blackshirt5
First Post
Yes but how much to fight a la Cable Guy?DMScott said:
I'm going to Medieval Times
- Thread starter Quasqueton
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Angcuru
First Post
I remember going a while back, not sure when though. The food was good, and so was the show. I'd say that the only thing to avoid is buying a sword. They have a nice selection of all types of bladed implements and dragon statuets and such, but the swords can be easily found for much lower prices on the internet.
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
Quasqueton said:
MojoGM & I went to the one in Orlando a few weeks ago. It was quite fun. I have a few tips for you...
If you have anyone who requires diet soda for whatever reason in your party, call ahead and make sure they have it. The one in Orlando does not. I am diabetic. This made my who enjoyment of my meal (water being my only other choise as I hate beer) go downhill...I know it sounds like I'm whining but this really aggravated me to no end.
Get there early. You'll want time to check out the other stuff they have set up there. Not sure if they are all the same but they had a Medieval village set up in Orlando that was cool to walk through, and a dungeon with lots of old torture devices etc. It was $2 extra to get in but worth it as they had some neat stuff. They also gave a falcon demonstration. Then we checked out the shop. I wish we'd gotten there sooner than we did though. We only had about 30 minutes to check all this stuff out.
Remember that gratuity is not included in your ticket cost and your server will come around later to leave a tip tray. We did not know this and had no cash.
Unless you want to spend $15 on a photo or three skip having your picture taken. We missed a part of the show I had been looking forward to (a segment with the horses) because somone trying to sell me photos stood infront of us explaining the whole deal about the pictures during this scene. I think if you skip having it done (they don't tell you this...they just usher you to the picture and you don't really get a chance to say no) you won't be bothered.
Other than that it was great. Our knight held in there for a while...I caught the rose he threw...
The music is great too. We bought the soundtrack.
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
I just realized MojoGM already replied to this...making my whole post rather redundant...
Angcuru
First Post
Ah, but he didn't include the part about the rose-catching, now did he? How dare he forget this little detail which is the type that (most of) us guys so easy forget!Djeta Thernadier said:I just realized MojoGM already replied to this...making my whole post rather redundant...
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
Angcuru said:Ah, but he didn't include the part about the rose-catching, now did he? How dare he forget this little detail which is the type that (most of) us guys so easy forget!
Hahaha....I bet if the princess had thrown a rose to him, he'd have remembered
Silly men....EDIT : Upon telling him of this post, his response was "What Princess?"
Last edited:
Angcuru
First Post
Yes, silly men indeed. Just the other day I walked face first into the business end of a 2x10 plank of Douglass Fir at work. Got a nice little set of paralell cuts/bruises on my face. Bridge of my nose and right between my eyebrows in fact.Djeta Thernadier said:Hahaha....I bet if the princess had thrown a rose to him, he'd have remembered
Mostly on account of the ice on the ground and the fact that my arms were full so I couldn't steady myself, but still...I had put that wood there not five minutes ago, I should have known to avoid it. :\
Ao the Overkitty
First Post
I really don't even remember how old I was when I went to the one in Orlando (definately less than 10 yo), but I had a blast.
Course, what kid doesn't like getting to eat with his hands. I didn't finish all of my meal, so I got a Dragon bag (as they called it). That's pretty much all I remember.
Course, what kid doesn't like getting to eat with his hands. I didn't finish all of my meal, so I got a Dragon bag (as they called it). That's pretty much all I remember.
Quasqueton
First Post
Well, I went to the show this weekend.
It was. . . well. . . um. . . bad. I can't quite bring myself to say it sucked, but it was bad. Actually, it sucked.
I didn't expect a historical reinactment, and I understand the limitations of such a show. But. . . well. . . let me highlight a few things:
The knights fought to the death. When the first knight was down, and the victor stood over him, the king opened the decision to the crowd: Do you want this tournament to be to the death? The roar of the crowd told the king they wanted death. So the victorious knight slew the downed victim.
There were children in the audience. Now, of course, there was no blood and gore in the special effects, but still. I would never bring a child to this event -- and have them cheer for violence and death. Vulgar.
