Ripley Entertainment Inc. is an entertainment and

edutainment Educational entertainment, also referred to by the portmanteau edutainment, is media designed to education, educate through entertainment. The term has been used as early as 1933. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has inciden ...

holding company owned by the

Jim Pattison Group The Jim Pattison Group is a Canadian conglomerate based in Vancouver. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur, is the chairman, CEO, and sole owner of the company. The Jim Pattison Group, Canada's second largest privately held company, h ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. The company has its headquarters in an unincorporated part of southern Orange County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, near Orlando, at an office complex near the intersection of Sand Lake Road and John Young Parkway. Originating with a small daily newspaper cartoon drawn by

Robert Ripley LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' newspaper panel series, television show, and radio sho ...

, which debuted in 1918, the company now operates more than 90 attractions under a dozen brands worldwide. The daily Believe It or Not! cartoon that catapulted Ripley to fame in the 1920s is still printed and runs in hundreds of newspapers in more than 40 countries and in dozens of languages. The 32 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums that house its signature collection of oddities in various countries have received more than 100 million visitors since 1933.

Publishing interests

''Ripley Entertainment Inc.'' established Ripley Publishing Ltd to produce the ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not Annual ''Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Annual'' is a hardback reference book of unusual stories and images. The books consist of hundreds of snippets and longer in-depth articles, illustrated with glossy photographs. Twelve books have been produced since ...

'' and other books.

Holdings

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

Attractions *

Louis Tussaud Louis Joseph Kenny Tussaud (1869–1938) was a great-grandson of Marie Tussaud, creator of the Madame Tussauds wax museums. He worked at Madame Tussauds museum as a wax figure sculptor but left when his brother John Theodore Tussaud became chie ...

's Wax Museums: In the summer of 2004, Ripley's bought the Palace of Wax museum in

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant, and Ellis County, Texas, Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson County, Texas , Johnson county. It ...

, rebranding it as the United States' first Tussauds'. * Ripley's Aquarium of Canada -

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

*Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach -

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, U.S. *Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies - Gatlinburg, Tennessee, U.S. * Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditoriums - 32 locations in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Thailand, U.K., and U.S. * Ripley's Haunted Adventure - three locations in US and one in Thailand *Ripley's Mini-Golf and Arcade - Gatlinburg, Tennessee, U.S. *Ripley's Moving Theater - various locations. *Ripley's Red Train Tours - St. Augustine, Florida, U.S. *Ripley's Mirror Maze - Gatlinburg, Tennessee,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic resort city in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, Maryland, along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 United States c ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. All U.S. *Ripley's Davy Crockett Mini-Golf - Gatlinburg, Tennessee, U.S. *Ripley's Old McDonald Mini-Golf -

Sevierville, Tennessee Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, United States, located in East Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among th ...

, U.S. * Ride the Ducks - Branson, MO (now defunct)

References

About Ripley Entertainment

External links

Ripley Entertainment website
{{Authority control Entertainment companies of the United States Companies based in Orlando, Florida Jim Pattison Group Ripley's Believe It or Not!