The Odysea aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland is located in Scottsdale, AZ in what is called the Arizona boardwalk.
If you are new here Welcome! My name is Kisha Gulley and I share all kinds of things on my blog. One thing you will see is how our family navigates the world. My husband and I have two children. Our oldest is 4 and he has autism spectrum disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. We are always looking for autism friendly activities for our family (honestly for kids of all ages.) Last year we had the opportunity to experience different businesses in the city of Mesa with Visit Mesa! If you didn’t already know Mesa, AZ is the country’s first Autism Certified City.
However, something we quickly learned is that everyone’s experiences with autism are different. That’s why I share our experience because it might not be the same as yours or the people you know. We recently had a chance to take the kids to OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale, AZ. Even though they are located within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and are part of the Talking Stick Entertainment District they both have CAC accreditation.
Where is the Odysea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland?
Odysea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland are 2 of 7 attractions at the Arizona Boardwalk. The other places are UFO Experience, Laser + Mirror Maze, Pangaea Land of the Dinosaurs, VR Xtreme, and Johnny’s Playground (an indoor play yard with inflatable bounce houses and climbing structures.) There is also multiple dining, shopping, amusement venues, and an outdoor courtyard.
What is the best time to go to Butterfly Wonderland?
If you plan on enjoying the different family entertainment options or the variety of free events. I would suggest going early. Especially if you are going with children. This gives you time to get your exhibit ticket and figure out where to start.
Know Before You Go
Like the other places we’ve visited that are also CAC accredited they have information to help families prepare for their trip. They have interactive experiences like a video of Butterfly Wonderland and the OdySea Aquarium that shows you exactly what to expect. We told our son where we were going, and he knows what butterflies are, so he was excited, but I don’t think he knew what our experience was going to be. Fun Fact: Butterfly Wonderland is the first Butterfly Education facility to earn CAC accreditation from IBCCES. They also have a non-profit called the Butterfly Wonderland Foundation that seeks to educate, engage, enrich, and inspire all ages to conserve and protect our planet.
How long does it take to go through butterfly wonderland?
Our first stop before we got to the butterfly conservatory, they show you a 15-minute 3 d movie called “flight of the butterflies” about Monarch butterflies and their migration patterns. We’ve never taken our kids to the movies before, but they did okay with this part. After the short movie, we were led to the entrance of the conservatory where we were mere moments away from our opportunity to observe the different butterfly species in their environment. You are given instructions by the team members before entering and I think the most important thing they tell you is that the beautiful butterflies can touch you, but you can’t touch them (if that makes sense.) My son understood this very well because we spend time talking about personal boundaries.
Upon entry, we immediately noticed how humid it was inside. As we strolled through the mini rainforest, we were very careful with our steps. Not just because we were instructed to, but because all of my son’s senses were being initiated. He usually doesn’t like when anything is too close to his face, and he’s constantly running anywhere he goes. However, his high attention to detail allowed him to take notice of everything around him. Including the Koi Pond in the middle that he kept gravitating to. His excellent observational and visual skills helped him look, listen, and learn about all of the butterflies we were seeing.
How long does it take to walk through Odysea Aquarium?
Depending on how much time you have and which attraction you want to see, you might go to the aquarium as well on your visit. It’s the largest aquarium in Arizona and has so much to see. I’m going to be completely honest with you, (because that’s what I do!) Our boys gravitated to completely different areas while at the aquarium. So, while my youngest was “oohing and ahhing” at the otters, sea lions, shark tank, and stingrays. My oldest was completely occupied with the hands-on parts of the aquarium. There were some tactile sensory activities that he absolutely loved like the touch pools. In the Kids’ Cove, he was able to get his hands wet at the water table. We use the lite-brite during occupational therapy, so he was excited when he saw they had a 6-foot tall Lite Brite.
Our day was sensory and education-filled! Our son is a sensory seeker, but sometimes we don’t know what will overstimulate him. All we can do is go with the flow and try to plan as much as we can in advance. We knew what areas he might need to stay away from. We look forward to exposing him to as many of these activities as possible and love that businesses are being trained to work with individuals with special needs.
Is Odysea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland indoors?
They are both indoors so you can enjoy them year-round! It’s the perfect place to go for a fun family filled day. And if you can check out the seatrek experience, the trained dive team will guide you through the exhibit which holds over 120 thousand gallons of salt water and hundreds of stunning sea creatures. It lasts about an hour with 20-25 minutes for helmet time.
Did you know that SeaTREK® at OdySea Aquarium is the only indoor SeaTREK® experience in the world?
Overall, we will most definitely be going back. We enjoyed our day, and it was so great for all of our senses.
[…] OdySea Aquarium is a popular family-friendly attraction located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s the largest aquarium in the Southwest United States and offers a captivating underwater journey that showcases a diverse range of marine life from around the world. OdySea Aquarium isn’t your run-of-the-mill place, though. It’s like an awesome mix of fun and education all rolled into one. Imagine theme-park-style fun meeting super cool aquatic life presentations that’ll have you hooked. […]