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Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London Family Day Out

amomentwithfranca · 5 September 2016 · 65 Comments

Not long ago we had the opportunity to visit and review Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London with my family. We hadn’t been there before so we were all pretty excited about visiting this well known London attraction. We don’t live too far from central London, so our journey was straight forward.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! London Family Day Out

Before I start with my review. I would love if you could watch this video we filmed of the day. I hope that you like it! 🙂

I will start my post with a brief explanation of who Mr Ripley was and what he achieved so you can understand a little bit more about this fantastic attraction. Robert Ripley (1890–1949) was a cartoonist, explorer, reporter, adventurer, and collector, who travelled to 201 countries over 35 years seeking the odd, the unusual, and the unexplained.

Ripley's Entrance

Ripley's Reception area

He was nicknamed “The Modern Marco Polo”, and he acquired hundreds of exotic artefacts from around the world in his endless search for unbelievable stories to draw in his popular newspaper cartoon feature. Mr Ripley published lots of Believe It or Not! books and collections of his newspaper cartoon drawings. The success of the first book led to Ripley hosting a wildly successful live weekly radio show. After this he launched a weekly television show that was based on his successful radio show format. Ripley displayed some of his artefacts, drew cartoons on camera, and re-enacted fantastic unbelievable stories, followed by interviews with the actual “stars” of the stories.

First section of Ripley's exhibition

Ripley’s television show was the first “reality” show and grew quickly in popularity until he had a heart attack while on stage. He will be remembered for creating one of the most recognised and used phrases in the English language: Believe It or Not!

The girls at Ripleys 1

In 1950, the first permanent Ripley’s Believe It or Not! attraction was launched in Florida. Today there are 32 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! attractions in ten countries, dozens of Ripley books, a huge internet web presence, and hundreds of television videos.

Matchsticks

This attraction is ideal for family days out as your kids will be amazed with all the things that they can see and learn there. It is the ultimate home of the UNBELIEVABLE! Their imagination will run wild as they explore wonders from around the world all under one roof! They can see the Harry Potter Hungarian Horntail made from recycled bike parts, London’s Tower Bridge made from matchsticks and a transformer! The idea is for the whole family to experience a day out of the ordinary.

Berlin Wall

Ferrari

There are so many fantastic things to see there. Even my little Sienna who is only 2 years old had a great time walking around this amazing collection of very weird and wonderful things. You and the family get to step inside a world where the bizarre and the unbelievable come to life and amazement waits around every corner. Things I found particularly fascinating were an actual chunk of the Berlin Wall, Amazonian shrunken heads, a knitted Ferrari and a chewing gum sculpture! How fabulous is that?

Girls at Ripleys 2

There are lots of interesting areas within the whole exhibition, which include:

AMAZING ART

Gallery of Great – Here you can find a collection of amazing art created from unusual materials, including plastic cutlery, butterflies, laundry lint, toast, computer keys, matchsticks and even cow dung! I was amazed with this section

Ripley's Art Gallery

Famous Faces –  Robert Ripley travelled the globe looking for the unusual and unexplained and was particularly fascinated by the Far East. We found many famous faces and icons here, including Michelle Obama made from bottle caps, Michael Jackson made out of sweets, The Duchess of Cambridge made from lipstick kisses on a canvas and even incredible art made from toast! This was fantastic!

CURIOUS CULTURE

Exotic Treasures – Here you will find rare objects such as decorated cannibal skulls, shrunken heads and intricately designed headdresses. We went through the Hall of Exotica in search of these rare relics and admired the Beauty Room to discover how beauty is perceived in different cultures around the globe. This was very interesting.

REMARKABLE PEOPLE

Tallest Man

Mr Ripley was fascinated with people with amazing talents or could perform phenomenal feats. One such person was one of his friends, Robert Wadlow, a gentleman with a height of 8ft 11 inches making him the tallest man to have ever lived! Bella was very interested about the story of this man and I must admit we all were!

Lizard Man

They have so many curious characters such as a Lizard man who has had a lot of body modifications in order to look like a real lizard! How odd is that? We also saw Johnny Eckhardt who was born with a truncated torso but went on to enjoy an extensive career in entertainment and the lighthouse man who is a Chinese street guide who drilled a candle into his head in order to give night tours of the city of Chongqing!

INCREDIBLE NATURE

Ripley was intrigued with animal oddities, pre-historic discoveries, space-age souvenirs, curious creatures and much more.

Sharck

The section also has prehistoric shark teeth, an albino alligator, whale harpoon and much more! This area was interesting but wasn’t my girls favourite though.

More interesting and fun activities to do with your kids:

Marvellous Mirror Maze

Mirror Maze

This “infinity effect” maze gives the illusion of continuing hallways, when in fact you are at a dead end! The challenge here is to find your way out again; It could be backwards or forwards. This was actually very fun but there was a moment when I felt scared because we couldn’t find our way back! Bella loved it!

