Amateur Cast: The actors playing the knights have no acting experience before. The only requirements are to be in good shape, well-built and know how to ride a horse.
Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: In the "Real Knights Give Dating Advice" video, the Black and White Knight calls himself "Santiago". Santiago is actually the name of the shrine the Black and White Knight comes from.note Its full name, in turn, is Santiago de Compostela.
The Buena Park location competes with the Tournament of KingsDinner Theatre located in the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas. Tournament of Kings's show, unlike Medieval Times, is loosely based on King Arthur and has a larger cast. It has seven competing knights who hail from countries (including an all-round Token Evil Teammate) instead of six from neighboring kingdoms. They also sing together.
More locally (separated by one building, in fact), the Buena Park location competes with Pirates Dinner Adventure, a Dinner Theatrethemed aroundpirates.
Enforced Method Acting: Aspiring knights are first appointed as squires, having to do mundane work such as maintaining armor or caring for horses. Knighthood has to be earned, so that knights actually think like knights, rather than actors.
The Cable Guy: Chip (the eponymous “Cable Guy”) and Steven visit Medieval Times, seated rooting for the Blue Knight. The two then engage in a duel dressed as knights.
Saturday Night Live: Episode 11 of season 45 hosted by Adam Driver features a sketch of a Medieval Times show with an overzealous actor (played by Driver) assigned to play the Red and Yellow Knight.
The Simpsons: In "Three Gays of the Condo", Marge asks Homer to meet her in the Medieval Times location in Springfield Heights. The billboard announces a jousting contest between Henry VI and Spider-Man.
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The names of most of the locations (Aragon, Navarre, Santiago de Compostela, Perelada, Castilla and León) are all taken from actual Spanish locations. “Valiente” is a subversion, since it’s just the Spanish word for “brave”.
Misc. Trivia
A former knight from the New Jersey location said in an an AMA that the actors playing the knights rotate the roles.
video, the Black and White Knight calls himself "Santiago". Santiago is actually the name of the shrine the Black and White Knight comes from.note 