Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Baltimore

This is one of the weirdest museums I’ve ever been to in my life. I mean like in a good way. The life sized models to the mirror maze to the artifacts to the activities to the art to the moving theater and even the spinning globe outside the museum is great. My only concerns would be:
1: it’s right next to the mall which I somehow just can’t get over
2: it’s just so tiny. It barely takes an hour to tour the place
3: the chessie exhibit kinda scared me when I stepped onto that platform
4: I thought this one statue was an actual man taking a picture of his girlfriend. That just made things kinda awkward
Overall, my experience was nice

We went today just before a snow storm as soon as they opened for my son’s 9^th birthday. It was great. At times the kids (9 and 7) were scared of the moving exhibits. The place was empty so we got to play with everything as much as we want. The exhibits were cool. Hubby and the 7 year old got scared and bailed out of the mirror maze through the emergency exit which didn’t alarm as threatened. My 9 year old calmly led the way and we finished the maze.
The 4D movie was fun for all — 2 short films. We laughed and screamed and had a great time.
The staff were very friendly.
The bathroom is cool in the Odotorium. Make sure you stop in.
I had fun. I recommend it.

Definitely a tourist trap, but since I’ve been a resident for less than a month, aren’t I technically a tourist? I snagged a Groupon for this place, which made the experience much more worthwhile… because I think I would’ve been sorely disappointed had I paid full price.
It’s like a tangible American Horror Story: Freak Show, and it showcases all sorts of oddities and kinda neat (sometimes gross) things throughout the «museum» — many of it isn’t real (c’mon, would the crown jewels of England really be sitting in the Inner Harbor for tons of children to ogle and try to touch?), but it’s interesting nonetheless.
My favorite parts were at the end of the museum portion, where you start dancing and it projects your silhouettes on the screen with a bunch of very Hotline Bling-​esque colors and designs as well as the mirror maze. We sprang for the 3D glasses for the maze, but it was almost cooler (and scarier) without ‘em — it was like Coherence: which you is the real one?! The plastic gloves they give you beforehand are a nice touch. Smart, because I definitely felt my way around tons of glass and (sorry) sometimes people — I TOLD YOU: IT IS HARD TO TELL WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS A REFLECTION. That was amusing.
The 4D movie was a fun diversion, too, though it was quite short, and sometimes I wondered how clean the air blowing on me could be, but I think it’d be really cool for kids (big and small) who have never experienced similar rides like at Disney or Universal.
Long story short: get the Groupon for all 3 things to do/​see; try out the crazy mirror maze; and don’t take it/​yourself too seriously — just have fun!

It was. Disappointment. For the price you pay I thought we would get to see more and the three attractions together is not impressive. The mirror one is very small. Not worth it.

This was fun. Probably not worth the ticket price but we had a groupon. There was enough hands-​on things to keep active children busy. Wish they had more… The whole place only took us about an hour to get through.

I was about as thrilled with this place as I was when Captain Crimestopper brought in a pair of real handcuffs during our 5^th grade D.A.R.E. graduation.
I’ll give them this; there’s a lot of cool stuff in there. However, you never really know if what you’re looking at is real, or a facsimile. My guess would be that it’s mostly the latter. The set-​up is interesting, different levels and rooms. I was impressed with the Robert Wadlow exhibit when we walked in, a mechanical dummy that actually stands up. After that, it went downhill.
The hall of mirrors started off ok. Then it became claustrophobic and terrifying.
The 4D movie may have been good… but the staff sent us in and said «It will start in a few minutes». After 20 minutes, we walked out. It was too nice outside in December to be waiting for slacking employees to start the movie. There was no one else there, I’m not sure why they didn’t start it. Perhaps there’s something that I wasn’t aware of.
When you’re in Baltimore, try the aquarium. It’s expensive, but worth it!

