Dinner and Medieval Night Tournaments is a family dinner theater featuring medieval games, sword fighting, and jousting. Medieval Times Entertainment, the parent company, headquartered in Irving, Texas.
There are nine locations, of which eight in the United States were built as a replica of an 11th century castle and one located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada within the CNE Government Building. The show is performed by players around 75 actors and 20 horses in each location.
Video Medieval Times
History
In 1973, the rehearsal dinner theater of the medieval was founded by Jose Montener on his property on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Then a private company was formed, and in 1977, a castle opened in Benidorm, Spain. With investor support, the event moved to the United States, the site of the First Middle Ages opened in Orlando on December 20, 1983. In 1989, the location was expanded with a unique medieval village that was not offered in other locations.
The second location opened in Buena Park, California in 1986. In 1992, the chain had five locations. In 1993, the sixth site opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the only international location, and housed in the Government House, the Beaux-Arts structure, as opposed to a replica of an 11th century castle. The seventh location opened in 1995 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
In April 1997, the owner of Medieval Times sought bankruptcy protection after losing a court battle with the IRS which required Buena Park's location to pay $ 7.5 million and the Orlando location to pay $ 2.5 million in tax returns. According to the IRS, the Times of the Middle Ages improperly cut royalties, interest on loans, and management fees in the tax year 1987 and 1989. When asked why the company filed for bankruptcy, the company's bankruptcy lawyer Alan Friedman said, "one of the main reasons for filing is to prevent The IRS is beginning to take over any assets. "
The company emerged from bankruptcy, allowing all of its locations to continue operating. It then opened two additional Medieval, bringing the company to its current nine locations since 2006.
This chain is featured in the 1996 movie The Cable Guy , and feature film 2004 Garden State . It has also been featured in episodes of TV shows like Boss Cake, Hell's Kitchen and Celebrity Apprentice.
The show changes every six years. The new show aired in late 2017, and for the first time, the lead role was filled by a female queen. New events are currently being held at Schaumburg, Dallas and Lyndhurst locations.