Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale, Arizona.

A little time ago I got up early and got myself over to Scottsdale, Arizona to visit the Butterfly Wonderland. It is a beautiful new building. I was really impressed with the layout of the facility and how nice everything was.

You start out your visit by watching the movie in their theater called the Butterfly Experience in 3D. “A story of the longest known insect migration on Earth – an adventure of epic proportions. In following the migration cycle of the monarch butterfly, the production team filmed hundreds of millions of monarchs along their migratory routes from Canada, across the United States, to their remote overwintering sanctuaries in Mexico.”.

I really enjoyed the movie, even though it was geared towards a younger audience. It is just the right length of time and done well.

The next stop on your visit is the Butterfly Emergence Gallery.

From there you go into The Conservatory. It was truly a lovely place, nicely laid out and since it was summer a little hot! Which I expected, but was a little uncomfortable in the summer. Even with the humidity I still spent at least two hours inside walking, sitting, taking photos and hunting Butterflies.

I found out later when looking at my pics that I got photo-bombed by a butterfly!

And when I wasn’t trying to get a butterfly in the following pic I actually got the very evasive blue butterfly flying by.

They also have a small exhibit of bees and ants. I was a little disappointed with these exhibits but I expect they may improve them in the future.

They had a nice exhibit of fish entitled “Rivers of the Amazon Aquatic Life” which showcased some exotic fish, eels, and stingrays.

I stopped and enjoyed a great cookie in the cafe and stopped in the gift shop of course. They had some great, unusual items in the gift shop.

I would definitely recommend the Butterfly Wonderland if you find yourself looking for something to do, rain or shine, hot or cold, young or older! I saw little children and elderly people in wheelchairs all excited when these wondrous creatures landed on their shoulders!