Earlier in December I went to Medieval Times in Scottsdale, Arizona and then the day after Christmas I went to Dolly Parton's Stampede. They're both dinner shows and I had to request the celiac meal for both.

Prior to the show, my husband and I walked around to check out the horses and the dovecote. They have quite a lot of very beautiful animals in this show and it was nice to see them up close before showtime.

After we went inside, my husband got the pre-ordered boot cup with a non-alcoholic slushie as part of the package we bought. I thought the souvenir cup looked really cheap. It's just a tiny, white, plastic boot. I would not repurchase that.

The preshow was amazing with 2 brothers and a cousin? Uncle? Playing an upright bass, a banjo and a guitar. Loved it. Highlight of the day.

When we found our seats, the chairs are really crammed in together and of course a couple comes in to sit next to us in our row with a huge diaper bag because they had twin babies (probably about 10 months old) that they were going to have be lap children. It was impossible for 4 people to cram in to two tiny seats. Luckily our waiter saw how cramped we all were and moved them to the next section that was empty so they could spread out. He also gave them a third meal so the kids didn't muck up their parents' plate.

There needs to be a rule that there are no lap children. Everyone needs a seat. There is no way a baby carrier can even fit in. It should be 1 soul = 1 seat. It's too cramped otherwise. We would have been miserable if the row next to us hadn't been completely empty so that family could move.

As someone with celiac disease, I was very disappointed with the food. Instead of the soup, the gluten-free substitution was steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with zero seasoning. Who wants to eat this? Nobody. I would rather have nothing than have a steaming pile of unseasoned fart vegetables. I was also given a nasty, cold Udi's roll. I asked if they had a pat of butter or anything I could put on the roll or vegetables. NOPE! Not an option - only salt, pepper or bbq sauce.

The chicken was meh tasting and I ended up taking it home. I also had mashed potatoes and pulled pork. Again, no toppings and finally an Udi's snickerdoodle cookie. I hated the food honestly. Can someone without celiac disease try what they serve celiacs and then decide if they'd be satisfied with that meal?

The show was fine. It was Christmas themed. I didn't like that no video was allowed but photos without flash are allowed. No other dinner show that I've been to has that rule. Even though I have a new camera, low light action shots just don't turn out great compared to a video clip. I don't know why the rule can't be "video clips are allowed but please don't film the whole show or more than a minute or two at a time."

Overall, I enjoyed the preshow a ton. I loved seeing the horses and birds. I liked the regular show enough, including the ice skating and camels that came out as part of the nativity play. I also loved the fire show rider act. I just didn't like the cramped seating, the food and the no video policy.

With a few tweaks, it would greatly improve the experience.

Visited: December 26, 2024.