Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Very nice walk a lil pricey but enjoyed all the exhibits. Very derailed and staff was very friendly. Kinda short tour

It was a nice walk through the exhibit. Day we went we were the only ones in there for awhile. Lots of items are replicas not the original. Secret passages were a nice change. Duct tape room was stupid. Seems like they had space and needed something to put there. Out of place.

Twenty years since I had been here, same old exhibates, same old musty, dusty dark atmosphere, twenty some bucks to enter, could not find an exit quick enough so I could breathe again, which was a task in itself considering every exit door was alarm sensitive. Was not worth ten bucks much less twenty.

I think scouring through my own garage would’ve been more fun. After having been to 2 other Ripley’s at other locations, I was quite interested in sharing the experience with my gf. Originally, we skipped going due to the Automotion traffic and associated people being too much to deal with, but we came back later in the day, on a special trip, specifically to go here. The dissociative kid running the counter had more interest in sweeping the floor than selling us tickets. He didn’t even attempt to up-​sell us on the other Ripley’s ventures in the immediate area. Getting into the «displays», you could immediately see the wear and tear, the lighting sucked, and there was little sense of direction or flow as we continued on. As we hit the back of the building, there was no air circulation. We hit the second floor, and the temperature rose. Then we went up the spiral stairs, only to find the top step broken, and the temperature increased yet again. Overall, I’d say save your money. $ 13/​person? I’d maybe have paid $ 5/​person just as a quick distraction to get off the main touristy drag outside.

Short version: Worth it if you have the extra money to spend or someone else is paying, but don’t expect more than an hour’s worth of entertainment. It’s interesting, but it’s probably one of the few things in the Dells that I’ve done that I might classify as a «tourist trap». If it was less than $ 5, I’d say «definitely!» but for over $ 15 per person, it’s pricey.
Long version:
I’ve been to the Dells a couple times now, and I’ve never gone. Mostly, it’s the high ticket prices that keep me from going, but as I was solo and nobody could tell me otherwise this time, I decided to go.
First off, the staff seemed friendly. He seemed bored as this was off-​season, but he did seem nice. Their credit card machine was broken, so I had to cough up the $ 16 for a standard ticket in cash. Despite looking, I didn’t see any coupons that I could tip you off about. The employee was friendly enough, when I inquired about going on the «Wizard Quest add-​on adventure» to let me know that a huge group of 30+ kids had just went in, so I might not find it too enjoyable right now, and I could come back later. I appreciate him being honest with me.
The exhibit itself was okay. Like, I guess I was expecting a lot more. Each «room» had a theme to it which was neat. There was an entire room that was a bedroom covered in duck tape. Every surface was duck taped. There’s a bathroom inside the museum, and you can «double-​back» to the bathroom if need be throughout your journey. Other rooms included money-​themed rooms, torture-​themed areas, shark-​themed area, weapon-​themed area, mutated animals themed area, and others. For the most part, the exhibits are entirely reading. There are neat items and small descriptions/​explanations posted near the items. You’re supposed to read about the items and learn. There are a couple videos with subtitles throughout the area, but it’s mostly reading.
I found it slightly frustrating to figure out «how» I was supposed to get around. As the museum was pretty much empty aside from me (I didn’t see anyone until the gift shop), in some areas, the «path» wasn’t clear. If people were obviously moving around, I don’t think it’d be an issue, but there are a lot of «hidden» things you can miss if you aren’t paying attention. For example, there’s a small doorway that lets you go «inside» one of the cages in the torture exhibit. You can also look inside or interact with some exhibits.
The entire museum was designed to be the «general» area with kids running around. I found it really odd that the torture devices were considered under this «general» umbrella. HOWEVER, if you pay attention, there’s a small fireplace-​looking area that says «Mature Audiences Only». It leads up a tight spiral staircase to a hidden upstairs area with more graphic photos of people being pierced by spears as well as beheadding replicas of heads and others. This area is super-​duper not designed not to be child-​friendly, but it also wasn’t insanely graphic either.
For those with kids, the gift shop does offer a couple items at $ 1 if your child would like a souvenir and you don’t want to pay a ton.
I learned a couple new things, and it was enjoyable to do, but I feel a bit disappointed by the cost-​to-​reward ratio. It didn’t feel like nearly enough things to do to justify the entrance cost. I wouldn’t really recommend anyone else do it unless you really have a thing for Ripley’s.