This is a good addition to the inner harbor. They have 3 different attractions was so cool especially the house of mirrors I had a hard time finding my way out and fun for the whole fam a Lil on the expensive side but cool

Ripley’s is one of those places that try to pass itself off as a science museum at some places, while in reality is just a side show at a circus –much like its namesake. There are some sciency exhibits such as the bugs and dinosaurs, but then there are the toothpick city and 2 way recorded mirror (pro tip: don’t make a weird face when on a date).
Honestly it’s a fun place. But its really short for what you have to pay to get in. You can comb through the place in an hour, and considering how many other things you can do on the harbor, your money might be better spent elsewhere. It’s also noisy, which makes it more like an arcade than a museum.
But if your looking for a fun (albeit short) romp gawking at interesting exhibits, give it a try.

This place was pretty cool, went there yesterday with my «little» from BBBS. He had a ball. He said he enjoyed the mirror maze and the 4d theatre the most. In the mirror maze you are given gloves and lead into a dark room with led lights at the bottom to help guide you through a hallways surrounded by mirrors. In the 4D theatre you watch to 8 min movies in which the seats move to the action on screen and gust of air blows at you as well. The movie is also in 3D. My only gripe of the place is it can get expensive as general admission was $ 15 then the maze was another $ 15 and the movie well you guessed it another $ 15 but other then that I recommend this place.

My 9 and 6 year old sons had an absolute blast and as an adult I enjoyed reading the information that went with each part of the exhibit! Some of the highlights included a crawl through jungle gym, Harry Potter items, a kaleidoscope dance room, and a heat sensored camera! It’s only a couple extra bucks for the mirror maze and 4d show, so do it! Nice staff! I have been to the ones in Ocean City and Niagara Falls and this takes the cake by far!

KNOWLEDGE! KNOWLEDGE EVERYWHERE!
Ok, so the teacher in me gets really excited whenever my husband agrees to go to museums with me. This one at the Harbor was the second Ripley’s we’d gone to together. We used a coupon from the Sun to help lower costs; otherwise, I can see how it could get pricey.
We had a good time perusing the different exhibits. A lot of «Ooh, look at this!» and «Whaaaat…» It was funny to see ourselves on video at one point in the exhibit. Also, I may or may not have climbed up to the play place and there may or may not be photographic evidence. ;)
The kaleidoscope exhibit was wild! It was also fun to end the tour with some thermal dancing. ;)
Overall, it’s a pretty neat museum, although it’s not TOO big. You can still learn a lot!

So I have been to the one in Canada when I was maybe 17 and it was the coolest. I asked around people who worked around the Inner Harbor about this place and it just seemed like people said its a waste of money, its boring, its lame etc etc.
Somehow someway, I decided to give it a shot cause my nephew really wanted to go in. So took the family in.
Place turned out to be pretty cool. It is fun for kids, and thats why you go. This place doesnt have a wow factor, but the colors and designs of everything really pops.
They have a Maze, a 4D movie, and museum
I really enjoyed the Maze of mirrors lol, actually 2 of us went straight into a mirror. They dont break, but you really have to becareful, and take your time. My Buddy and I decided to get competitive and tried to run through the maze, was so fun and funny.
The 4D movie was mediocre but fun for kids, If you go across the street to the Aquarium first and see the movie there, you might not wanna take them to this movie, cause it will be underwhelming
Museum was a okay.
To sum it up this place is really for kids, so it will be good for them but its average for adults.

Worst customer service ever. Stood for 20 minutes unacknowledged by staff. When finally we got them to serve us they were rude and disinterested.
Loud music and crappy exhibits make it a no-​go.

My kids loved it, they found it fascinating. From all the cool factoids to the mirror maze, to the 4D theater, I can honestly say we had a blast. If you’re vacationing to the Inner Harbor and have children with you, this will be the highlight of their trip (the science museum and Port Discovery are pretty sweet too).
I can see how adults expecting some sort of great museum experience would be disappointed by coming here, but it’s an amazing experience for kids. I don’t think 1 or 2 star reviews are quite fair. Anyone giving this museum a 1 star rating clearly didn’t do their research to understand what Ripley’s is. It’s located at the heart of the Inner Harbor in tourist central, so making the argument that it’s too «touristy» is sort of a moot point.
Adults, if you don’t find Ripley’s to be adequately stimulating for your intellect, maybe opt for the American Visionary Art Museum, or The Walter’s Art Museum down the road.

