Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Orlando/Hollywood

By alantvuong on May 26, 2023

Learning about strange and bizarre facts were always interesting to me so a museum full of these things makes me want to visit a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum. I have previously went to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto back in 2016 and had a great time so I wanted to visit more from the Ripley’s brand. I got to visit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in Orlando 2021 and then in Hollywood just a few months ago.

About Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! is an American franchise which deals with unusual and weird events and items so strange that people might question its validity. It was started by Robert Ripley as a newspaper panel in 1918 and became so popular, it expanded to radio, TV, books, comics and museums. There are now many of the museum locations around the world in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

the founder

Orlando Location

accessible bathroom

A friend and I already had a busy day visiting Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, SEA LIFE Aquarium and Museum of Illusions using the ICON Park Play Pass. We had time to kill before heading to dinner at Uno Pizzeria so we went to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! just across the street.

ancient fossilized alligator

This 10,000 square foot Orlando location can be found on the busy International Drive tourist area and the building looks like it is dropping into a sinkhole. There are 16 unique galleries with hundreds of displays, artifacts, interactive experiences, and just weird stuff to shock and entertain everyone.

some of the exhibits

This location is supposedly small and we stayed for about an 1hr. There are over 25,000 pieces from Ripley’s collection of over 100 years that was cool to see. We saw Siamese conjoined calves, an ancient fossilized alligator, other animal oddities, wood carvings and art. It was easy to get around the museum as it was really wheelchair accessible including the very popular vortex tunnel. It made you feel like you were in a spinning tunnel.

wax figures

Hollywood Location

entrance to Hollywood location with Vin Diesel wax figure

A different friend and I arrived around noon in Los Angeles and after checking in at The Hotel Hollywood and having lunch at Roscoe’s, we headed nearby to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. After seeing some of the stars, we wanted to do an attraction nearby and decided to visit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum.

he sits and stands with a push of a button

This location has 300 exhibits in 15 galleries on 2 floors. Yes, there was an elevator so I did not have to miss out on anything. It was a bit small and old style but it still worked well for me. It was also renovated back in 2012 and some of the more scary and gruesome exhibits were removed and replaced with other exhibits to make it more family friendly.

old elevator lift to basement level

There were some repeat exhibits from the Orlando location like the Siamese conjoined calves and an LED light board. Other cool exhibits here include a moving automation of the world’s tallest man, a Marilyn Monroe exhibit, a Lord of the Rings castle made out of matchsticks, a dress made out of Starburst wrappers and lots more.

some animal oddities

Final Thoughts

Both locations of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! were worth visiting for a price of about $26.99 per adult. Only about an hour is needed to check out each place so it is up to you if it is worth it or not. Both were wheelchair accessible too and is maybe worth revisiting if I ever happen to be in these cities again.