Medieval Times and Pirates Dinner Adventure Review

So we live about an hour south of some fun, family places. We have wanted to check out Medieval Times (MT) for a while now. Our friend called us up with a deal/promotion they were having. So we gave MT a call and reserved our dinner. (We visited in 2015, Buena Park, Ca)

Medieval Times 2015

When you arrive, you will want to get there early mainly for parking purposes. The seats have been assigned, so it doesn't make a difference if you were the first in line. The parking is pretty limited, but I was glad to see the location was close to the freeway (also not far from Knott's Berry Farm). You are given a paper crown with a color on it. That is the team you are rooting, screaming, shouting for. We were team black and white. My daughter was still chanting "black and white!!!" days later.

Before the show, you can check out some cool stuff at the gift shop, visit the bar, and my favorite part...see the horses. They are in stables and you can check them out (before and after I believe) the show. When they are ready to seat you, they will call out your color and direct you to which side you need to stand in. The food was okay, nothing amazing, but decent. In my mind, you are paying for the show and not so much the quality of the food. We had good service and it was fun to scream, shout, and bang on the table while eating dinner. I enjoyed how interactive the show was, the men toss roses into the stadium to lucky ladies and you really get into cheering for your color team. I was really impressed by the sword fighting skills and stunts. They also have an awesome jousting event between the teams! We also got slushy cups and were able to keep the cups, so it's a win-win! When you sign up on their website, you will get emails from them on promotions and specials. For example, we got a free ticket for a birthday and father's day!

Tip: come dressed as a princess or a knight. Order the slurpee/slushie drink and keep the souvenir cup!

http://www.medievaltimes.com/
(Make sure you click on the "promotions and savings" link to check for deals and also let them know if you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary. They have a variety of packages that include extra goodies, including birthday party packages as well.

beautiful horses

they do have earplugs to give, but she didn't want them

Jousting Event

Pirate Adventure 2016

Almost right next door to MT was the Pirate Dinner Adventure show. We decided one year to try that out as well. It is very similar to the structure of MT; you get dinner, a show, and instead of a paper crown, you get a colored pirate bandanna (use your Yelp app to check in for a free bandanna) . So you are cheering on your pirate , we were cheering for the purple pirate. He will stand in front of your section and want you to cheer for him as he fights for the hand of the kidnapped princess. The food I would have to say was not as good as MT. They did have a cool gift shop for the pirate lovers in your family. There is real water around the ship and they go in a little boat a few times during the show.

There was not as much adult involvement in this show (not as much cheering, booing, banging on tables as MT). They did offer more involvement for kids however, for the birthday kids, they were invited onto the ship for a little skit. Then later our waitress asked if our daughter wanted to be apart of the show.I was surprised that my daughter (4) agreed since she is usually pretty shy. So they take a group of kids backstage to give them a pirate costume and gun! The waitress came back after a while and said our daughter was crying and wanted to come back. I think the gun fire, blasts and the lightning/stormy effects were scaring her. WARNING: the show has loud blasts and dark stormy effect, a few times I was thinking that a military vet with PTSD would not enjoy this show. They also had some  beautiful aerial dancing on ropes that I enjoyed. Overall, if you have a pirate loving family member or friend, I recommend this show.
Tip: Get there early for some free appetizer bites and a show in the lounge before the main show begins. Come dressed up as a pirate!! Check the Yelp app for a free bandanna when you check in! They offer a military discount and when you sign up for their emails, you get a free ticket on your birthday.

http://piratesdinneradventureca.com/

Trying to decide which show to attend? In my opinion, for my family, we enjoyed the Medieval Times show better. My daughter loves horses and we had a lot of fun banging on the table, cheering for our knight, and booing the others. The pirate show also has a Christmas show and a Vampirates show, check the website for party packages.

Pressed Pennies: None found here