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I think in order to truly appreciate Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium in St. Augustine, Florida, you need to know the history.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! began as a weekly newspaper cartoon by illustrator Robert Ripley back in 1918. I’m sure back then Ripley had no idea it would become such a worldwide phenomenon that is still so relevant today. Ripley went on to visit over 201 countries to learn strange (yet true) stories. But along the way, he collected thousands of odd and rare artifacts.
This collection first debuted at Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, and was titled Ripley’s Odditorium. Unsurprisingly, it was a huge hit. Over two million people went to see the exhibit. His collection was then shown throughout the country.
But in 1950, the first permanent location opened. And it was opened in St. Augustine, Florida.
The First Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum
This seems fitting to me, since St. Augustine is always known as being a “first” since they are the first city in the United States of America.
At any rate, you can find Ripley’s Odditorium in the Castle Warden, a building that was built back in 1888 (again: there’s a lot of history in St. Augustine).
You can still visit the original Ripley’s Odditorium when you take a trip to St. Augustine. You’ll see some of the classic favorites like the shrunken head and the world’s tallest man display. But you’ll also see things you may have never seen before even if you’ve already been to Ripley’s in St. Augustine. They are always getting new artifacts and exhibits. So you are always going to be learning new things there. Even the bathrooms at Ripley’s in St. Augustine have interesting facts!
So this is definitely an attraction you’ll want to visit if you vacation in St. Augustine. It can be fun for the whole family, both adults and children.
And if you do want to visit, keep reading to find out how to save money on your ticket.
Coupon Code
We know of a great coupon code you can use that can save you 25% on your ticket.
Just purchase your ticket here. Choose Ripley’s Odditorium and not the money saving combo option. Then use the promo code “SPRING24”. And then you save 25% on your ticket! This saving can really add up, especially if you say have a large family.
Please note however that this discount code is only valid for Ripley’s Odditorium and not for other Ripley’s attractions in St. Augustine, such as the Ghost Train Adventure. But if you do want to do other attractions, consider purchasing one of the money-saving combos, and you can find these combos here.