Medieval Times unveils its new show

Medieval Times is back with an all- new show that entertains, captivates and mesmerizes the imagination of the audience.

Once inside the venue, it is like stepping back in time to the dark ages. The staff speaks to the guests in old English, the rooms are full of medieval memorabilia, and a torture chamber museum presents devices that don't look too friendly. 

The pre-show experience of torture chambers is a nice way to keep the children entertained and there are two full bars for the adults to enjoy, which is a nice build up before the main performance. Attendees had no problem getting to their seats with the superb crowd control.

There is a welcomed surprise, once seated. There are no utensils given during the dining experience, which is accurate with the time period and while messy, is also a lot of fun. The courses consisted of tomato soup, garlic bread, a large piece of chicken, barbeque ribs, and a warm apple pie for dessert. They also offer a vegetarian dish for the non-carnivores in attendance.

The main show consisted of six knights and each section in the crowd cheers for their assigned knight. Once the show starts the audience is introduced to King Carlos and Princess Catalina, whom the knights are trying to impress.

The knights come out last on gorgeous, prancing horses, while the lights go around the arena, which makes it a perfect blend of Medieval Times meets the UFC.

The tournament contains several challenges that the knights have to compete in. The winning knight is named the "King's Champion. "

"I bet that took a lot of work to train that horse to do that," said guest Deanna Kelly, from Whittier. "That was really neat. "

It took 18 months to produce the new show, with all the training and rehearsal to make it just right.

"We actually had 10 days of intense rehearsing and training coming into today," said King Carlos. "For the past 18 months, the knights were training with their horses almost twice a day. "

Towards the end of the evening came the main event, the moment everyone was waiting for- the jousting tournament. It was very exhilarating and obvious   that the production value was pretty high as the whole spectacle went off without a hitch.

"I came here about ten years ago and it was okay but this new show was pretty cool," said Erik Santana, from Tustin.

The show was a great blend of entertainment, imagination and outright fun. The charismatic audience added to the atmosphere, pulling the whole show together.

"This is what we live for, to make the audience happy and to keep them entertained," said Princess Catalina. "There's nothing more we can ask for. "

Medieval Times is having a Valentine's Day special next week from February 10-14. The package includes, dinner and tournament show, along with entry into the castle museum. The day's special also comes with champagne in two souvenir glasses, a long- stem rose and a Valentine's Day scroll to remember the occasion.