Butterfly Wonderland

What Butterfly Wonderland does

Butterfly Wonderland operates North America's largest indoor butterfly conservatory from a 10,000-square-foot glass facility at Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale, Arizona, housed within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The core offering is an immersive rainforest ecosystem exhibit featuring over 60 species of freely flying butterflies, supplemented by an Emergence Gallery with live chrysalis viewing, a Rainforest Reptiles Gallery, Spineless Giants exhibit, Tropical Waters gallery (2 million gallons of water), a Honey Bee observation hive, an Edible Insects station, and a 193-seat 3D theater screening "Flight of the Butterflies." The operating entity is BWII, LLC, a private Arizona LLC; the affiliated Butterfly Wonderland Foundation (501(c)(3), EIN 27-4186543) runs education and conservation programs including the "Got Milkweed?" monarch initiative.

The company serves multiple customer segments via a transactional revenue model: walk-in and online individual admission tickets ($34.95 twilight), annual passes starting at $72.45, school field trips at $12 per student with free chaperones, birthday party packages ($375-$450), corporate and private event rentals, group bookings (10+ visitors at 15% discount), and on-site cafe and gift shop retail. It partners with Costa Rica Entomological Supply, Alas de Colombia, and (from May 2026) El Bosque Nuevo for butterfly supply, and is co-located with eight other Arizona Boardwalk attractions, generating combo ticket bundles with up to 40% discounts across multi-attraction purchases. Distribution channels include direct online ticketing, walk-in sales, a dedicated group sales team, third-party accessibility platforms (Wheel the World), and digital marketing via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and email.

The company holds distinctive accessibility credentials: in January 2020 it became the first butterfly education facility worldwide to earn the Certified Autism Center designation from IBCCES, complemented by PAL Place certification and Wheel the World verification. The Executive Director is Dee Mangulins, Director of Education is Adriane Hopkins (also Foundation Director), and Director of Animal Care is Derek Kellogg, an entomologist. No AI/ML capabilities, funding rounds, headcount data, or financial figures are disclosed in source materials, and the venue operates as a single physical site with no disclosed geographic expansion plans.

Name

Butterfly Wonderland

Legal name

BWII, LLC

Website

https://butterflywonderland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Butterfly Wonderland operates North America's largest indoor butterfly conservatory at Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale, serving families, K-12 school groups, tourists, corporate event clients, and birthday party hosts through ticketed admission, annual passes, and add-on retail and event experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indoor Nature Attractions / Family Entertainment

NAICS

Zoos and Botanical Gardens (71213), Zoos and Botanical Gardens (712130)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Zoos, Aquariums & Botanical Gardens (Educational Collections) (THAJADAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wildlife Viewing Hides, Observation Towers & Birding Sites (Managed Access) (THAAAFAE)

Keywords

• Indoor butterfly conservatory
• Family entertainment venue
• Educational nature attraction
• Rainforest exhibit experience
• Butterfly zoo tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Day admission tickets for individual visitors and families. Regular admission plus twilight discounted tickets after 4:30pm at $34.95 per person.
2. Annual Passes & Memberships: Unlimited visits for one year with annual passes starting at $72.45 for adults. Pays for itself after 2 visits. Includes discounts on encounters, tours, cafe, and gift shop.
3. Birthday Party Packages: Two-tier birthday party packages: Special Birthday Party at $375 and Ultimate Pizza Party at $450. Both include exclusive party room use, all-day admission, themed decor, food, and special gift. Add-ons available.
4. Private Events & Corporate Events: Venue rental for corporate events, weddings, celebrations of life, and private gatherings. Includes 193-seat theater with AV capabilities and 10,000 square foot conservatory.
5. Retail & Food & Beverage: On-site Butterfly Wonderland Cafe and Butterfly Treasures Gift Shop offering souvenirs, apparel, jewelry, books, and nature-themed gifts.
6. School Field Trips: Discounted student rate of $12 plus tax with free chaperones within required ratios. Self-guided tours lasting 1.5-2 hours for K-12 students.
7. Donations & Foundation Support: Butterfly Wonderland Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accepts donations for student scholarships, conservation programs, and educational initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Butterfly Wonderland operates a 10,000-square-foot indoor butterfly conservatory — the largest in North America — housing thousands of freely flying butterflies from 60+ species within a climate-controlled tropical rainforest habitat. The venue layers on additional paid experiences including a 193-seat 3D theater, reptile and aquatic exhibits, birthday party packages, corporate/private event rentals, school field trips, annual passes, and on-site food and retail.

