What do you get when you cross a bunch of butterflies with a dream? Why yes, you're absolutely correct: Butterfly Wonderland. I can describe my visit to the largest Butterfly atrium in America but it definitely won't do enough justice. Butterfly Wonderland isn't hard to find at all. It's right off the 101 and you'll see it coming off the exit. Parking is ample and there are ticket windows up front for entrance.
When you enter, there are a couple of employees to greet you-one to check your ticket stubs and one to take your picture with the beautiful butterfly backdrop. You are then escorted to the theater to watch a 3-D documentary on the life cycle of a butterfly (don't worry; it won't put you to sleep). After the film, you are pretty much free to explore the atrium. Directly outside of the theater were displays of caterpillars in their cocoons. I wasn't planning on staying long but I actually lost track of time in the atrium. They did a great job with the whole "wonderland illusion" of the atrium. Besides the butterflies, beautiful plants, trees, waterfalls and ponds fill the atrium. All the while, they have fairytale-like music playing overhead really softly which pretty much does the trick on the "wonderland" ambiance.
There are soooo many different types of butterflies and I could literally spend hours there. Visitors should be careful while walking around the atrium-butterflies land everywhere so there were a bunch of them on the ground. I was lucky enough to have a pretty little white butterfly land on my shoulder. The song "Butterfly on Her Shoulder" immediately started playing in my head (Hawaii locals, you know this one)!
Butterfly Wonderland also has a cute café and a gift shop. The café had a pretty simple menu and items were overpriced. The gift shop on the other hand, was far from simple and had a ton of souvenirs to offer but yes, overpriced as well.
Bottom line: just go! Butterfly Wonderland isn't just for pretty little princesses either, it's for the entire family and adults alone. In fact, if you're having a rough day or are under stress, I highly recommend going. There's just something about the atmosphere that is really calming. Not to mention, it really puts into perspective that things do change and things do get better over time. "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."