{"id":253778,"date":"2026-05-01T11:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253778\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T11:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:13:10","slug":"kissimmees-butterfly-dans-where-thousands-take-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253778\/","title":{"rendered":"Kissimmee\u2019s Butterfly Dan&#8217;s, where thousands take flight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>KISSIMMEE, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Visitors to Kissimmee can step into a colorful world where thousands of butterfly\u2019s flutter around them at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.butterflydans.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Butterfly Dan\u2019s<\/a>, a unique eco tour where beauty, science and hands-on learning come together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to learn about butterflies and bugs, there may be no better place than this Kissimmee eco tour,\u201d said Butterfly Dan&#8217;s manager Brooke Dunwoody.<\/p>\n<p>The attraction features unexpected stops along the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBugs for protein snacks surprises all ages,\u201d Dunwoody said, noting there is even more to discover beyond insects, including a mini rainforest.<\/p>\n<p>Guests are immersed in a habitat filled primarily with butterflies, where thousands make their home. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncluding the zebra longwing, Florida\u2019s state winged insect,\u201d Dunwoody said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal in this garden is to bring the colorful creatures to the visitors,\u201d Dunwoody added.<\/p>\n<p>Families can be seen smiling as butterflies glide past and occasionally land nearby, creating memorable moments for children and adults alike.<\/p>\n<p>Visitors also get an up-close look at one of nature\u2019s most remarkable transformations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuests learn about the transformation from egg, caterpillar, chrysalis then to adult butterfly,\u201d said Madison Polk, a butterfly breeder at Butterfly Dan\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Polk said it never gets old watching that lifecycle unfold every day.<\/p>\n<p>She also pointed out one of the most sought-after insects currently being raised at the facility \u2014 a prized luna moth.<\/p>\n<p>The creator of the butterfly hideaway is owner Dan Dunwoody, who has spent decades raising and shipping butterflies to conservatories and butterfly gardens across the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are in demand,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cButterflies require climate-controlled habitats,\u201d Dunwoody said. \u201cThey are sensitive to their environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said it also takes acres of plants to feed butterflies.<\/p>\n<p>Dunwoody says his fascination with butterflies began when he was in grade school \u2014 a lifelong passion that has grown into a destination where visitors can experience wonder firsthand.<\/p>\n<p>Those are the same qualities Dunwoody\u00a0and his team hope to share with everyone who visits.<\/p>\n<p>Butterfly Dan\u2019s offers self-guided tours for $20 per person, and they last about an hour.<\/p>\n<p>Guided tours are $35 per person.<\/p>\n<p>Visits are by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.butterflydans.com\/book-online\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">appointment only<\/a>, and tours must be booked online in advance.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mynews13.com\/fl\/orlando\/on-the-town\/travel\/florida-tankful#map\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MAP: View more Florida on a Tankful locations<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KISSIMMEE, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Visitors to Kissimmee can step into a colorful world where thousands of butterfly\u2019s flutter around them&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7150,274,28,30,29,7151,115,139,1976,11881,278],"class_list":["post-253778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-app-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-app-top-stories","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-osceola-county","tag-randy-rauch","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}