Impossible LaseRace

Laser Race

This activity comes as part of your ticket fee, and can be found towards the end of the tour. Bella was really keen to give it a go. It’s a kind of ‘Mission Impossible’ style challenge set against the clock, in which you need to jump, crawl and twist your way between the various laser beams placed throughout this laser maze. Bella had a go at the LaseRace with Daddy whilst I stayed outside with little Sienna. You can choose various difficulty levels when playing which was a good idea. They thought it was great fun.

Black Hole

black-hole1

The black hole is a rotating vortex tunnel. As you enter it, you will feel that the walkway is moving beneath you but you soon realise that your eyes just might be deceiving you. Despite this, it still feels like the walkway is moving! This was a super experience which we all loved.

Photos taken at Ripley's

As you can see there is plenty to see at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London. It is an attraction that can be visited not only during the summer holidays but at any time of the year. It is very interesting and I’m sure your kids will find it fascinating!

This attraction is located next to Piccadilly Circus Tube Station in Central London (Address: The London Pavilion, 1 Piccadilly Circus, London W1J 0DA) which is very easy to locate. Also it is always better to buy your tickets in advance as you can save about 15% compared to Ripley’s price on the door. It opens daily including Christmas Day and Bank Holidays from 10 am to Midnight. How fantastic is that?

Gift Shop

They also have audio guides in different languages, a coffee shop and a gift shop. It is also a great option for schools and groups as it is a fun and educational visit!

What do you think of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London? Have you been there before? What area did you like the most? Will you take your kids to this attraction? Leave a comment below so I can read what you think about it. 

*Disclosure: I was sent family tickets to go to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London in exchange for a blog post. However all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋

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Filed Under: Days Out, Family, Family Days Out, London, Reviews, Travel Tagged With: Attraction, family day out, London

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. five little doves says

    13 September 2016 at

    This looks like so much fun! We meant to visit when we were down in London in april but didn’t find the time, I think we will definitely make sure we go next year though, my eldest would love that, and me too! Fab photos and it looks like you had a lovely day together too. #kcacols

    Reply
  2. Bridie By The Sea says

    13 September 2016 at

    Looks like a fab day – so much fun for the kids! Thanks for hosting #kcacols great to join in x

    Reply
  3. Twicemicrowaved tea says

    13 September 2016 at

    This looks like a really fun family day out. It’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind for when my daughter gets a little bit bigger. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  4. Beta mummy says

    13 September 2016 at

    Looks brilliant – my 4yo would love it.
    Thanks for hosting #kcacols

    Reply
  5. Nicky Kentisbeer says

    13 September 2016 at

    We went recently and really enjoyed it. I thought it was really good value and quite a lot to do for the girls. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  6. Geraldine says

    14 September 2016 at

    I have always wanted to go here. So incredibly fascinating! I’ve actually never been to London so when I do get there I will definitely check Ripleys out #KCACOLS

    Reply
  7. mainy - myrealfairy says

    14 September 2016 at

    I haven’t heard of it before but I am so glad that I have read this review as it looks great. Thank you!

    mainy

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  8. Cal at Family Makes says

    14 September 2016 at

    My boys love the Ripleys Believe it or Not books and TV programme – they would absolutely LOVE to visit that place! Sadly, it’s so far away for us. Maybe one day… #KCACOLS

    Reply
  9. Tooting Mama says

    15 September 2016 at

    I have seen this place so many times when we lived in London but never went – what a Londoner! Must go when we return – the kids will love it. Perfect for a rainy day out during the school hols! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  10. Mummy and the mexicans says

    16 September 2016 at

    It looks fun, lots to do. I think I would like to try the laser challenge! I didn’t know he invented the phrase “believe it or not!” #KCACOLS

    Reply
  11. Tracey Bowden says

    16 September 2016 at

    I’ve never been to one of these thinking Olivia wouldn’t like it but now I have read your review I think she might! Your photos are brilliant looks like you had a great time

    Reply
  12. bread says

    16 September 2016 at

    I know a lot of the older stuff from Ripleys is mostly debunked but I do think it looks like a lot of fun.
    #kcacols

    Reply
  13. ERFmama says

    17 September 2016 at

    This looks like a perfect place for my kids and us! haha My oldest is 12 and LOVES these sort of things.
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  14. Laura - The Mamma Fairy says

    30 October 2017 at

    This places look incredible. My kids would love it. Hopefully get to visit one day.

    Reply
  15. Margaret Gallagher says

    9 October 2020 at

    Been a while since ive been – do love the variety

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Franca, a lawyer mum of 2 gorgeous girls married to my best friend, living in London. Award nominated parenting & lifestyle blogger. Read More…

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