You don’t need a time machine to travel back to the era of Kings and Queens, just venture over to Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament’s majestic castle in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, where you’ll be greeted as “my lady” (or “my lord”) inside the 11th-century inspired restaurant.

Our Gallant Knight’s recent 7th birthday piqued our interests in experiencing the two-hour show as a family.  We brought our excitement (and our appetites) and got to rooting for our assigned Knight as soon as we were adorned with cardboard crowns!

We took some family photos, checked out the castle’s interior, grabbed adult beverages and two light-up swords, and found our seats in our color assigned section. In an arena full of sand, complete with soon to be revealed characters including a wise King, Princess, Royal Falconer, and Knights upon their chargers – visitors cheered as the tale blasted across the loudspeakers.

We were given two booster seats for the kids (and, yes, one for me!) and were then set to dig into a hearty feast consumed without utensils.  We joined in the eruption of cheers as the six Knights were introduced in the impressive battle.  The Knights threw handfuls of flowers into their designated sections and competed in exceptional physical combat – complete with jousting, sparks, special effects and even dives off of horses! Our little birthday boy was all fired-up screaming for his Knight as they thwacked each other and smashed spears to smithereens inside the arena.

Much to our surprise, our Knight won the tournament! My husband broke into hysterics watching me jump out of my seat in voracious cheers. We all rooted until our faces hurt and couldn’t believe the events that unfolded when our winning Knight came out of the arena and crowded our girl “the Queen of Love and Beauty!”.

We’ll be back with the grandparents and cousins in the future as the experience proved fit for a royal celebration.  We also left with a few helpful tips to share:

• Arrive Early: There’s a lot to experience inside the castle, from fun photo-ops – to cool gift shops, a great bar, a dungeon and more. Also, regular seating is first-come-first-serve inside the assigned arena sections.
• Consider Purchasing the Celebration Package add-on: For an additional $18 per person you’ll get VIP seating (we had our own table), priority castle entry, VIP lanyards, Knight’s rally towels, cheering banners, framed entrance group photos, slices of cake and best of all: a personalized announcement during the tournament! We had them give a shout-out to our son on his birthday, and he hasn’t stopped saying, “but HOW DID THEY KNOW?!!!”.
• Bring Your Energy!: The collective excitement of visitors in the arena elevates the experience. So come ready to cheer and share your fun on social media with the hashtag #MTFan!

A post shared by Monica Marino (@marinobambinos) on May 28, 2017 at 4:29pm PDT

Luckily, you don’t have to live close to New Jersey to experience this epic battle of steel and steed since Medieval Times has nine locations nationwide.

Special thanks to Medieval Times for hosting us.  Opinions, as always, are my own.