less a piece of Texas toast with garlic & herbs). Remember how in the previous paragraph I mentioned that the plates and bowls are metal? Keep that in mind when you reach for the blistering handle of your soup bowl and prepare to press your tender lips against its scalding hot rim. I'm not kidding here as you could easily burn yourself. (PRO TIP: To avoid burning your fingers, wrap your napkin around the handle of your soup bowl.) Your main course is a combination of three items, those being a spare rib, half of a roasted chicken, and half of an herb-crusted baked potato. The chicken is the real star of the show for me but the ribs are fantastic as well. Last but not least, for desert you'll receive an apple turnover as well as a cup of coffee if you would like one.
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| Your place setting at Medieval Times; the metal plates are great but DO NOT bang them against one another. |
Finally, it's time to get down as only 6 medieval knights know how! The tournament festivities begin with introductions for the King and his court as well as each knight. Handling the introductions in Myrtle Beach is none other than Sir David of Macedonia, a performer who has been at this particular location for almost as long as I've been coming to Medieval Times if not longer (Sir David is something of an emcee of the entire nights proceedings as he also welcomes guests and does announcements in the Great Hall). Next you're treated to a series of examples of horsemanship featuring some incredible work by handler and horse alike. It really can't be overstated as to how amazing these animals are when seen in an environment like this. In between these segments of the program you'll also witness a display of falconry, which is an ancient technique where hunters would employ trained birds of prey.
Prior to the knights engaging in the joust, they'll go through a series of challenging skill-based games several of which involve using a lance to skewer a small ring suspended from a scaffold. That's a task that comes off to me as trying to thread a needle while hanging out the window of a car. Similarly, the knights take aim while on horseback with a javelin as they ride full speed towards a small target hung above their entry point to the arena. In addition, the knights will participate in a relay race as well as a challenge whereby they have to ride side-by-side with one of their rivals, keeping pace while tossing a small flagpole between one another. It goes without saying that the knights are tremendous athletes who truly are in command of their physical conditioning and horsemanship. When a knight is successful in one of these challenges, he receives several flowers from the Princess which he'll then distribute to certain of the ladies in his gallery.
The joust and the combat that follows is the main attraction of the tournament, needless to say. It's very exciting to see the knights set lance to shield, as Sir David would say, but the real kicker for me is the swordplay as the knights use a variety of medieval weaponry against one another, all in the name of winning the tournament. This is where I can draw a lot of comparisons between this show and professional wrestling as the outcome of the tournament is, of course, predetermined. What, you thought these guys are just going out there and winging it? No, there's a script in play and a plot does unfold during the course of the tournament. I won't go into detail regarding what the story involves so as to not give it away. All I will say is that I've seen several iterations of the Medieval Times show and the most recent revision that's out now is the best one yet (I can remember when the program involved a wizard and the Green knight was always a villain - not so anymore, thankfully).
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| A panoramic view of the arena with the knights and their servants during the introductions. |
As it stands, you've got 1-in-6 odds of cheering for the knight who wins the tournament and is recognized as the champion of the realm. I honestly don't know that we've ever cheered for the knight who won, although I could be wrong. At this point we're just trying to make sure that we've been seated once in at least every section, and we're 5/6's of the way to that goal as the only section we've never sat in is that of the Yellow knight.
All things totaled, the Medieval Times experience is incredibly unique and it's something that I feel anyone who visits Myrtle Beach should do at least once. Yes, it's a gimmicky dinner show and it's expensive, but so is everything else in Myrtle Beach. Besides, if you're in Myrtle Beach you're more than likely on vacation - if you can't cut loose and do something fun while you're on vacation, you probably need expensive pharmacology and perhaps a psychiatrist. Or maybe just more rum - either way, take it from me when I say that Medieval Times is a great night out that you and your family can enjoy together.
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