I was looking for something to do with the kids that would tear them away from the electronics, and this fit the bill. The kids (2 boys, age 11) declared Ripley’s «awesome» and «cool», and I agree.
Let’s get the unpleasantness out of the way first – the price. Yikes! I knew this going in, and I feel that for the 2 hours we spent, it was worthwhile.
I bought the combo tickets, so we saw the Oddities, the 4D movie and the mirror maze. We enjoyed each portion and spent time really exploring. I chose 7 – 9 pm on a Wed night, so we literally had the place to ourselves. No rushing, no waiting.
This place is really designed with kids in mind – there were a lot of interactive exhibits and great photo opps. They get you right away with the wooden motorcycle that invites you to «jump on» and the anamatronic «tallest man in the world» that stands up from his massive chair so you can stand beside him and compare.
The steps leading up to the second floor were piano keys that played loudly when you walked on them. The boys made quite a musical racket!
I was expecting a lot of oddities, but was not expecting all the interesting and beautiful artifacts and art objects! There were some amazing things! I had read on Unilocal about the surprise in the bathrooms, so we made it a point to check them out.
There were cool interactive exhibits similar to what you would find in the Science Center, and plenty of freaky, cool things that could not possibly be elsewhere!
The 4D movie was fun! We had the theater to ourselves and hooted and hollered all we wanted. And yes, they made it snow in there! When we left the theater we went into the mirror maze. That was also very cool! I can see little ones being overwhelmed there, but it was perfect for us. Again, we were the only ones there so we went through twice!
I don’t want to give too much away because part of the fun is in the discovery and surprise. We had a blast, and if I can get a coupon of some sort we will go back and take the hubby!
Bottom line: Cool fun! Six thumbs up!

Very well maintained. Be prepared to read a considerable amount and spend some time to truly enjoy the fascinating and unusual displays of this unique collection.
What might be even as fascinating as the exhibits is the fact that kids have not ripped some of this very fragile collection up. Hats off to the management

I went on a bus trip through Canada a little over a year ago and saw a place like this in New York, but we did not have time go inside and check it out.
Overall everything seemed really cool in NY so when I saw a livingsocial deal for Baltimore, I bought a ticket for me and my brother. Overall it was interesting and fun, but if you want to do the really fun stuff, you gotta pay extra for that.
Take your kids, but for adults, buy the entire package for everything for the most fun or you’ll get bored. Worth the $$ for either option, but I guess I had higher expectations due to the street performers I saw in NY for this franchise.
The living social deal will save you a hunch and parking is a little expensive so you may want to check parkwhiz or spothero online before coming since I paid $ 27 for the cheapest spot I could find.

This place sucks!!!
If I could give it no stars I would!
I’ve been to the one in time square and this is poop! !!
They charge you $ 17. For nothing! ! It’s about a floor and half of just crap nothing good. I spent about 20 mins and I was done… there are so much more better things to do than this crap!!! AVOID AT ALL COST!!!

TOURIST TRAP! We fell for it. But really– just mock-​ups of cool stuff and all, nothing really great. Spent about half hour for a good fee– been to better places.

we went to the aquarium at 12pm but couldn’t get a timed ticket for until 5pm… so we walked around to kill time and came across ripley’s.
the tickets are under $ 18 and its totally worth it. you learn tons of quirky facts and it’s really visually interesting.
my favorites are the dance room, kaleidoscope room, tight rope, and the piano staircase. it’s a lot fun! definitely check it out.
the people in front of me got military discounts so definitely do that if you can.
! there’s free all day parking and 3-​hour spots on little italy’s residential streets. the walk is less than 20 minutes.