No Forks at Tournament of Kings: What Excalibur's Jousting Dinner Show Is Actually Like

There's no cutlery on the table, and that isn't an oversight. Tournament of Kings hands you a whole roasted chicken and expects you to deal with it by hand, the way the Middle Ages supposedly did, while two knights on horseback try to unseat each other in the dirt a few rows away. Everything about the evening is louder and sillier than you're braced for. What surprises people is how completely it lands on adults who turned up prepared to merely tolerate it.

You aren't watching, you're assigned a side

Tournament of Kings runs in King Arthur's Arena, a dirt-floored room inside Excalibur built for exactly this and nothing else. Seating is arena-style around the ring, and here's the part that changes the night: each section is assigned a country, and the king representing your section is the one you're expected to scream for. Knights go at each other across four separate contests, a horse race, jousting, sword fighting and gladiator-style combat, and the room gets genuinely partisan about it. Somewhere in the middle a full round table is lowered into the arena so King Arthur and his knights can eat and toast alongside you.

Medieval jousting dinner show in an arena at Excalibur Las Vegas

Where: King Arthur's Arena, Excalibur, south Strip. Format: medieval dinner show with jousting and arena combat, 90 minutes. Ages: all ages.

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The feast, and the no-forks problem

Dinner arrives during the show and it's a real meal rather than a prop. Five things arrive on the plate, roasted chicken, lemon pepper roasted red bliss potatoes, corn on the cob, a dinner roll and an apple square. You get no fork, no knife and no spoon, which is a bit that stops being a bit around the time you're holding a hot potato. Bring the attitude for it and the meal is half the entertainment. Turn up in something you'd be upset to ruin and you'll spend 90 minutes being careful instead of having fun.

The warning most write-ups skip

The show uses loud noises and pyrotechnic booms throughout, and they're sharper than the theatrical bangs you get in a standard Strip production. Anyone with sensory sensitivities, and anyone for whom sudden concussive noise is a genuine problem, should bring ear protection rather than hope for the best. It's the single most useful thing to know before booking, and it almost never appears in the marketing.

Who should book it

Mixed-age groups, first-time visitors who want something that couldn't happen anywhere else, and anybody who'd rather participate than sit quietly. It's a poor fit for a quiet evening or a date that involves conversation, because you'll be shouting at a knight for a good portion of it. If you're weighing it against the other family options on the Strip, we've put it beside four alternatives in our guide to Las Vegas shows the whole family will actually enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tournament of Kings worth it for adults without kids?

More than its reputation suggests. The medieval-banquet premise reads as a children's birthday party on paper, and then the room splits into rival countries and grown adults start shouting at horses. Go with a group that will commit to it and it's one of the better nights on the south Strip. Go expecting a refined evening and you'll be the only person not enjoying yourself.

Can you get a vegetarian or gluten-free meal at Tournament of Kings?

Yes, but it has to be arranged ahead rather than mentioned at the table. Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, nut-free and children's meals are all available, and requests go through the Vegas.com customer service team. The window closes four hours before the performance, and requests can be made as far as 60 days out, so handle it when you book.

Do children need their own ticket?

It depends on age. Children three and younger get in free provided they sit on an adult's lap and share that adult's meal. From four upward every child needs a full-price ticket, which comes with their own seat and their own dinner. For a family of four with young children that distinction makes a real difference to what the evening costs.

How messy does it actually get?

Messy enough that you should think about what you wear. There's a hot roasted chicken, corn on the cob and no utensils, so hands and faces are in play and napkins do the heavy lifting. It's not a food fight and nothing lands on you from the arena, but this is the wrong booking for anything white or dry-clean-only.

How early should you arrive?

Give yourself half an hour to 45 minutes. Excalibur is a large property and King Arthur's Arena takes some finding from the parking structure, seating is by section rather than free choice, and the room fills steadily rather than all at once. Arriving loose rather than at a run also means you get a drink in before the noise starts.