Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament is a chain of dinner theater establishments which stage tournaments in the style of the knightly contests of the high Middle Ages. The company is privately held and headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

The original Medieval Times opened as El Castillo del Cid in 1984 in Kissimmee, Florida—amidst initial skepticism. Since then it has opened seven additional locations primarily in suburban areas of North America, all modeled on the first. The mostly white Andalusian horses featured in the shows are raised and trained at the company's own Chapel Creek Ranch in Sanger, Texas.

The show

Customers pay for the dinner and show on a single ticket; after purchasing, they gather for pre-show entertainment outside the venue, called a "castle" and bearing external resemblance to an 11th century northern European castle. Each castle has a capacity of between 1,000 and 1,400 patrons.

Upon admission they are seated at tables encircling a large indoor arena, in which the performing "knights" engage in jousting as well as fencing and individual and equestrian skill games. The house is divided into four sections, each assigned a different color, and the audience members are encouraged to cheer for knights who wear the same color.

Dinner is served in courses, without eating utensils as the audience is to eat with their hands in medieval fashion. Dinner and show are designed to last two hours.

Pop culture

In the 1996 movie The Cable Guy, Jim Carrey's character entertains a customer played by Matthew Broderick at a medieval-themed show. The scene was filmed at the Medieval Times location in Buena Park, California near Knott's Berry Farm.

External links

• The United States radio show This American Life featured a visit to Medieval Times in Simulated Worlds, an episode first aired on 10/11/1996.