The cost was $ 13 something per adult… I wouldn’t go back. My boyfriend and I went through it quickly. Less than an hour. I don’t know who this would be age appropriate for. my boyfriend and I are both 21 and it was kind of lame for us. I can’t see it being good for little kids either with all the morbid artifacts. I went based on reviews on Unilocal,and honestly I was disappointed! Definitely felt like a waste of money.

Boring and needs some maintenance. Very rundown. Not appropriate for young children. A lot of death and sexual content. Would not go back. Overpriced.

Something to do on a rainy day. Small place — spend like 40 – 50 minutes there. I think the one in Florida was better than here.
Fifteen dollars for adults and 11 dollars for children under 13.
But it was interesting place to learn weird facts that I never knew about it.

This was an ok way to spend roughly an hour on a rainy day. Price was a little steep. Lots of reading at every single item inside. Seemed fairly outdated as well.

My boyfriend and I went here on a chilly wet day. If you can’t do too much outside then you might as well look at deformed creatures/​humans inside!
I think this would be a good place to bring kids. It’s interactive and certainly interesting. It is considerably a large exhibit too. They had a lot of original artifacts as well as recreations. I think we spent almost 2 hours in here?
My biggest complaint, however, is that it seemed a little dark and dingy. The whole place had a bit of a musty smell. I understand that it’s been around for a while and must really suck to clean and maintain, but after I had gone through the place I felt like I needed to shower. And cleanse my sinuses.

Pretty cool «museum». Some of the exhibits could have been lit up a bit better and the routing inside could have been labeled better. Overall a good time. The lady who checked us in was super nice. I’d go back.

Had fun. It took about an hour and a half. I loved the secret passageways. Neat thought and conversation provoking items.

Good times, but a little pricey. If you’re a fan of Ripley’s, you’ll probably enjoy it. I don’t want to give too many details because it’ll spoil the fun. Be sure to check out the «hidden» area upstairs though. It’s through the fireplace.

My daughter got to visit this as her birthday surprise. It was a bit on the expensive end so, we were vary of getting in. It’s a little tight in space but all in all was a fun experience. I agree the gift shop is a total tourist trap though.

Little pricey IMO for what it is, it is certainly a tourist trap, but it was cool and definitely worth doing at least once. I’m glad we did it.

I grew up reading Ripley’s and watching the shows. This is a fun place. It took about an hour to get through with lots of fun exhibits. If you like the macabre
or unique things you will like this place. It is expensive but, I assumed that going to any place at the Dells. I found staff to be helpful and a little unusual just like it should be for a place like this.

This was my first time visiting a Ripley’s. I’ve seen them around other cities, but was never inclined to venture inside. Surprisingly, the Ripley’s in The Dells was pretty interesting.
Upon entering, you can watch a video about the history of Robert Ripley and how he started his Believe It or Not franchise. Proceed along the path through various rooms, you can see an eclectic variety of bizarre oddities and kitsch:
— life-​size five-​legged cow
— shrunken head
— Iron Maiden torture device
— 3×5 foot mural of farmers made out of pieces of burnt toast
— portrait of Elvis made out of butterflies
Tickets are $ 13 each and the exhibit takes about an hour to see. By pass the gift shop completely; it’s full of overpriced tourist trap knick-​knacks.

Interesting tidbits for knowledge junkies. About an hour’s worth of entertainment, but the secret passages and Egyptian hands-​on exhibit were a nice touch.

Don’t get me wrong I love things that seem out of the ordianry and freaky but although that museum was full of weird things, most of the artifacts weren’t the real thing but rather descriptions with wax figures… I just wish they tried to bring more of the real objects into that museum so it could truly be a freaky experience.
On top of that they had some cheesy effects (like an Indiana Jones style symbol hunting adventure, but not as exciting as it sounds). For a while I felt like I was nack in 2000 when that kind of technology was new…
Again, I liked the freaky things I was just unhappy there weren’t a lot of original artifacts in the actual museum. I do understand that those artifacts are probably in the more well known Ripley’s museums but in my opinion I dont think they should have opened this up in the first place if they cant give people what they want.
Regardless I think that a lot of people aren’t as picky as me so I do recommend trying it out since it’s not very expensive but i do warn you that it’s not as exciting as the outside makes it out to be.

Not too bad. I wouldn’t exactly classify this place as a museum, but a really big collection of really bizarre crap. Each and every exhibit is painstakingly detailed and explained. There is even an interactive tomb exhibit, which is really neat. The gift shop (what self-​respecting tourist-​trap would not have one,) is nearly as intriguing as the museum itself.