“Reverse Santa” Sits on YOUR Lap at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square in New York City

Reverse Santa Sits on YOUR Lap!

NEW YORK (Nov. 10, 2011) – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square’s “Reverse Santa” returns this holiday season to put an unconventional twist on the customary “sitting on Santa’s lap” family portrait. Ripley’s own “Reverse Santa” will sit on visitor’s laps this December creating an out-of-the-ordinary holiday family photo. 

“Reverse Santa” photos will be available each Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, December 3 through December 24, as well as December 26 through 29 from 12pm to 7pm.  Guests to the Odditorium will have the opportunity to take a variety of fun holiday shots with “Reverse Santa.”  Individual prints, key chains and magnets can be purchased on site at Ripley’s Times Square, as well as a CD to create personalized holiday cards or share online with friends. 

“Reverse Santa photos were a huge hit last holiday season, we couldn’t wait to offer them again this year,” said Michael Hirsch, President/General Manager of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square.  “At Ripley’s Time Square, we love surprising our guests with the unexpected and the look on their faces when Santa sits on their lap…it’s priceless.”   

Not in Times Square for a photo with “Reverse Santa”?  Ripley’s is spreading holiday cheer on Facebook with the “Unbelievable Holiday Photo” contest. Fans are encouraged to dust off their outrageous, funny and even embarrassing holiday and Santa photos – from the family portrait in matching reindeer sweaters to posing with a Hawaiian-shirted Santa on the beaches of Maui, as examples – for a chance to win an ultimate Times Square experience.   

Launching Monday, November 28, participants 18 years or older can submit unbelievable holiday and Santa to the Ripley’s New York Facebook page – www.facebook.com/RipleysNY.  Submissions will be accepted from November 28 through December 20 at 12:00pm EST and will be viewable to the public for voting during this period.  Public voting will determine the top finalists, with three grand prize winners being named by a panel of judges at Ripley’s on December 21, 2011.   

Three grand prize winners will receive the “Ultimate Times Square” package including two tickets to Ripley’s Times Square Odditorium, $50 gift card to Applebees, a Ripley’s prize pack with oddities and gifts from Ripley’s Odd Shop and two tickets on CitySights NY’s Mini-All Around Town double-decker tour bus offering unlimited hop-on, hop-off tours on all CitySights NY’s routes including Uptown, Downtown, Night and Brooklyn tours for 48 hours.

For more information about “Reverse Santa” photos or Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square, please visit www.ripleysnewyork.com.

About Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square

Located in the heart of Times Square, Ripley’s Believe It or Not’s collection of more than 500 astonishing artifacts and exclusive oddities are displayed in more than 20 distinct, interactive galleries. From a baseball uniform worn by Babe Ruth to a six-legged cow and the world’s largest collection of shrunken heads, Ripley’s welcomes guests to experience the unusual and absurd inside the Odditorium.  Outside, Ripley’s sideshow performers surprise and delight guests with daring feats such as sword swallowing and fire eating.  The gift shop features wacky treasures and treats including dogfish sharks in a jar and chocolate covered insects. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square is open from 9:00am – 1:00am. For further information visit www.ripleysnewyork.com

About Ripley Entertainment
Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com), keepers of the venerable Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, is a global leader in location-based entertainment, entertaining more than 12 million annually at its 80-plus attractions in 11 countries.  In addition to its 31 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Odditorium are registered trademarks of Ripley Entertainment Inc.

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