Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando presents unusual artifacts, unusual artworks and curiosities inside a distinctive building on International Drive. The Odditorium format grew from Robert Ripley’s collecting and storytelling, inviting visitors to compare claims with objects and evidence.
Guide preview
The building’s unusual silhouette sets the tone before you enter: this is a museum designed to make visitors question what they think is ordinary. Ripley’s Odditoriums grew from Robert Ripley’s newspaper cartoons and personal collection of unusual objects. The first permanent Odditorium opened in St.
Continue exploring
Discover the full story
Keep reading with a travel pass and explore every full guide and tour.
UpgradeQuick facts
- Robert Ripley’s first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine in 1950.
- Ripley’s attractions are based on the founder’s collection and cartoons.
- Odditoriums combine artifacts, themed galleries and interactive displays.
More places in Orlando
Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens
The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens preserves the home, studio, and work of Czech-American sculptor Albin Polasek beside Lake Osceola in Winter Park. Sculpture appears both indoors and outdoors, while the historic Capen House adds a separate story of preservation and relocation.
Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures
Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures takes visitors across marsh and shallow wetlands near Lake Tohopekaliga, at the headwaters of the Everglades system. The low, fast airboat makes the landscape’s water, grasses and wildlife visible from a distinctly Florida perspective.
Bok Tower Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens combines a woodland garden with a 205-foot carillon tower on Florida’s Lake Wales Ridge. Edward Bok created the sanctuary as a public gift, pairing landscape design by the Olmsted firm with a tower whose bells animate the gardens with sound.
Camping World Stadium
Camping World Stadium has hosted generations of football games, bowls, concerts, and other events since its construction as a public works project. Its changing names and expansions mirror the growth of Orlando’s sports-entertainment identity.
Central Florida Railroad Museum
The Central Florida Railroad Museum sits beside active rail lines in Winter Garden and preserves artifacts from the region’s railway history. Its setting makes the subject immediate: the same kind of transport infrastructure that connected communities remains audible and visible beside the museum.
Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens
Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens grew from a small Sanford animal collection into a regional zoo with gardens and education programs. Elevated boardwalks and planted spaces bring visitors close to animal habitats while showing the institution’s broader botanical mission.