Medieval Times was like stepping back into the age of jousting and swords — if that age also had blue slushies and light-up axes for the kids to purchase.

Here, I’ll give you the complete, honest opinion of our time spent there over the September long weekend.

First of all — we didn’t know the Exhibition and Air Show were happening right beside Medieval Times, which made trying to get there a COMPLETE nightmare. I’m talking thousands and thousands of people crossing the street, street closures and people literally just pulling over on the side of the road to watch the air show. At one point, we didn’t think we were going to make it, so I jumped out with the kids and started walking towards the show while my husband was stuck in traffic.

I actually went up to a gentleman working at one of the barricades and explained the situation. He told me, “Just point out which car is your husband’s and we’ll open the barricade for him,” which was SUPER appreciated. The kids and I kept going to make sure we could get seats together with our cousins, and $50 later for parking (more expensive because of the event — which we also didn’t realize), we all made it in right as the show started. After navigating traffic, barricades, thousands of people, abandoning my husband in the car and genuinely wondering if we were even going to make it inside, I immediately ordered myself a blue slushie with vodka. I had earned that slushie.

A tip from our mistake: Before you book, take a quick look at what else is happening around the venue that day. We had NO idea the Exhibition and Air Show were happening right beside Medieval Times, and it had a huge impact on traffic, parking and how long it took us to get there. Had we known, we either would have picked a different day or planned to arrive MUCH earlier. So before you choose your date, check what’s happening nearby — especially if you’re going on a weekend or holiday. It might completely change when you want to go or how much time you give yourself to get there.

As for the actual show — it was really great! They put on a fantastic performance, not just with the swords and jousting, but with the storyline as well. I was very impressed with the overall production, and it was a lot of fun cheering on our knight — even though ours was the first one out. Surprisingly, my five-year-old’s favourite part of the entire show was the falcon flying over our heads. I wasn’t expecting that to be such a highlight, but it was really cool.

Food-wise, I really enjoyed it, and eating with your hands was fun, but it definitely wasn’t a favourite for my kids. It’s very much an adult meal, and the kids were not impressed — except for dessert. Dessert was a hit. We went to the 4 o’clock show, so it actually worked out pretty well. We had given them snacks beforehand, and then we just fed them again afterwards.

The service was amazing, and our server was incredibly attentive to our needs. When I realized I had forgotten my son’s noise-cancelling headphones and was trying to cover his ears from the sound (it wasn’t actually very loud — he’s just sensitive to sound), she immediately brought me earplugs for him, which was very kind.

Another highlight was after the show, when we got to meet the knights and the King and Queen, see the horses in their stalls and check out the falcons. The fun continued through the gift shop, which had all kinds of Medieval Times swag that was actually very reasonably priced — something I was not expecting from a tourist attraction!

Overall, we were really impressed with the experience and would definitely go back in the future. Although next time, maybe we’ll go with my husband’s D&D group because that would be a LOT of fun. And if you’re thinking about dressing up — DO IT! You won’t be alone, and it’s fun to get into the spirit.

Basically, it’s the perfect way to live out your dreams of being in A Knight’s Tale.

Now if only Heath Ledger had ridden out on one of the horses…