Ripley's Believe It or Not! Orlando, Florida

The first thing that you notice about the Ripley's Believe it Or Not Odditorium on International Drive in Orlando is the unusual building, which is tipping to one side. Apparently the entire building is falling into a Florida sinkhole! Although that fact might not be strictly true, the building is full of things which really are genuine, even though they might seem unbelievable.

We visited with our four year old son and nearly two year old daughter. You take a self-guided tour around the museum, which is crammed full of interesting, eclectic exhibits. My children's favourite item was this car, which has been customised with different musical instruments attached in a variety of ways. It was designed as a performance piece of art, and I can imagine how much fun it must be when taken out and about. Although I'm not sure what sort of a racket it would make, it was noisy enough with just my two bashing away at it!

An enormous chair was another hit, with both children desperate to clamber on top of it. We loved that so many of the exhibits were interactive and captured the interest of both young children. There was plenty for them to touch and explore, like the strange room where snooker balls run uphill, and an interactive whiteboard with flowing water that you could direct around the screen by positioning magnetic shapes. They also loved the rotating tunnel at the end which makes you feel as though you are falling over, initial apprehensiveness led to eager excitement as they ran round and round over and over again.

My four year old did find some of the rooms a bit intimidating, so we rushed him past those, in particular a pretend dungeon with some torture equipment. The two year old was too young to notice anything scary, and had a delightful time exploring.

I'd definitely recommend Ripley's Believe it or Not! for a visit, and not just if you have children, it is a fascinating and enjoyable place to visit for adults too.

We received two adult complimentary admissions to Ripley's Believe it or Not!, we paid for the rest of our party.