SOCIAL MEDIA

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Review

I've been watching Ripley's Believe It Or Not since I was a kid. The weird and bizarre oddities of people and objects are very intriguing. I think everyone is interested in hidden talents, but this takes hidden talents to a whole different level. Two headed sheeps, women with 20 inch waists and shrunken heads are just some of the freaky things that we love to see. Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum glorifies all that is strange for your viewing pleasure!



Ripley's Believe It Or Not in New York City's Times Square showcases the odd and celebrates the weird and outlandish from around the world. Your self-guided adventure is sure to astonish as you come face to face and interact with remarkable relics and rare treasures from around the world in their museum attraction. For over 40 years, Robert Ripley - the real-life Indiana Jones - traveled the world collecting the unbelievable, the inexplicable and the one-of-a-kind. His vast collections praised as “amazing”, “ludicrously strange” and “extremely amusing” are now on display in their exhibits for you to see, hear and touch, Believe It or Not!

I've lived in NY for years and have always wanted to go to the attraction, but never had the chance to. I've always been interested in Ripley's and knew that I would enjoy going. When I had the chance to review the establishment, I was looking forward to going.

As I rode the train to Times Square, I was imagining what kind of things I would see inside. I pictured shrunken heads, extraordinarily tall or short people, two or three headed animals, and who knows what else! Ripley's is the perfect place to take your family to for a day of family fun. Your children will enjoy seeing all of the strange exhibits and the establishment is educational and entertaining for all. This is a perfect place to go to if you're looking for something different and out of the ordinary to do.

Even before you go into the main galleries there are things to see in the lobby. Everywhere you look there is something that catches your eye.






Don't tick him off!

Ripley's is very large. There are more than 20 themed galleries on two separate floors featuring outrageous videos, interactive exhibits, and archival exhibits too. Whether you're wanting to see torture tools used decades ago, war masks, odd animals, and much more, there is a gallery that you will enjoy. I wanted to take my time and walk around the exhibits and make sure that I took everything in.

I took some pictures as I walked into the first few galleries. The plaques below the pictures/exhibits are really detailed and inform you well of what you're seeing. I really enjoyed having the chance to see and learn about things I would otherwise not be able to see unless I went to Ripley's.

It was interesting to see the museum through children's eyes. There were many families when I visited and it was actually pretty crowded. Some of them were scared, some were extremely curious, and others were asking questions and wanting to learn more about what they were seeing.




I stopped and viewed everything and kept walking to the next and future galleries. I couldn't find anything that didn't pique my interest. I think that's the beauty of Ripley's, they appeal to any age. Each gallery contained many exhibits inside for you to see.


A view of the main lobby from up above.

What I liked most about certain galleries is how interactive they were. Instead of just reading a plaque, you can actually see a video about what you're looking at, or press a button and the exhibit becomes interactive. It keeps you hooked and provides you a different and more entertaining way to learn. Some of the interactive exhibits actually startled me, they spoke or made noise when I wasn't expecting it! I was even uncertain at times what I was going to see next as I walked through the museum, ha!

There were monitors playing clips in some galleries from the Ripley's show, usually having to do with an exhibit in the same room.




Seeing these exhibits was incredibly fascinating and cool. You don't realize things like this exist until you see them in person! The galleries and exhibits were well put together and everyone that I saw was having a good time and enjoying themselves.





One thing I really enjoyed was the black hole. You go inside and it is sort of like a ride, you feel like you're tilting and falling off the earth. You can't see too well in there because it's dark, except for the lights on the side of the walls. It was a lot of fun! I didn't stay in too long because it was making me dizzy! It was funny to see how many people didn't want to go into the black hole, or they went in a few steps and quickly came back out. They even had a short cut for the "cowards!"

Besides there being odd and strange things, there are very interesting things to see; like a picture of President Abraham Lincoln made completely of pennies, and a whole list of every odd thing swallowed by people. Did you know that someone once swallowed a needle and a screw? My stomach hurts just thinking about it!




As I made my way into the final gallery and did the LaseRace, I couldn't believe that I had seen everything already. I felt like time just whizzed by because I was having such a good time. There's even a gift shop downstairs for you to buy odd items that are definite conversation starters.

I really enjoyed my time at the museum and would love to come back in the future, especially if they ever change the exhibits. I loved being educated on subjects that I wasn't already tuned in to. I highly recommend coming to Ripley's if you're looking for something entertaining to do while in NYC. You won't be disappointed!

*DISCLOSURE* Thank you to Ripley's for providing me with complimentary admission in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are strictly mine and not based on anything else.





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