Medieval Times: Myrtle Beach where Queens rule!

For the first time in 34 years, Medieval Times has a Queen ruling the castle!  They've had a Queen accompany a King before but this is the first Queen ruler.  Queen Maria Isabella runs a tournament among the knights, rides a horse and more!

Where do you start and what can you expect?  That's what I'm here for.  I will fill you in on everything you would want to know before you even purchase a ticket!  And if you make it all the way through you'll get some gems from our behind the scenes tour!

First of all, you can get tickets at the castle or order them online.  There are general admission tickets or there are three special add-on packages to choose from:

• Queen’s Royalty Package (includes guaranteed seating in the first-row of any section or second-row, center section, entrance group photo, VIP lanyard, and cheering banner for each member of the party)
• Royalty Package (includes preferred seating, VIP lanyard, and cheering banner for each member of the party)
• Celebration Package (includes preferred seating, framed group photo, VIP lanyard, and cheering banner, slice of cake and an announcement of the party during the show.)

*Children under the age of 3 are admitted free as long as they sit on adults' laps and eat from their plate. If you prefer the child to have his or her own seat and meal then the child rate would apply.*

Parking is always free, and there's plenty of space around the castle.  Castle opens 75 mins prior to showtime, so plan to arrive early; seating is first come, first served and to obtain the best seats available you should arrive as early as possible.  To fill up the time while you wait you can check out the excellent bar, gift shop, or Hall of Arms displaying medieval artifacts and a medieval torture museum.

For dinner they offer a delicious 4 course meal, that you will eat with your hands (yep, no utensils).  Next time I will pack plastic utensils, because cutting up Judes food wasn't easy with my hands. And we requested a straw for the Tomato Bisque because that was the only way he'd eat that without dumping it all over himself.  They also offer Vegetarian meals and will make any special allergy accommodations upon request.

The arena seats 1,300 people in different sections marked by colors of all the knights.  As the courses come out you and your family will enjoy a 2 hour medieval jousting tournament with six competing knights with real weapons and the most beautiful horses.  You'll marvel at the costumes that are handmade in Dallas.  No show has the same costumes, so when the show changes so do the costumes.  Our oldest son really enjoyed the Live flight of the royal falcon.  He flies all over the arena under his trainers guidance.

Our absolute favorite part of the tour and where we spent most of our time was with the horses.  I wanted to see where they lived, how they ate, exercised and more.  They currently have 23 horses that are all less than 16 years old.  Most horses retire around 18-20 years old and when they do they return to the 250 acre ranch in Texas where they came from.  The youngest horse was 3 years old and is still being trained and isn't used in the show just yet.  The stables are impeccable with air, running water, and memory foam mattress flooring.  They have a dentist visit every other week and a vet weekly.  They have a place to roam and play outside, and this is also where they practice for shows.  They have three breeds at their show,  Andalusian, Quarter Horse and Friesian.  We were able to see all of their stalls, pet some of the horses, see some of them practicing and even a couple get their baths.  We were impressed with how well they are cared for and how clean everything was.

To put into one word how I felt about the whole production, with all the behind the scenes included, it would be Impressed. As adults, we were entertained, and had a great time and we'd come back again and again.  Our oldest son is 12 and he loved it and is already asking when we can go back. I will say, as a mom, I wouldn't recommend the show for any children under 5 unless you know your child can sit at a dinner table and watch a show for 2 hours. There isn't a break or intermission, so what I'm saying is make the judgement call based off of your family. Our little guy is 2 and he was ready to get down and run around.  But, he did eat everything they brought out, his favorite was the corn on the cob!  He was a buttery mess afterwards and that made for great photos!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to post them below and if I can't answer them I know someone who can!  I hope this gives you a little more insight into this great show and gem right there in Myrtle Beach!  If you've been to Medieval Times be sure to comment which knight you got to cheer for!  We were on the red knight team at first but because of a seating issue we were switched to the blue knight side!  But we had such a great time and hope you will too!