Medieval Times Atlanta

[BLAKDUKE]

Am planning on visiting at Aprils end.  I just read a rather scathing critique from a website.  Whilst I might view his food critque with a bit of skepticism (as I prefer to judge for myself),  he did say one thing that caused my pointy little ears to go vulcan,  he mentioned $25 for a 32 oz beer.  Can someone verify that.

[DonaCatalina]

I can't speak for Atlanta; but I can't imagine its much different than the one in Dallas.

We were told to arrive 30-45 minutes before the show. We were packed so tightly into the bar area waiting to be seated that I couldn't have gotten a drink if I had wanted one. The tea/coffee that comes with the meal is limited to 2 refills. We resorted to buying from the bar, something like $8 for wine, $18-$20 for the mixed drinks in the special glasses. But we had such a hard time flagging down our server that I still stayed thirsty.
Rule #1: don't go.
Rule #2: if you do go, bring earplugs, extra napkins, plastic utensils, and a hip flask of something.
Rule #3: if you go and have a lousy time, re-read rule #1.

Link to someone's Atlanta experience.

[Valiss]

I've been to the one in LA, and honestly, if you're a rennie I cant imagine why you'd want to go. The food was very mediocre, the drinks were over priced as others noted, and the jousting wasnt jsut stages, but over acted by a mile.
Personally, I dont hate the establishment and I went as a guest of someone and enjoyed myself, but if you've spent any amount of time at an actual ren faire, you'll be underwhelmed.

Here is a Yelp review that addresses the drinks a bit:

Notes:
1. Do NOT book a ticket at full price. There are always specials going on so be sure to take advantage of those. I used a Buy One Get One Free coupon and felt pretty good about the value of the entertainment and food. If I had paid full price ($50) though, I wouldn't be so happy.
2. The "gates" open 90 minutes before the show starts and they ask you to go as early as possible to get good seats. However, this is mainly a marketing ploy to get your money at the bar and souvenir shops while you wait. There really aren't any "bad" seats.

Drinks:
* $10 for a pint of Pina Colada + Malibu Rum (in a standard cup)
* $24 for a huuuge souvenir goblet of Strawberry Daiquiri + Vodka
Both drinks were super delicious

Dinner:
* Garlic toast: I love garlic toast. Very buttery.
* Tomato bisque: More soupy than bisque, but still good.
* Half chicken: I was really hoping for a turkey leg so I was disappointed to see this chicken, even though it's clearly more food than a turkey leg would be. Alright flavor on the outside, but gets super bland by the time you get to the chicken breast. I read the reviews on here about the food being bland so I sneaked in my own bottle of Tabasco and that helped.
* 1 BBQ rib: pretty tasty but it was the shortest rib I have ever seen.
* 1 piece of roasted potato: Eh...bland. Mine was also slightly undercooked.
* Apple "dessert": Triangle pastry, just like a tiny version of the turnover you'd get from Arby's.

More: http://www.yelp.com/biz/medieval-times-dinner-and-tournament-lawrenceville

[Tom]

I know this doesn't directly answer the question asked but I've been to Atlanta a couple of times in the last few months and considered going. I asked the concierge at the hotel about it and he didn't have very good things to say about it, pretty much it was overpriced and had bland food.

I can recommend the Woodfire Grill in Atlanta. The chef is Kevin Gillespie, he was a finalist on Top Chef in season six. The food is AMAZING!!!

As always, just my opinion.

Sent from my EVO 4G using Tapatalk.

[Becky10]

Its pretty much the same everywhere. Its packed. You sit in like stadium seating with a bench table. There is one waitress for the entire row so they only come by once in a while, to bring your courses and then about 1 time in between for drinks (They serve a bunch of people at once and have to be squires at one point so it is not them being lazy. They're not allowed to go when the lights are down for safety reasons).
No utensils, drunks smashing the metal bowl and plate together, lots of fake smoke.
It's alright but if you go to faire its pretty overhyped and rather expensive for what it is.

At that price the beer most likely came in a souvenir mug at the bar, I believe the beer served at the "table" is included in the total price.

[Dinobabe]

This is an interesting discussion.  I've never been to Medieval Times but have been to the Dixie Stampede several times (in Branson)  It was fabulous!  Great food, service, entertainment, price!  My parents went to the Las Vegas Medieval Times about 20 years ago.  They said it was nice but I have heard bad things about Medieval Times since then.  There is not a Dixie Stampede in Atlanta but if you are near one try it.   Also, the Branson coupon books ALWAYS have discounts on tickets.  Regular price is $47 but you can get 2 for that price!  Just remember, not all dinner show venues are bad!  Smart to ask for opinions.

http://www.dixiestampede.com/

[BLAKDUKE]

Thank you one and all for your input.  When I return I will post our opinion and see how it compares.  I have been to the Florida castle many years ago and had a thoroughly grand time.

[dbaldock]

Slightly OT, but I've been to the Dallas Medieval Times twice back in the 90's in costume *(no swords though) with some friends.  We used some EDS corporate discount tickets, enjoyed the show (some cast from Scarby worked M/T in the off-season), and thought we got a good entertainment per dollar value.  None of us had any alcoholic drinks, so I can't comment on those prices, but the food was good (and I had my wooden Knife, Fork & Spoon to help keep from making a mess...  ).