Product overview

Butterfly Wonderland is a physical attraction venue featuring North America's largest indoor butterfly conservatory as its core product. The venue operates on a platform-plus-modules architecture with the main conservatory housing over 60 species of butterflies as the central offering, supplemented by multiple connected exhibits (Emergence Gallery, Rainforest Reptiles, Tropical Waters, Spineless Giants, Honey Bee Exhibit), a 3D movie theater showing Flight of the Butterflies, on-site dining (Butterfly Café), retail (Butterfly Treasures Gift Shop), and various ticketed experiences (birthday parties, corporate events, field trips, special events like Story Time, Painting Classes, and Photo Hours). The Butterfly Wonderland Foundation serves as the nonprofit partner focused on education and conservation initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Butterfly Conservatory and Exhibits Experience Day admission to the 10,000 sq ft climate-controlled rainforest habitat featuring thousands of freely flying butterflies from 60+ species, plus connected exhibits, a 193-seat 3D theater, and ongoing daily activities (Koi Feedings, Whimsical Wings releases, Stingray & Shark Feedings). Targeted at families, tourists, and individual visitors.
• Annual Pass Membership Subscription-style annual pass starting at $72.45 for adults, providing unlimited entry for one year plus discounts on animal encounters, tours, café, and gift shop purchases, and invitations to exclusive members-only events.
• Birthday Party Packages Private birthday celebration packages for children ages 4+, including exclusive party room use, all-day admission, themed decor, food (fruit platter or cake/cupcakes or pizza), and a special gift for the birthday child. The $450 Ultimate Pizza Party adds an Animal Ambassador meet-and-greet.
• Corporate & Private Events Hosting Event venue rental for weddings, corporate events, team-building, holiday parties, and celebrations of life, with access to the 193-seat AV-equipped theater, the butterfly conservatory, and the Butterfly Café.
• School Field Trips Program Curriculum-aligned educational field trips for K-12 public, private, charter, and homeschool groups, including self-guided tours of 1.5-2 hours, discounted $12/student rate, free chaperones within specified ratios, and Title 1 scholarship opportunities through the Butterfly Wonderland Foundation.
• Group Admissions (10+ visitors) Discounted admission for groups of 10 or more, with 15% off regular pricing and a dedicated group sales team to coordinate the booking.
• Arizona Boardwalk Combo Tickets Bundled admission tickets combining Butterfly Wonderland with other Arizona Boardwalk attractions (Pick 2, 3, or 4), offering up to 40% savings versus individual admissions.
• Butterfly Wonderland Café On-site café serving meals, snacks, coffee drinks, and beverages to attraction visitors.
• Butterfly Treasures Gift Shop Retail gift shop selling books, souvenirs, apparel, jewelry, and nature-themed gifts, available both in-store and online.
• Butterfly Brushstrokes Painting Class Ticketed ($30 per person; $15 for members) guided butterfly-themed painting class for up to 20 participants, with all supplies included.
• Photo Time with Butterflies Early-morning ticketed ($33.95, includes admission; free for members) photography session in the conservatory before public opening, with the Director of Animal Care available to share expert insights.
• Story Time with Critter Visit Weekly recurring story time event in the Butterfly Theater featuring rainforest-themed books and a live Animal Ambassador appearance.
• Butterfly Wonderland Foundation (501(c)(3)) Nonprofit foundation (EIN 27-4186543) that supports student scholarships for underserved schools, conservation programs including the "Got Milkweed?" monarch butterfly initiative, and educational outreach.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pays for itself after 2 visits with annual pass
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Costa Rica Entomological SupplycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerButterfly farm partner that supplies butterflies to Butterfly Wonderland. Supports sustainable butterfly farming creating reliable income for growers while protecting natural rainforest habitats.
• El Bosque NuevocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerButterfly farm partner (Coming May 2026) that raises butterflies in conservation-focused environments. Farmers protect natural habitats as part of their work supporting rainforest ecosystem preservation.
• Alas de ColombiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerButterfly farm partner supplying butterflies and supporting conservation efforts. Helps create reliable income for growers while promoting habitat preservation.
• Civano GrowersminorOthersCorporate sponsor of Butterfly Wonderland Foundation supporting education and conservation programs.
• NFL GreenminorOthersCorporate sponsor supporting Butterfly Wonderland Foundation's community outreach and conservation initiatives.
• Arizona BoardwalkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerShared entertainment destination featuring 9 attractions including OdySea Aquarium, Laser & Mirror Maze, UFO Experience, Museum of Illusions, and others. Offers combo ticket packages and cross-promotion opportunities.
• OdySea AquariumcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSister attraction at Arizona Boardwalk. Joint annual passes and combo ticket offerings. Both attractions are AZA accredited institutions.
• Wheel the WorldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccessibility verification partnership providing detailed accessibility information for travelers with disabilities to plan their visits.
• IBCCES (International Board of Credentialing and Continued Education Standards)minorOthersCredentialing organization that provided Certified Autism Center certification and ongoing training requirements for staff.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cockrell Butterfly Center (Houston Museum of Natural Science): Three-story rainforest conservatory inside a major natural history museum. Comparable as a large indoor butterfly exhibit with educational programming, though embedded in a broader museum.
• Arizona Boardwalk: The 9-attraction entertainment destination that houses Butterfly Wonderland. Comparable as the shared commercial platform for combo ticketing, cross-promotion, and destination footfall that Butterfly Wonderland monetizes.
• Hersheypark: Large-scale family entertainment and theme park operator. Comparable as a destination family attraction with annual passes, group sales, birthday packages, and seasonal event programming — but at substantially larger scale.

