‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! {Gatlinburg, Tennessee}

August 11, 2014 · Narrative

The creepy, spooky, and downright icky can be found right in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum.

Nick, my twelve year old, is a big fan of the weird and the wonderful, so when I found out that there was a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! location in Tennessee, it quickly got added to our “things to do” list for this year’s Spring Break.

Natch.

Located right on Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg, it couldn’t have been easier to find. On street parking is available, as well as many hourly lots tucked down various side streets. Since this is the main drag through Gatlinburg, it is a hotbed of activity. If you park in one of the lots, you will more than get your five bucks worth. Guaranteed.

This Ripley’s museum has three floors filled with exhibits, over 500 of them, in every nook and cranny. Some of the exhibits we have seen in the other locations, and many were new. The very tattooed lady with multiple piercings (and the man who is tattooed from head to foot) has been at many of the other locations we’ve visited, as well as the art pieces made entirely of matchsticks. There were a number of old-school exhibits as well, including a giant Lite-Brite set and a game of Operation.

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Visit: Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! {Times Square, New York City}

April 8, 2014 · Narrative

The weird. The odd. The creepy and icky. Let’s visit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in New York City…

It stands to reason that if we can possibly go to one of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not places, we will.

Because I know it’s Nick jam.

Ripley’s. Weird facts. Guinness Book of World Records.

The kid is a walking treasure trove of that type of stuff.

So, of course, when I saw a Groupon for the Ripley’s in New York City, a location we haven’t yet been to, I had to get it.

I mean. Really.

I bought it a few months ago, and waited and waited and waited to use it.

Mostly because I hate the cold and the thought of traipsing around the city on a blustery Northeast wintery day did nothing for me.

So I waited until the weekend the Groupon expired, in the hopes that it would be warmer, and, of course, it poured buckets.

And I hate rain almost as much as I hate Winter.

Because flooded basement. Always. And my favorite sneakers have holes in them, so they, um, get a little squishy when it rains. And I would happily toss them in the trash, but I can’t find a solid replacement pair.

#pitypartyofone

But we persevered and set off to the city, planning to meet Sarah, her kids, and Joanne.

And no one knew anyone else was coming, and surprises were had by all.

I’m good like that. Madeline adores Joanne, so I knew that would be the biggest surprise of all.

Nick brought a friend with him as well.

Which means everywhere we went, in the THRONGS OF NEW YORK CITY PEOPLE, we counted.

One, two, three, four, five.

Which reminded me of when Kate Gosselin used to count her kids every time they went somewhere.

Although we had a couple less.

I was responsible for three.

And I wasn’t planning on losing any.

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Visit: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! {Baltimore, Maryland}

August 28, 2013 · Narrative

When we were planning our quick trip to Baltimore, visiting the Baltimore Zoo was our main reason for going. Outside of that, I had a short list of other area attractions and general quirky stops to choose from in filling up our weekend. Although the aquarium was on that list, once we found out that there was a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum, that took the lead.

Because while the aquarium would have been awesome, I also remembered how much Nick loved visiting the Ripley’s museum down the shore last spring.

And so it was.

This Ripley’s is right in the heart of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, which really means that it is, in theory, a great location, it was also meant it was a bear to try and find parking on a Saturday night. It doesn’t have its own lot, a nearby parking garage was closed, there was a downtown event that night, and it meant that we circled the area “one last time” for about 45 minutes. Just when I was about to throw in the towel (and really stop believing in the luck I usually have when it comes to parking), I found a spot a short distance away (and I wasn’t entirely sure it was a legit space, so we mostly said a quick prayer that the car would be there when we came back out; spoiler alert: it was).

This Ripley’s location is over 13,000 square feet, packed with all the weird, odd, and downright squeamish exhibits you have come to know and expect from them (over 500 exhibits!). Unlike the Atlantic City location, this one is several floors, and also has a 4D movie theater experience, which we loved. It might have even been our favorite part.

Each of the Ripley’s locations have completely different exhibits, which tells you two things: 1) there are a lot of weird oddities to see in the world and 2) each place is a different experience, so it’s not “visited one Ripley’s, visited them all.” The Baltimore location, however, had more in terms of “museum” exhibits, so it was not all ew-gross-type stuff around every corner.

Which pleases this Mom to no end.

That being said, there was still plenty of gross exhibits throughout.

Which pleased my 11-year-old boy to no end.

So everyone was happy.

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Visit: Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum {Atlantic City}

April 13, 2012 · Narrative

When I was planning last week’s adventures, Google was my friend. It never lets me down. My first goal was to find an aquarium for Madeline (more on that next week). Then I wanted to find something for Nick. When the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum popped up on my radar right in Atlantic City, I might have let out a slight cheer. Ok, I totally did.

He is obsessed with the various Guinness Book of World Records books. And the Weird Facts books from the folks at National Geographic. And the Believe It or Not stuff? ALL OVER IT. Has been for years. Every time the Scholastic book order comes in, and the twice-a-year- book fair, he has invariably circled these books and flagged them as must-haves.

We were on our way to Cape May for the day, and I punched a new address into the GPS.

“Why are you using that? I thought you knew how to get where we’re going,” Nick asked from the back seat.

“I do, but we’re making a slight detour and I don’t know how to get there.”

And then began the barrage of 523 questions that I refused to answer. He is my has-to-know-what-is-happening-at-all-times kid. It’s quite exhausting sometimes, really.

“I promise, you will like it. Just chill.”

The Ripley’s folks have 25 museum locations around the world, not to mention a host of aquariums as well. The one we were visiting was in Atlantic City. Although they all have the same basic theme, they all have slightly different looks and items inside. Nick poured over the $1.99 guidebook (after we left) all the way to Cape May, so trust me when I tell you, I know where all the other locations are, and what they look like from the outside.

The GPS directed me to an empty, free parking lot. I think in terms of parking lots, that’s totally my favorite kind. Because it was a weekday and windy, there were very few people around, and that’s just perfect too.

I took pictures of the side of the building from our parking spot. Nick started to pay attention to what I was taking pictures of.

“NO WAY! We’re going THERE? Oh this is the best Spring Break EVER! Thank you, Mom, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Yeah, he was pretty much as happy as I thought he would be.

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