Take Care,
David Baldock

[Delireus]

I've been to the Dallas Medieval times many times within the past 5 years. My great aunt takes my cousin and I when we go visit her for a week in the summer. I remember driving to Kansas to visit colleges and waking up right as we passed by the castle in Dallas and I flipped out. That was when I was a little bitty baby rennie, and anything with a castle just had to be the coolest. Our first time, my aunt bought the front row seats, you got a group picture with that, but I don't know how much it was.

I was annoyed by the absence of silverware (bring napkins/plastic stuff like someone said), but the amount of food was crazy. I've never left hungry. It might not be the best (it's certainly the messiest place I've ever eaten indoors) but I liked it. On my first visit, while I had been to faire many times, I was still completely engrossed by the action. True, it is terrible acting, and the costumes are even worse, but it was fun! Cheesy fun. Maybe it was the company I was with, or maybe just the excitement of my first time, but I had a blast. Don't go expecting grade A acting, service, or anything resembling what you get at faire, but still go to have fun.

On a side note, the dinners are at least an hour in length, with something going on in front of you almost the entire time. I brought my same cousin to TRF for her first time this past season and she was heartbroken by how short the joust was (about 20 min) but she still had a great time.

I also visited the MT in Toronto on spring break last year, took a friend of mine who hadn't been since he was little. I think he got a little bored, but he bought a rapier at the gift shop (waaay over priced IMO) and perked right up. If you go, get a good price on tickets and have an open mind

[stonebiscuit]

Speaking as an Atlanta native who has been to MT, there are much better, more interesting places to spend comparable amounts of money.

If you're going to GARF for your visit, also be aware that it's about an hour's drive from GARF without traffic, and Atlanta traffic is both glorious and terrible.

[BLAKDUKE]

My friends (from MNRF) are staying at the Fairburn exit motel to attend the faire both days.  we are side tripping to Museum Replicas friday during the day and then Medieval times Friday evening.  My wife aand I are are aware of the Atlanta traffic, as we live outside of Columbus, Ga.  So it should be an interesting weekend.  There is also a fantastic steak house
1 exit down from the faire that will hit on Saturday.

[Xantrawler]

The wife and I went to Medieval Times in Toronto for our 15th wedding anniversary. First time and we enjoyed it. Pricey yes. Would we do it again, not since we started going to faire. Dollar for dollar you get more out of your local faire, IMHO. $25 at Sterling and we get a live chess match, jousting, Nunnie Nunnie, Don Juan, Zilch, our own Queen and the ale is cheaper. Much more with it as well. For our 20th, which is this year we will celebrate a couple months late at Sterling and renew our vows and not go to Medieval Times. (Mostly because we don't have pass ports. lol)

[Zardoz]

I've been to the one in Dallas, while up there at a Sci-Fi con a few years back. The tickets were part of a package deal, so I only paid 10 bucks each.
I was warned ahead, so I took my own silverware, (scammed from room service  ) and flask. I didn't have an issue, but as some have mentioned it can be messy, so I probably wouldn't wear my nice wool kilt there. It is not cheap, but a good show and fun time.

[analise]

I've been to the one in Baltimore (okay, it's technically in the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, MD and well outside of Baltimore but whatever...) twice. The first time, I got slightly discounted tickets from work and went with a friend. The second time I went with the same friend (she's from out of state, MT is sort of our "tradition" now when she comes to MD, hah) on New Year's Eve (the earlier show) and got a package deal that was pretty good (I think it was like $35 each, which...if you consider how much you'd pay to go somewhere for dinner and a movie...).

Anyway, we always have a good time. We had a better time the first time because we were sat in the section for the "bad guy" and got our kicks cheering for him and booing everybody else. That said, like someone else commented, there really isn't a bad seat anywhere in there.

It's definitely cheesy (fun cheesy!) and if you think you'll need silverware you should take it (I think your server will bring you out plasticware if you insist, we had someone sitting next to us that was shocked to find out she had to eat with her hands...).

The only thing that disappointed me is that even if you're getting just soda, you only get one refill and those cups aren't really that big, so you have to pace yourself.

[Lady Neysa]

I've only been to MT once, years ago. The one up in New Jersey when we lived up there.  That was before I was a diehard rennie.  Seems to me that medieval times is a nice diversion in the off season if you really need a faire fix.  For what you get for the money though, you're better off spending a whole day at faire and seeing many different shows as well as jousting.  Sampling many different foods and drinks,etc. 

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

We have attended the GA Medieval Times on several occasions. Although we don't "drink" there as it appears prices might be a bit rich, even for a Templar bank, we've never walked away disappointed, and we were always filled with food. The Master of Horse is a fellow Gulf War veteran and was more than willing to chat and assist, especially more my little Princess' birthday. The Knights themselves actively engaged us, as each time we went in garb.

Our only complaint is that it's so far away. Being a member of the email list, and having just recently purchased the Limited Edition Sims Medieval (it has a free pass good till 2012), I'm never at a loss for a discount there.

As for the steak house the Duke mentions, it is a splendid place to eat after a day on the grounds, and even better when attended in fest attire.