The Royal Treatment: Medieval Times (Toronto) Review and Giveaway

Ever since my mom gifted The Bean a toy castle complete with knights and a cannon for Christmas, he has been interested in kings and dragons and all things related.  Some of his favourite books these days are fairy tales and, like many other pre-school aged kids these days he's pretty into Arendelle and its two princesses. So, when we were contacted about reviewing Medieval Times for the blog, it didn't take us long to decide that it was an offer we'd certainly take up!

In case that's not clear enough, we were provided with complementary tickets for this review and giveaway purposes. We were not compensated financially for this review. Of course, all opinions are our own.

We told The Bean and Sprout on Thursday that on Saturday we would be going to a castle to watch a show. They were both pretty excited about it. The Bean told literally everyone he happened to talk to... down to the teller at the bank when I was getting change for laundry and the pizza delivery person on Friday night.  Haha.

It was suggested to us that we arrive early to check out the "castle", horses and gift shop. Unfortunately The Bean (who took a long time to go down for his nap due to all the excitement) slept late, so we were racing downtown just to make it on time for the show, never mind early.

The staff were polite and helpful as we figured out ticket pick-up, were given a swag bag, and navigated our way to our seats.

We were seated front row centre, which was amazing. The Bean and Sprout were in awe when the first horse came galloping out. I didn't know what to expect in terms of focus, but both kids remained pretty enthralled through the performance. Towards the end Sprout abandoned her seat to climb up and down the stairs beside us, but The Bean was attentive for the entire show.

We were seated in the "red and yellow" section. The kids loved waving their flags, no matter which knight was performing. Jen and I made sure they cheered loudest for our knight, who we jokingly referred to as John Snow.  (Check out the photos below --you can see the resemblance too, can't you?)

I was quite impressed with the show. I've never been and didn't really know what to expect. They kept things moving along quite well and there were a lot of different acts, from dressage, to a falconer, to jousting and sword fighting.

Dinner was served in courses throughout the duration of the performance. We were each served garlic bread, tomato soup, a huge portion of chicken, half a roasted potato, some corn on the cob, and sorbet for dessert. Dinner out can often be a challenge for us due to The Bean's dairy allergy, but the staff were amazing. When we were going back and forth making arrangements they asked about allergies and when we arrived we had a special card to give to our wench (waitress) noting The Bean's food restrictions. They had also sent me a menu with an ingredient list to read beforehand, so we knew what he could and couldn't have and could request some substitutions (namely the dessert). Turns out, we didn't really have to give it so much thought as he barely ate anything, but still it was nice to know. The food was good, and Jen, Sprout and I all enjoyed our meals. The Bean is just super-picky about food.

Dinner was served without utensils, but Jen had packed a bib and spoon for each of the kids. I have heard that they'll happily accommodate little ones with utensils, but we didn't ask. They did, however, bring over boosters right away when I asked. The service across the board was excellent.

The Bean's favourite part of the show, by far, was when the knights battled each other.  He was cheering up a storm and you could just tell that he wanted in on the action. Sprout loved the horses, when John Snow gave her a flower, and the corn on the cob. 

The Bean had a meltdown as we were leaving since we refused to buy him a sword, but aside from that it was a really fun evening out with the family. Because of their ages, I feel like The Bean got more out of it than Sprout, but the both definitely enjoyed themselves, as did Jen and I. The Bean's already been asking when we can go back again, and I expect that one day we will.

And now for the GIVEAWAY...

If you would like to win tickets for four to see a performance at Medieval Times Toronto, please comment here with the name of your favourite fairy tale. (It doesn't even have to have knights or princesses in it.) Winners will be picked Friday, March 6th, 2015 and announced shortly thereafter. (Please leave your email address in your comment so we can notify you if you win!)