So each pair of knights fought to the death. First they joust. Then they'd fight on foot. When they were on foot, they'd play up to the crowd like a couple Roman gladiators (or WWF wrestlers).
I was actually offended by this violent and brutal farce of a Medieval Tournament. And not really because of what was shown, but rather because of how it was billed and in front of whom it was shown -- children as young as preschoolers.
During the games part of the tournament (when the knights lanced rings, and captured flags, and threw javelins from a galloping horse), the king's seer warned of a traitor. I expected a betrayal or something, and maybe the knights would have to fight and defeat an evil/renegade knight or something. But no. The "knights" fought and killed each other for the entertainment of the crowd. The betrayer was revealed at the end, and there was an unexciting fight where the bad guy (not a tournament knight) was captured by the one surviving knight. The bad guy was captured! But the various good knights were all killed by each other! WTF?!
Add to this atrocious "story" the awfully bad choreography and stunt work. Timing was terrible. The combatants were dodging a blow before the attacker even wound up his swing. The combatants would miss striking their weapons together (so one could be disarmed), so they'd back up their action to put the weapons in their proper spots.
Over and over and over. I was left wondering, "Do this guys ever practice these fights?"
The combatants would strike their weapons together and do the old contest of brute-strength where they'd push each other's weapon back and forth and then one would kick the other to break the stalemate. But the fighters were not even straining against one another. I was like they were dancing politely.
When the action was for the attacker to strike the shield of the defender, and knock him back: the defender would throw up his shield before the attack even raised his weapon.
When the jousting knights struck, and their lances shattered, the loosing knight would fall off his horse well past the strike.
I mean, I understand the need for safety and all, but damn. I honesty think I could have done as good at this staged combat as these guys did with just an hour's worth of practice.
The more I think about it and write about it, the more I want to shout, "God, it sucked!"
Even my wife, who is by no means a medieval historian (hell, she doesn't know the difference between a mace and a moat), even thought the show was bad. As we left the building after the show, we didn't talk about the show until the next morning. I knew there was something wrong when she didn't even ask me if I enjoyed it. I asked her what she thought and she asked me about medieval tournaments. Even though she had no knowledge about the subject, she realized the stupidity of having knights (all in the service to the same king) kill each other. And though she knows nothing about hand-to-hand combat, she thought the fights looked sloppy and ill timed.
And the "knights" didn't even wear any real armor. Their "armor" was just that shiny silver material that you see at halloween parties. The very first weapons used in the foot combat were "spears" (looked more like Japanese naginatas) -- the blades wobbled and bent when used. So obviously fake. Sheesh, couldn't they at least have used wood "blades" or some other firm material to look like metal instead of rubber?
There were some good moments -- like making sparks when some weapons clashed; good food; fun to eat with no utensils; the chancellor/MC was a good speaker; the falcon demonstration. But all in all, I will never go back, and I cannot recommend this show.
I had to get this off my chest.
Quasqueton
It was. . . well. . . um. . . bad. I can't quite bring myself to say it sucked, but it was bad. Actually, it sucked.
I didn't expect a historical reinactment, and I understand the limitations of such a show. But. . . well. . . let me highlight a few things:
The knights fought to the death. When the first knight was down, and the victor stood over him, the king opened the decision to the crowd: Do you want this tournament to be to the death? The roar of the crowd told the king they wanted death. So the victorious knight slew the downed victim.
There were children in the audience. Now, of course, there was no blood and gore in the special effects, but still. I would never bring a child to this event -- and have them cheer for violence and death. Vulgar.
So each pair of knights fought to the death. First they joust. Then they'd fight on foot. When they were on foot, they'd play up to the crowd like a couple Roman gladiators (or WWF wrestlers).
I was actually offended by this violent and brutal farce of a Medieval Tournament. And not really because of what was shown, but rather because of how it was billed and in front of whom it was shown -- children as young as preschoolers.
