St. Catharines Standard e-edition

Ripley’s opens selfie studio on Clifton Hill

Social media the focus at photo attraction

JOHN LAW JOHN LAW IS A ST. CATHARINESBASED REPORTER FOR THE NIAGARA FALLS REVIEW. REACH HIM VIA EMAIL: JOHN.LAW@NIAGARADAILIES.COM

The newest attraction on Clifton Hill is a selfie paradise.

Ripley’s Selfie Studios, which opened at noon Thursday, offers 23 themed installations visitors can interact with. From a disco to a retro diner to a Niagara Falls tightrope, it’s meant to embrace the kitsch and get social media clicks.

“We wanted something new, different and fresh,” said Peter Doyle, regional manager of Ripley Entertainment for Canada.

“This really captures something very creative. It targets teenagers and young adults and they’ve been very successful elsewhere. You’re only restricted by your own creativity here.”

The attraction is at the corner of Clifton Hill and Victoria Avenue and replaces Ripley’s Moving Theatre, which closed in January after 26 years.

Doyle said it was a three-month process renovating the space and turning it into an elaborate photo studio. Ripley’s corporate art department came up with the colourful designs.

Each space is equipped with a light ring to attach to a cellphone and change the lighting.

Some of the installations include a garden, a moonlit swing set and a bathtub filled with rubber duckies.

Doyle said the least popular areas can easily be replaced with something more engaging. Designers originally had hundreds of ideas to work with.

“The best thing about the selfie theme is that it’s easy to change out,” he said. “We can do it seasonal — we can have a Christmas theme for a couple sets, we can have Easter, Thanksgiving.

“The guests will decide which ones are popular and which ones are not.”

Guests can share the selfies using the tags #Selfiestudiosnf or @Ripleysniagarafalls.

In addition to the selfie studio, Ripley’s Entertainment owns Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks in Niagara Falls.

Admission to Ripley’s Selfie Studios is $21.99 for adults and $16.99 for kids five to 12.

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2022-07-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

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