Going Behind the Scenes at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament Buena Park Castle

Our family was invited to go on an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Buena Park, and it was a truly remarkable experience. 

As their special guests before the show, we sat and observed the knights practicing with their horses. They practice every day. These guys go through an extensive training process to become a knight and they're passionate about their jobs. Fun fact - long hair is encouraged when you're a knight because the short hair look is not so medieval. You can have short hair too, but you'll have to wear chainmail coifs.

After they all exited to get their horses ready for the show, Head Knight Jesse (super nice guy btw) stayed after to talk to us about the weapons they use. My boys enjoyed this a lot, and I'm glad it added a fun hands-on component to our tour.

Head Knight Jesse also showed us up-close the sword's blunt edge from all the fighting in the show. They're real weapons and need to be grind down or replaced from time to time. The sparks that you see during the show is not special effects!

All the medieval knights need to stay fit and strong to carry their weapons and shields. In fact, there's a workout bench backstage. Knight Jesse told us shields weigh about 8 lbs and more if they have fresh paint. If you have seen the show, their Knights don't just sit there and look gorgeous holding weapons all night. They are always in motion, competing in a tournament, riding their horses, or fighting, and don't forget they were practicing before the show.

Here's another fun fact. You know the lancers used in the show? They have special slits in them to give it that dramatic effect when they hit the shields. (The cuts make them weaker.) They go through a lot of these and keep on hand 30 boxes with 80 lances per box.

Photo Courtesy of Medieval Times.

BACKSTAGE

Here's what we saw backstage... knights tending to horses, preparing their weapons, working out, doing laundry - pretty cool right? Everything is designed for quick changes and set ups. When we're out watching the show, everything flows smoothly with little to no down time. They are quite organized.

Check out their Presentation Parade Armors! These again are designed for quick changes.  

There are 18 knights and 30 horses in Buena Park. Each show requires 12 Knights including Squires and 18 horses.


ABOUT MEDIEVAL TIME'S HORSES

We also got an up close look of the horses with Redha, their head horse trainer. There are 6 breeds and they use only male horses for the show. Spanish purebreds are selected primarily because of their medieval heritage. A fun fact about the Spanish breeds - they start with a dark color and turn white when they are older. Most of their horses are bred and trained in Dallas, Texas at their Chapel Creek Ranch, and a few are imported from Italy. In an area beyond backstage, they have a traditional horse stable.

Because riding is the most important part, Knights need to bond with their horses. This knight is braiding his horse's tail. Notice the horse's color. This horse is younger compared to the horse in the next picture.

We're standing next to 9 year old Conde. Isn't he beautiful? 

That segment of our tour was pretty cool. It was informative, educational, and the animals are just beautiful. It's also nice to know that they are well taken care of. We had some extra time so we then headed back out to the arena to watch more of the Knights practicing and training.

MUSEUM OF TORTURE

Did you know that there's a Museum of Torture that features about 30 torture weapons? Not recommended for all ages, but if you want to check it out, come early and visit the Dungeon. Cost $2 per person.

Special arrangements can be made when purchasing packages for celebrations with a knighting ceremony with the King.

SPECIAL VIEWING AREA FOR HORSES

Want another reason to come early? There's a special viewing area for the horses while you wait!

WHICH KNIGHT WILL WIN?

Every night they rotate which Knight will win the battle so you'll never know if you're on the winning team. It's fun to cheer either way, so go on, Boo the other teams. Get into it!

The King and the lovely Princess. 

We are cheering for the Green Knight tonight. 

TIP: Ladies (or gentlemen), if you cheer for your Knight after each challenge and catch his attention, he will throw you a flower.

There's a segment in the show that features the horses and the skills that they were trained to do back in the medieval times during battle. They are amazing creatures and extremely skilled!

THE MENU

Here's what we had for dinner: tomato bisque, castle bread, roasted chicken, bbq spare rib, herb potato, and for dessert - warm apple turn overs.

Photo courtesy of Medieval Times.

This year Florida's castle (the first castle) is celebrating their 30th anniversary, and California's castle is not far behind in their 28th year!

Disclosure: We were invited to attend a private backstage tour and provided tickets to the show for reviewing purposes. All opinions are our own. All images are by LetsPlayOC.com unless where indicated. Your experiences may vary. 

Thanks so much, Medieval Times, for a wonderful and unique backstage experience before the show! We enjoyed learning more about the show and visiting with the Knights and animals.

-Mary

Medieval Times 

Dinner & Tournament

7662 Beach Blvd 

Buena Park, CA

(866) 543-9637

 www.medievaltimescalifornia.com

RATES

Adults: $59.95 (+tax & processing fee)

Children (12 years and under): $36.95 (+tax & processing fee)
Lap children under age of 3: Free

Gratuities not included.

Upgrade Royalty Packages are Available. 

Please check their website for promos, upgrades, special offers, updated prices, and for show times.