During the games part of the tournament (when the knights lanced rings, and captured flags, and threw javelins from a galloping horse), the king's seer warned of a traitor. I expected a betrayal or something, and maybe the knights would have to fight and defeat an evil/renegade knight or something. But no. The "knights" fought and killed each other for the entertainment of the crowd. The betrayer was revealed at the end, and there was an unexciting fight where the bad guy (not a tournament knight) was captured by the one surviving knight. The bad guy was captured! But the various good knights were all killed by each other! WTF?!
Add to this atrocious "story" the awfully bad choreography and stunt work. Timing was terrible. The combatants were dodging a blow before the attacker even wound up his swing. The combatants would miss striking their weapons together (so one could be disarmed), so they'd back up their action to put the weapons in their proper spots.
Over and over and over. I was left wondering, "Do this guys ever practice these fights?"
The combatants would strike their weapons together and do the old contest of brute-strength where they'd push each other's weapon back and forth and then one would kick the other to break the stalemate. But the fighters were not even straining against one another. I was like they were dancing politely.
When the action was for the attacker to strike the shield of the defender, and knock him back: the defender would throw up his shield before the attack even raised his weapon.
When the jousting knights struck, and their lances shattered, the loosing knight would fall off his horse well past the strike.
I mean, I understand the need for safety and all, but damn. I honesty think I could have done as good at this staged combat as these guys did with just an hour's worth of practice.
The more I think about it and write about it, the more I want to shout, "God, it sucked!"
Even my wife, who is by no means a medieval historian (hell, she doesn't know the difference between a mace and a moat), even thought the show was bad. As we left the building after the show, we didn't talk about the show until the next morning. I knew there was something wrong when she didn't even ask me if I enjoyed it. I asked her what she thought and she asked me about medieval tournaments. Even though she had no knowledge about the subject, she realized the stupidity of having knights (all in the service to the same king) kill each other. And though she knows nothing about hand-to-hand combat, she thought the fights looked sloppy and ill timed.
And the "knights" didn't even wear any real armor. Their "armor" was just that shiny silver material that you see at halloween parties. The very first weapons used in the foot combat were "spears" (looked more like Japanese naginatas) -- the blades wobbled and bent when used. So obviously fake. Sheesh, couldn't they at least have used wood "blades" or some other firm material to look like metal instead of rubber?
There were some good moments -- like making sparks when some weapons clashed; good food; fun to eat with no utensils; the chancellor/MC was a good speaker; the falcon demonstration. But all in all, I will never go back, and I cannot recommend this show.
I had to get this off my chest.
Quasqueton
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
Whoa.
Well, sorry you didn't have fun. I don't think it's really billed as a serious act or that anyone goes into it taking it seriously. If you went into it expecting a serious act, naturally you'd be disappointed. It's pretty widely known as a silly good time. I mean, it's only a few steps away from being a chain restaurant, really!
As for the violence, I have not seen any posters or tv ads for it that don't show swords and guys hitting each other with them, and I think most parents presume there will be a moderate level of violence. My parents took me to shows like this when I was small and I never turned into an axe murderer so I think probably, parents know the level of violence their kids can handle. It isn't like little kids playing make believe knights (or big kids playing RPGS) don't run around whacking each other with pretend swords anyway.
I'd rate the violence in MT as PG at most. There is not even any blood. In fact, I only recall one guy dying and I think he was a bad guy. The rest of them all appeared winded or down, but not dead and bloodied.
Cheering for death? That's a wee bit dramatic, don't you think?
As I recall it, the sections are cheering for their knight to survive I think, not for the other knight to die. I think you as an adult are putting way more thought into this than the small children in the audience. Adults often do take these things way more seriously than children, who, unless already pre-disposed to violent behavior, left unsupervised and exposed to violence repeatedly in a real life situation day after day after day, tend to forget about it as soon as it's over and drift back to their little imaginations.
I can next to guarantee you none of the children you saw in that audience will ever off a co-worker with a mace. Unless it's in a game of D&D of course...
Things were pretty brutal in real Medieval times. Besides the various sword challenges like jousts and duels, you also had a lot of theft, banditry and pillaging. Not to mention invasions. Ooooooh, and religious persecution! And some fun forms of torture. Oh, and lets not forget the nasty , icky diseases. I think this show presents it as a silly, tournament with the flavor of romanticized Medieval Times. No one takes it seriously.