Regional players

• Sedona Heritage Museum: Regional Arizona cultural/nature attraction. Comparable only loosely as an Arizona-based ticketed destination site, useful primarily as a regional tourism-channel peer rather than a product peer.
• SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium: Arizona-based family aquarium attraction sharing the same regional tourist market. Comparable as a local family education/entertainment attraction competing for Phoenix-metro discretionary spend.

Direct peers

• The Butterfly Palace: Rainforest butterfly house and 3D theater attraction in Branson, Missouri. Comparable as a ticketed butterfly conservatory with 3D movie experience and family-tourist customer base.
• OdySea Aquarium: Sister attraction at Arizona Boardwalk and explicit combo-ticket partner. Comparable as a climate-controlled, educational, family-oriented animal attraction with corporate-event venue capability and AZA accreditation.
• Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory: 18,000 sq ft indoor butterfly conservatory in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Most direct U.S. comparable in product (free-flying tropical butterflies in a glass conservatory) and educational family-attraction positioning.
• Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory: Climate-controlled glass conservatory with free-flying butterflies and exotic birds in a tourist destination. Comparable in product format and tourist-segment customer base.

Others

• International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors & Suppliers (IABES): Industry trade association for butterfly exhibitors globally. Not a competitor but an enabling ecosystem peer for supply, husbandry standards, and best-practice benchmarking relevant to Butterfly Wonderland's operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/@ButterflyWonderlandAZ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ButterflyWonderland
• Instagraminstagram.com/butterflywonderlandaz
• TikToktiktok.com/@butterflywonderlandaz
• Xx.com/butterflylandaz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/butterfly-wonderland-llc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Butterfly Wonderland