Butterfly Wonderland & Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale – A Fun Family Stop in 2024

PLANNING A VISIT TO ODYSEA AQUARIUM IN SCOTTSDALE?

We’ve got all the info you need! We’ve been traveling with kids since 2015 and during our stay in Phoenix we were lucky enough to visit the Odysea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale.

Both attractions are located in the OdySea in the Desert entertainment complex. We had a fun day learning about the animals in both the aquarium and the beautiful butterflies.

We recommend planning for the better part of a day to visit these family-friendly Phoenix attractions. Butterfly Wonderland closes two hours before Odysea Aquarium, so if you’re starting later in the day, you may want to see the butterflies first.

We love visiting Phoenix because of the warm winter temperatures and all of the fun kid activities there are in the area. We have family in the area, so we are lucky to visit often and enjoy all of the educational stops and activities the area offers for our home-schooled kiddos.

Here is everything you need to know about visiting the Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale, as well as Butterfly Wonderland.

Candice’s Pro Tips for Visiting the OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland

✔ Visit Butterfly Wonderland first if you are starting later in the day because it closes two hours before the aquarium.
✔ Wear light-colored clothing to increase the chances of a butterfly landing on you.
✔ Save some money by visiting the aquarium after 4:30 p.m. or buying a combo ticket to save on multiple attractions.
✔ Don’t miss the bathroom at the OodySea Aquarium. There is an amazing exhibit in the bathroom. You may just stand there and wash your hands all day. 🧼

OdySea Aquarium

When you first arrive at the aquarium, your first stop should be the bathroom. The OdySea Aquarium bathroom is the recipient of the Cintas America’s Best Restroom Award and is fantastic. You can enjoy washing your hands while watching a huge shark swim by.

After the bathroom, we headed upstairs and were greeted with the cutest freshwater turtles. Rowen and Raven love turtles – they’ve even had a turtle birthday party! – so this was a real treat. Otters, crocodiles, penguins, and a variety of fish were also located upstairs.

We really enjoyed watching the penguins swim around, and they came right up to the kids. There were a variety of interactive displays that everyone enjoyed.

Upstairs, there are also touch pools that the kids and I both enjoyed. This was our first trip to the aquarium, where Rowen and Raven were really into touching everything in the pools. They loved the different textures, and we learned so much from the staff working in the area.

When you are ready to go downstairs, take the escalator rather than the elevator if you can. Strollers aren’t allowed on the escalator, but try to trade off so everyone can take the journey down through the Deep Ocean Escalator.

Our favorite part of the first floor was the Great Barrier Reef Tunnel. Everything was so colorful!

Downstairs at the Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale

Downstairs, there is also a 3D film as well as the “Living Sea Carousel.” The carousel takes you through five different ocean scenes. Strollers do have to be left outside of the carousel. On the first floor of the Odysea Aquarium, you will also find eels, octopuses, sharks, turtles, and jellyfish.

Overall, we were very happy with our visit to the aquarium. There were lots of hands-on opportunities to learn, and the exhibits were set up to make it easy for my kids to see the animals.

Butterfly Wonderland

After a quick snack, we were ready to explore Butterfly Wonderland. Butterfly Wonderland allows strollers throughout the building except for in the Conservatory. They have lots of programs throughout the day, so check the schedule ahead of time to see if there’s one your group would be interested in.

We started our tour by watching a 3D movie about the migration of butterflies. We enjoyed learning more about the butterflies before going in to see them in the Conservatory.

After the film, you get to view the Butterfly Emergence Gallery. These chrysalis are shipped in weekly from tropical locations and set up in the gallery to hatch. This was my favorite part of the whole thing! It is full of live chrysalis in different stages of transforming into butterflies. I’ve never seen anything like this. Very cool!

Conservatory at Butterfly Wonderland

Next, we headed into the conservatory. It is home to thousands of butterflies, representing around 30 different species. The conservatory is about 10,000 square feet, and you’ll feel like you’re in the rainforest- it’s humid!

We enjoyed taking our time to explore the conservatory and counting how many colors of butterflies we could find. Rowen and Raven loved the blue ones the best. It seemed like there was a butterfly there waiting for us everywhere.

To increase your chances of having a butterfly land on you, wear white or light-colored clothing!

Butterfly Wonderland is home to animals besides the butterfly. We got to learn about all the animals that share homes with the butterflies. At the Rainforest Reptile Exhibit, there were so many unique and colorful animals. We loved the poison dart frog, the crocodiles, and geckos.

The Tropical Waters of the World had beautiful fish, especially the exhibit for the South American rivers and lakes.

We would recommend an hour and a half to two hours to go through Butterfly Wonderland.

Tips for Getting Discounted Tickets

There are discounted tickets available if you visit multiple attractions in this same complex, including the aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland. You have the option to use the tickets in one day or on different days if you think your kiddos won’t make it through both attractions on the same day.

If you are only interested in going to the Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale, you can save 30% on your tickets by going after 4:30 p.m. The aquarium is open until 7 p.m., so I think this would give you enough time to make it through the aquarium before it closes.

If you do not take advantage of any of the discounts, adult admission is $44.95, and child admission (ages 2-12) is $34.95.

If you are interested in going to multiple places in this complex, you will save the most money on admissions by purchasing a combo ticket. There are lots of different packages, and the discount percentage is based on the number of attractions you choose to go to. You can save up to 20% if you pick four attractions.

The tickets are valid for one year, so if you are in Scottsdale a lot, this is a great way to get multiple days of entertainment at a discount. You can purchase tickets and see the discounts here.

Conclusion: Odysea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland near Phoenix

We hope this guide has been helpful in deciding whether to visit these two fun indoor attractions in Phoenix. We have been to many of the kid-friendly activities in Phoenix, both indoor and outdoor, and this is one of our favorites. It is always so amazing to see the diverse wildlife on Earth!

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