WWF wrestlers? Well, better dressed perhaps. But knights (and gladiators, since you brought them up too) were the celebrity of their time. You bet there were people cheering for them back in the day. As for the kings guys all fighting each other - I honestly can't recall that part of the show. I think I recall something about the knights representing their own parts of the kingdom and doing this tournament for show. Sounds feasible to me.
The fights I saw when I went looked real. Not staged. If you wanted perfectly choreographed fighting, perhaps you'd enjoy West Side Story more. Now, don't get me wrong, obviously these are choreographed but in such a way that they don't look like dance routines. Maybe your guys were just really bad, but the guys I saw in Orlando were on par with the ones at Excalibur (similar show in Las Vegas) and various ren-fests I've been to. Also, you're dealing with a live audience. It's not going to looks as pretty as it does in the movies.
The armor and weapons I saw were either real, or damn convincing. I presume they have to have safety measures in place for liability but it in no way took from my enjoyment of the show - as I said before, my biggest gripe was the fact that the place has no concept of the fact that diabetic people might like more than water with their meals. And the photo people. But the show itself is fun.
To each their own I guess. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. :\
Well, sorry you didn't have fun. I don't think it's really billed as a serious act or that anyone goes into it taking it seriously. If you went into it expecting a serious act, naturally you'd be disappointed. It's pretty widely known as a silly good time. I mean, it's only a few steps away from being a chain restaurant, really!
As for the violence, I have not seen any posters or tv ads for it that don't show swords and guys hitting each other with them, and I think most parents presume there will be a moderate level of violence. My parents took me to shows like this when I was small and I never turned into an axe murderer so I think probably, parents know the level of violence their kids can handle. It isn't like little kids playing make believe knights (or big kids playing RPGS) don't run around whacking each other with pretend swords anyway.
I'd rate the violence in MT as PG at most. There is not even any blood. In fact, I only recall one guy dying and I think he was a bad guy. The rest of them all appeared winded or down, but not dead and bloodied.
Cheering for death? That's a wee bit dramatic, don't you think?
As I recall it, the sections are cheering for their knight to survive I think, not for the other knight to die. I think you as an adult are putting way more thought into this than the small children in the audience. Adults often do take these things way more seriously than children, who, unless already pre-disposed to violent behavior, left unsupervised and exposed to violence repeatedly in a real life situation day after day after day, tend to forget about it as soon as it's over and drift back to their little imaginations.
I can next to guarantee you none of the children you saw in that audience will ever off a co-worker with a mace. Unless it's in a game of D&D of course...
Things were pretty brutal in real Medieval times. Besides the various sword challenges like jousts and duels, you also had a lot of theft, banditry and pillaging. Not to mention invasions. Ooooooh, and religious persecution! And some fun forms of torture. Oh, and lets not forget the nasty , icky diseases. I think this show presents it as a silly, tournament with the flavor of romanticized Medieval Times. No one takes it seriously.
WWF wrestlers? Well, better dressed perhaps. But knights (and gladiators, since you brought them up too) were the celebrity of their time. You bet there were people cheering for them back in the day. As for the kings guys all fighting each other - I honestly can't recall that part of the show. I think I recall something about the knights representing their own parts of the kingdom and doing this tournament for show. Sounds feasible to me.
The fights I saw when I went looked real. Not staged. If you wanted perfectly choreographed fighting, perhaps you'd enjoy West Side Story more. Now, don't get me wrong, obviously these are choreographed but in such a way that they don't look like dance routines. Maybe your guys were just really bad, but the guys I saw in Orlando were on par with the ones at Excalibur (similar show in Las Vegas) and various ren-fests I've been to. Also, you're dealing with a live audience. It's not going to looks as pretty as it does in the movies.
The armor and weapons I saw were either real, or damn convincing. I presume they have to have safety measures in place for liability but it in no way took from my enjoyment of the show - as I said before, my biggest gripe was the fact that the place has no concept of the fact that diabetic people might like more than water with their meals. And the photo people. But the show itself is fun.
To each their own I guess. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. :\
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