We were able to visit the only Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium in Canada a few weeks ago. The Ripley’s museum on Clifton Hill at Niagara Falls, Ontario is well worth the visit. It’s a great mix of original Robert Leroy Ripley artifacts, items collected after Ripley’s death in 1949 and mementos from the bizarre history of Niagara Falls.
The museum at Niagara has been around since 1964 and is one of three Ripley’s attractions in the area, along with the 4D Moving Theatre and Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. This is not the oldest of the North American Odditoriums – that distinction goes to Ripley’s St. Augustine, Florida. We were able to get some images on our visit to give you a glimpse at just some of what you’ll find inside. Check out the images below – we’ve included some sporadic important information throughout, as well.
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not – Niagara Falls
Regular price for just the museum is $15.81 for adults with discounts for children and seniors. Ordered online, the price is reduced to $13.99. For visitors from the United States, it’s important to note that the prices are in Canadian Dollars. The CAD has recently dropped significantly and is now worth around 78 cents against the U.S. Dollar. This basically means you’re getting a 20% discount just in the currency exchange.
If you just plan on visiting the Odditorium and not the 4D Theatre or Waxworks, ordering online is still beneficial but not necessary. Anyone who has visited Niagara Falls knows that the roads are paved (or littered) with coupon books. At any shop, attraction, restaurant or hotel lobby, you will find coupon books in a number of forms. They mostly all with have a coupon for Ripley’s which can result in a discount of up to $2 per person.
However, if you’re planning on visiting two or more of the attractions, it is to your benefit to order on-line. You can go directly to the official website via the ad next to what you’re reading right now.
The above image is what you will first see when entering the Odditorium. Rub the lucky Buddha for increased fortunes…
The museum has 800 exhibits in 13 themed galleries over 10,000 square feet of floor space. Ripley’s is open 365 days per year, from 10am to 11pm Monday thru Thursday and from 9am until midnight on weekends.
The 4D Moving Theatre is located just a bit further up Clifton Hill and has the same hours. The live action theatre consists of two separate movies running pretty much continuously. The fourth dimension includes mist, snow and wind. If just visiting this attraction, regular price is the same as the Odditorium at $15.81 for adults. Online, the discounted price is the same at $13.99.
My favourite gallery was the torture chamber, featuring forms of human torture throughout the ages. The walls are littered with Robert Ripley’s BION portrayal of odd and unusual forms of torture found during his world travels.
The third property belonging to Ripley’s in Niagara Falls in the Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. Just around the corner, on Victoria Avenue, the Waxworks is a gallery with wax statues of over 100 of your favourite stars, spread throughout 16 themed galleries. Like the other two attractions, regular pricing is $15.81 for adults with an online discounted price of $13.99.
After reading A Curious Man: The Strange & Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It Or Not” Ripley by Neal Thompson, it was apparent that one of Ripley’s obsessions was shrunken heads. The Niagara Odditorium has an exhibit dedicated to just that. The case to the right in the above image displays an actual shrunken head.
Combo Pricing Overview
The Ultimate Combo includes all three Ripley’s attractions plus entrance to Nightmares Fear Factory. All four at regular price would cost an adult $63.24. The discounted price when ordered as a combo online at the official website would be just $39.99. Regular entrance to Nightmares (more info below) would be $13.95.
For just the three Ripley’s attractions combined, without Nightmares, the regular price would be $47.43. The discounted combo price when ordered online is just $29.99 for adults.
There is also a two attraction flex combo that can combine any two of the Ripley’s attractions. This combo does not include Nightmares. The regular price would be $31.62. The discounted combo price if ordered online would be just $19.99 – not much more than the regular price for just one attraction.
As a backdrop to the exhibits, the walls are covered with prints of original Believe It Or Not cartoons. Some are hand drawn by Robert Ripley himself and some are after his death.
The one below caught my eye. The flight of death featured a war plane that had the pilots shot dead in the air but somehow landed safely.
Nightmares Fear Factory is a haunted maze located around the corner on Victoria Avenue. This attraction is restricted to those eight and older and is open everyday except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Nightmares opens each day at 11am, closing at 10pm on week nights and 1:00am on weekends.
This is not a Ripley’s attraction but is included in the above mentioned Ultimate Combo. Regular price to enter is $13.95 for adults.
Some of Mother Nature’s oddities include the Giant Man Eating Clam above and the ultra rare albino beaver shown below.
Believe it or Not would not be complete without an eight legged animal, or one with two heads. The exhibit shown below has both of these requirements.
