>> <a href="http://www.dfw.com/124/gallery/66462.html">Click here</a> to go right to the photo gallery.</p><p>GRAND PRAIRIE -- Anybody who's driven from Fort Worth or Arlington to Dallas and/or back has probably noticed a giant religious-looking palace on I-30. <br><br>"What is that thing?" you may have asked yourself.</p><p>The answer: It's Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax and Ripley's Believe It or Not! Inside there are three distinct exhibits: a mirror maze; a believe-it-or-not museum; and a wax museum. Each exhibit costs $16.99 per adult, $8.99 per kid (4-12). Or you can bundle and pick any two for $21.99/$12.99, or do all three for $27.99/$17.99. </p><p>Doing all three is the best value, obviously, but it makes for a time-consuming day. I suggest picking either the wax museum or the believe-it-or-not museum (probably the former), and adding the maze on for the extra $5. That will make for a nice afternoon distraction.</p><p><B>THE MAZE</B></p><p>The first thing I did was the maze, and it set a high bar that was never quite reached by the other exhibits. The maze is a trip. I was expecting a well-lit maze of right angles, but it's actually a very dimly lit maze of equilateral triangles, which, as you can see in <a href="http://www.dfw.com/124/gallery/66462.html">my photo gallery</a>, creates the illusion that you never get anywhere. Every time you turn a corner -- which is all you can do, because it's all corners -- you stare into an endless hall of triangles. So the lights might as well be off because what you see doesn't really help you find your way.</p><p>The atmosphere is made even creepier by some "enchanted" music. After several minutes, I was relieved to see a black curtain, which turned out to be the entrance. The lady, taking pity on me, revealed the trick for conquering the maze, and I got through in three minutes. Of course, for the price, I don't see why you'd want to do that.</p><p>Do not go to this place just for the maze, because it's not worth $16.99. It is worth an extra $5 or $6 if you're already there, though.</p><p><B>THE WAX MUSEUM</b></p><p>Next up, the wax museum. We've all seen photographs of wax replicas of celebrities, so this isn't exactly startling territory. But there's so much to see and read about that $16.99 isn't outrageous for what you get.</p><p>First up is the Hollywood area, which has celebrities and scenes from movies and TV shows, like "Star Trek" and "The Wizard of Oz." After that, you'll see presidents and other historical figures and scenes, like the Old West and the Civil War. </p><p>Several displays tell the story of Jesus, which was on the preachy side. Christians will probably find it pleasant; non-Christians can quicken their pace and exit unscathed.</p><p>After the wax museum, you can venture into a house of horrors. Beware: This is actually a scary place, full of startling noises and visions. It's not for the faint of heart, kids under 12, or anyone with firsthand memory of Robert Ripley's newspaper cartoons from the 1920s.</p><p>Granted, I get how cheesy this place is. I know I'm not going to get hacked to death in a haunted house at a wax museum. But, like any human, I go "eek" when I am screamed at, so I did get increasingly nervous with each darkened corner I turned. </p><p>Add the fact I was totally alone and never laid eyes on another visitor at any point in the house of horrors, and, yes, I was a little scared. There was one particular room that quickened my heart -- a dead quiet one. The anticipation of being scared made me more scared than any actual scare I'd experienced. I hung around to take pictures, and when the inevitable scare finally happened, I screamed aloud. (Well, I didn't really scream ... I shouted a series of obscenities. Nobody was around, thankfully.)</p><p>Overall, the wax museum is probably the better value for your money than the Believe It Or Not! area ...</p><p><B>THE BELIEVE IT OR NOT! MUSEUM</b></p><p>I saved the Believe It or Not! museum for last. This attraction requires some reading, so young children and illiterates might be bored. That said, there are a few interactive things that don't require reading, such as jumping into the air as a bright light flashes and seeing your shadow emblazoned on a wall.</p><p>I have mixed feelings about this museum. It straddles that line between being too cheesy and being lighthearted kitschy fun. I think anyone's enjoyment will depend on his expectations and who accompanies him. If you're tired, not in the best mood and going with someone who's not very funny, you might think this area is dumb and a waste of money. </p><p>If your energy is high and you're just out for a good time, I think you could have a lot of fun here. </p><p>Like Epcot at Walt Disney World, the Ripley's museum probably could stand to be more cutting-edge. There's a quaint, old-fashioned look and feel to the museum's fonts, color schemes and tone. Offhand, I don't remember seeing anything timely. So that makes it both timeless and outdated. Also, the Internet has dimmed the shock value of a museum like this. We see so much weird and bizarre stuff online -- often, in the form of videos -- that seeing a replica of an African woman with a large, round disk lodged in her lower lip is neither novel nor terribly shocking.</p><p>That said, it's just a local amusement, not the world headquarters of fascinating modern breakthroughs. So it's fun. Glad I went. I learned some neat things and had a nice time.</p><p><B>TO GO</b></p><p>Visit <a href="http://www.palaceofwax.com/FlashSite/default.asp" target="blank">their Web site</a> or hit the road. It's off I-30, between Belt Line to the east and 19th Street to the west. Although you can see it right from the highway, it's weirdly tricky to get to, so look at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=601+Palace+Parkway,+Grand+Prairie,+Texas&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.527387,77.34375&ie=UTF8&ll=32.763171,-97.004578&spn=0.008427,0.018883&z=16&iwloc=addr" target="blank">this map</a>.