Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Is It Worth A Visit?

Have you ever seen a sculpture of Superman which is smaller than the eye of a needle? Or stood beside the world’s smallest car? Or  wondered how many people it would take to equal the weight of the heaviest man? No? Neither had I…until I took a trip to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in London.

I must have walked passed the museum on countless occasions in my travels around London’s Piccadilly Circus but never ventured in – until recently. It was a busy Sunday and with a slightly tired three year old, it provided a quiet sanctuary away from London’s busy streets.

I didn’t know a lot about Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! other than being aware that it specialised in the weird and wonderful things in the world.

Well, to give you a bit of background, the first ‘odditorium’ was set up by Robert Ripley in 1933. He was an American adventurer who travelled to over 200 countries in search of unbelieveable stories to feature in his popular newspaper ‘Believe It Or Not’ cartoon feature. He collected hundreds of exotic artefacts from across the globe and had a popular radio show. In 1949, shortly before his death, he branched into television, featuring the stars of his incredible stories on his own TV show.

Some of Ripley’s life’s collections live in the London museum, one of 30 Believe It Or Not Museums in ten countries.

As we walked in the entrance we were immediately treated to some ‘wow’ moments. A giant gorilla, an 18 foot Optimus Prime Transformer made of recycled steel, a mini covered in a million Swarovski crystals and the world’s smallest car. So far we were very impressed, including my three-year-old daughter.

The proper exhibition starts on the fifth floor. We zoomed up the lift, lights flashing and an announcer heightening the anticipation.

The first thing our eyes were drawn to as we stepped out of the lift was a roaring T Rex. Our daughter, at first a little apprehensive, soon came up close to view the dinosaur alongside other bizarre creatures like a lamb with two heads and the teeth of a giant prehistoric shark.

Next to it was a giant chair which you could sit on – we duly obliged!

Another interesting feature was this knitted Ferrari.

I walked around much of museum in astonishment. It is a fascinating place. Paintings adorn the walls of the fifth floor made from unusual objects such as a portrait of Abraham Lincoln made out of keyboard keys.

This one of Edgar Allan Poe is made from smoke! Yes, really!

It has an interactive element too. We were very intrigued by Willard Wigan’s tiny, weeny sculptures. The artist from Birmingham makes detailed carvings of characters such as superman and Bart and Homer Simpson which are so small they fit into the eye of a needle and can only be seen through a microscope. Incredible!

The museum certainly forces you to think and it opens your mind to other culture’s rituals as well as explore the more extreme people in the world, past and present, such as the man with the longest nose.

And the hairiest man!

You could also see how you measured up against the tallest man.

As well as see if you can get anywhere near matching the weight of the heaviest man who was almost 500kg! Thankfully, we barely made a dent in the scales. It certainly puts it into perspective.

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! is an extensive place to visit with so much to learn and take in. A ringing endorsement though was when my daughter stopped us in our tracks and exclaimed, “This is SO brilliant!”.

Brilliant it is – although there were a couple of things she didn’t like, such as the spooky torture section. Then there was mirror maze which we got out of just before Mrs T began to get a bit upset. Phew! What she loved was ‘The Vortex’ – a mind blowing experience in which you walk over a bridge which is surrounded by a colourful spinning cylinder. The optical illusion will have you thinking the bridge is moving and grabbing hold of the rails as if you are falling. It did in my case! Mrs T insisted on going on it again and again (with daddy)!

Mrs T and I also loved the LaseRace. Make sure you keep your tickets until the end and you can go on this laser experience which is accessed from the gift shop. We thoroughly enjoyed crawling and climbing up and over the lasers without breaking them. Well, trying not to anyway.

Honestly, it would take me all day to detail everything within the museum which has over 700 artefacts. In fact, if you have older kids (who have a bit more patience), you could spend hours there and they will come away with a fair few stories to tell their school friends. It is a fascinating place and one which is interesting for all the family. The best thing to do is to go check it out yourself! It certainly IS worth a visit.

Need To Know

– Book online before you go! Prices are pretty steep if you buy on the door but the earlier you get them the better price you get. For more info go here. Under 4’s go free.

– Although our daughter (who was nearly four) really enjoyed it, I think she would get even more out of it in a couple of years time when her attention span is a bit longer.

– If you have young children, I recommend skipping the section with torture devices and the shrunken heads!

– They had a checklist for kids which you can pick up before you get into the lift on the ground floor. I was so mesmerised, I put it on my bag and promptly forgot about it but it’s a good way to ensure you see most of the items and record your visit there (you can also enter a competition on there too).

– We had a pram with us and the staff were really good at taking us back to the lift and to the next floor (otherwise you follow the trail down the stairs).

– Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! London is open seven days a week 10am until midnight (last entry 10.30pm).

*Disclosure: I was given complimentary tickets by Families Online to visit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are very much my own.

You can download this article – along with other London city guides – at GPSmyCity.

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