Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament — Attraction in Schaumburg Township

Disappointing. We drove almost 3 hours to come here based on a previous pleasant experience. Our son had a surgery, and couldn’t do much this summer, so we figured we would treat him to this before school really got started. Purchased our tickets online. Got there and we were some of the first people in line. The wait to be able to get your table after doors open is about 90 minutes. This time we were not allowed to select which house we were going to root for. No big deal. Once we got our tickets, we walked around the gift areas and asked about the torture exhibit. They got rid of it after COVID. No big deal. We were spending pre show time looking at the horses and the falcon. Very cool! Finally it was time to enter the seating area. We were EVENTUALLY greeted by our waiter well after we noticed everyone else had been. He took our drink order. Once we finally received our drinks, it was time for the show/food to start coming out. Our table (table 10 in red/yellow section on 8/23 at the 6:45 pm show) was not only the very last to get served (The other sections and the rows in front of and behind us were all given their soup and garlic bread), all of the other tables around us were already getting their tables cleared of the soup dishes. I had to ask several times if we could get our garlic bread. Our waiter (he said “Joseph, Or Joe”) acted, or seemed high. I’m not fully sure how you forget food when everyone gets the exact same thing. Our soup was cold by the time we got it. The garlic bread was barely toasted. Again, the same thing happened when the main course of food was being brought out. All of the tables in front of and behind us as well as the other section on both sides of us all got their food long before we did. The food was not very warm. I will say, the potato wedge was good, not very warm, but good. Our entire row was pretty disappointed in the service. I even had a fellow patron turn to me and say “Thank you for telling him to bring these things because I was starting to get mad!”. Finally, the time came for dessert and low and behold, we again were the very last table to get served long after everyone had already eaten their dessert and the other waiters had cleaned up their tables. He also forgot a plate for my son so we had to share a dessert plate. He said “I put two on one plate.” In fact, he left the tray of eclairs in front of a person (setting directly in front of her) while he went to go get small plates. And he still didn’t grab enough of them. Also, that’s pretty gross to have the food, completely uncovered, sitting in front of a person.) The audacity is incredible, given the amount you pay per ticket. I did attempt to go tell management to which the female manager responded with: “ Well, did you at least enjoy the show?!?” Wow. I tried to let her know, and as I told her it is an opportunity for training and growth, because they can’t change what they don’t know. She seemed so uninterested in hearing of this that I read the room and just stopped my conversation with her at that point. The performance was, as always, very good but the service was so incredibly bad that we definitely will not be coming...

Review Date: June 28th, 2013

There exists a legend of a place that will transport you back to the middle ages. The ages of kings and queens. The times of jousting, knights, horseback riding, and eating with your hands. The legend claims that there are 9 such places located in the United States with 1 also located in Canada. It’s said that for a handful of currency, you can experience what it was like living in the times of yesteryears. That place is rumored to be called Medieval Times. I was able to find one of those places.

The girl I was dating at the time said she had 2 passes to Medieval Times. So, doing what I do best, I gathered a fellowship of friends to embark on a quest to take a trip back in time. We arrived with no expectations and left with sparkles in our eyes and stories for the ages.

Upon arriving, we all were surprised to see the building was a replica of a castle. That set the tone for the next few hours. We arrived early and waited outside in an ever-growing line of people to cross the drawbridge and moat to see the show. (There wasn’t an actual drawbridge nor moat, but maybe some day…)

After waiting awhile, the doors finally opened and we worked our way inside. After figuring out how to get through the ticket purchasing area (some of us had passes, some had to buy tickets), we were ushered in to the main area. This pavilion-like area was full of shops, bars, food and other things.

As we filed in towards the arena, we were assigned to a Knight has his/her color. We ended up in the Red/Yellow section. In total, there were about 8 different colors you could end up in. Throughout the show, the Knights fight for their colors to win a tournament. I believe ours was a Jousting competition. In the end, our section won! Hurray Red/Yellow Knight!

As I am sure with most shows, they change it up over the years but for us in 2013, the Knights competed for the hand of the Princess, if memory serves me right. Along with the show, they had a Falcon handler come out and let the falcon fly through the air and in to the seating area. Talk about adrenaline pumping!

One of the things Medieval Times is known for is the food. They don’t serve the food with utensils and you have to eat it with your bare hands. You had a few food options, just in case you were a vegetarian or had food allergies. The quality of the food was top notch. I still think about the soup from time-to-time as it was unlike anything I ever had before.

During the show, they have people taking drink orders. My friends and I ordered some rum and cokes. They were served in these thick lenticular cups that you got to keep after finishing your drink. Hopefully they still do that as the cups were cool as heck.

As the show ended, we made our long drive back home. The entire time, we discussed how awesome the show was and how it was worth the 3 hour drive there. If you have the chance, I would implore you to go there at least once. It’s definitely something to put on your bucket list.

I bid...

I feel like this place has been losing its magic over the years. Many price hikes and small amenities given to VIP really take the fun out of it. For those who are new, it's a sit down and eat show. Knights fight in a medieval jousting tournament and you cheer on the knight of the color given to you. There is also a falcon and horse show. If you are into horses, you will actually like this show.

What happened to the show?

The storyline has deteriorated over the years. What use to happen was a black knight comes out and says,"Isabella..." and this knight haunts her dreams and is comming after her. Isabella, the queen, then looks across the six kingdoms to find a brave knight to protect her. They host a tournament and at the end, there winner then faces off against this black knight and we all cheer the knight on. The knight saves the kingdom and the queen and tears the ending. I don't understand what was changed. You see the knight come out still, but them you never see him again. It makes no sense. And the end is super cringe now.

Food Overall, the food is basic. There is nothing gourmet here. If you are comming for the food, expect to be disappointed.

Tomato bisque, garlic bread You can buy a can of tomato bisque from the store and you wouldn't tell the difference. Garlic bread was cold and had that nasty cold butter on top. Gross.

1/2 chicken, half potato, corn Potato was warm but extremely overcooked. You can tell by how shriveled up the potato was. If you go to your local super market and get a rotisserie chicken with lemon, that's pretty much the chicken. Corn was cold and not seasoned. Some of the kernels were raw.

Eclair? No seriously, a cheap eclair. It use to be an apple turnover. But now you get a cheap small eclair. I measured it - you get a 1 inch eclair. The turnover was much bigger and actually tasted amazing. So disappointed.

Pricing and Amenities This is something that has gone up and you get less of. When you got to your table in the past, a flag color from your team would be there in the cup. You only get that now if you add VIP to your ticket. A fun way to nickel and dime the consumers. I got a beer and it was $26.00. Way to much even with a souvenir mug. Granted I can come back with it for 11.00 beer refill whenever, but at $67.00 admission, when would I want to come back? That price inst reasonable for one person.

Which takes me to my last point. With the way food is and how convoluted the show is, take your kids somewhere else. You'd get more for your money...