Scottsdale’s one-of-a-kind entertainment destination - Arizona Boardwalk - features nine marquee attractions – OdySea Aquarium, Butterfly Wonderland, UFO Experience, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®, Laser + Mirror Maze, Museum of Illusions, Pangaea Land of the Dinosaurs, Cyber Quest and Johnny’s Playground – in addition to multiple dining, shopping, and amusement venues. Learn more at azboardwalk.com
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 From 44th Street in Camelback, this is the Arizona Daily Mix.
00:05 And it all starts right now.
00:08 And good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Friday and we are live at the Arizona Boardwalk for a special Arizona Daily Mix.
00:25 Lexi, how awesome is this place?
00:27 I know, this is so great. Brad, I had no idea there were so many awesome places just all right in here.
00:33 Yeah, you know it's so cool that when you're driving up the 101 or down the 101, you see this area over here and you're like, "What's over there?"
00:39 I see kind of different stuff. I do see the Odyssey Aquarium. I do see, you know, the Butterfly Wonderland.
00:45 But there's more to it inside that you don't realize.
00:47 So much more.
00:48 And so we're going to do that today. We're going to take you through all this, which is really nice and really fun for everything.
00:53 So this is exciting. You were mentioning that you were over here with your family when Arlo was just born, right?
00:58 I was. Arlo was just three weeks old and we came out here and it was a perfect place to come.
01:02 And we got to kind of walk around. It's a beautiful circle in here.
01:05 You can kind of do a little walk, especially now that the weather is getting a little bit better.
01:09 Not crazy better, but starting to get better.
01:11 It is.
01:12 And yeah, it's just so great. There's places to eat, places to get coffee, get a sweet treat, and plenty of fun stuff to do with the family.
01:18 I know. And we're going to be doing that. So it's going to be kind of fun.
01:20 You know what? We can't, of course, do the show without some trending.
01:23 So let's do some trending brought to you by Gerber Injury Law, where we travel the Internet, the social media, the websites,
01:28 our just own plain backyard to give you something to talk about.
01:31 And one thing to talk about here in trending, and that is there's a Starbucks trending in here.
01:37 I know.
01:38 You've been wanting this every morning.
01:40 And what's so great is the trendiest of all trendy coffee drinks is pumpkin spice.
01:45 Am I right? I mean, I am a pumpkin spice fan.
01:48 Oh, my goodness.
01:49 We have Tyler here from Starbucks.
01:51 I love this.
01:52 He's going to spoil us and bring us some pumpkin spice Starbucks.
01:56 I'm so excited.
01:57 What did you bring us?
01:58 All right. So we got the iced pumpkin spice latte with oat milk for Lexi.
02:02 Thank you, sir.
02:03 Brad, I got your hot chocolate almond milk.
02:06 Thank you.
02:07 And they said you wanted to try the iced chai with pumpkin spice.
02:10 Yes, he does.
02:11 So we're going to give that a shot. I think you're going to love it.
02:13 I have to. Now, I see there's different kinds. I see there's like a little drink top.
02:16 Drink top here, right?
02:17 Yeah. So it's a sipulate. Obviously, we're all about conservation.
02:20 So we're trying to not use those single-use plastics.
02:23 So this really gives us the opportunity to kind of like take back on that and kind of do our part.
02:29 I like that.
02:30 Okay. Well, let me give it a try. Hold on. Let me just see. Don't go anywhere.
02:36 What's the verdict?
02:40 Amazing.
02:41 Fantastic.
02:42 I was trying to avoid it.
02:43 I was trying to avoid being one of those pumpkin spice people, and now you got me, Lexi.
02:48 Now you're a fan.
02:49 Now you got me.
02:50 Tyler got you.
02:51 Tyler, thank you a lot for bringing us by.
02:52 Where are you guys located really quick?
02:53 We're actually on the third floor of Odyssey. So we're right next to Penguin Point.
02:57 Oh, I like that.
02:58 Yeah.
02:59 I love it. So thank you.
03:00 Thank you, guys.
03:01 So speaking of penguins.
03:02 Well, cheers, sir.
03:03 Cheers to you.
03:04 I mean, you can't have your sip, and I don't get to have a sip. Cheers.
03:07 There. Oh.
03:09 Oh, it's all so good.
03:11 That's really good. All right. Speaking of penguins, I got something for you.
03:15 Okay.
03:16 You know what? I've been wanting to give you a gift, and I was like, "What could I give Lexi that she would really like to have and take home with her?"
03:22 Yes.
03:23 And I was like, "You know what? A penguin to take care of." People give you pets. You have a cat. Maybe I was going to give you a dog.
03:28 Hey, the next step is a penguin.
03:30 Mary, how are you doing?
03:32 I'm doing well this morning. How's everybody here?
03:34 Good. Okay. So you don't get to take this home, but we get to learn about them. This is beautiful. Who do we have here?
03:39 We have Sedona. She is one of our 40 African penguins here at Odyssey Aquarium, and she is 8 years old.
03:45 Oh, wow.
03:46 And she just molted, so she's especially beautiful. They go through a molt once a year.
03:49 So see that beautiful white and black? They lose those feathers once a year, and it comes back flawless.
03:55 Okay. Now, let's give Lexi and her way some education out there about this penguin because she was worried.
04:01 She's like, "No, keep it in the shade. Oh, my goodness. It's so hot out here. It's going to melt. What's going to happen?"
04:05 But first, I appreciate that you guys care so much, but they are warm-weather penguins,
04:10 so this temperature and this time in Arizona is beautiful for African penguins.
04:15 There it is. I love it.
04:16 She is gorgeous.
04:17 Isn't she? So there you go. You got the African penguin.
04:19 Thank you. My day is complete. I got to hang out with the penguin today.
04:22 I love it. Well, speaking of penguins and speaking of Odyssey Aquarium, they're not just about fish in there.
04:28 They're also about live coral reef, and I got to find out about it.
04:32 Oh.
04:33 Adam, how are you?
04:43 Hey, I'm good. How are you?
04:44 Okay. I'm very excited. This is such a cool new exhibit here at the Odyssey Aquarium.
04:49 So let's talk about how you guys are pretty much educating people on coral reef, which is so important to our oceans, isn't it?
04:56 Yeah. So this is our coral reef exhibit at Odyssey Aquarium.
04:59 It is the first one in the aquarium, and everything in here is live coral.
05:03 So this is us showcasing what a live coral reef would look like in the Indo-Pacific.
05:09 So all the coral in here is living, and we have quite a few different ways that we take care of it.
05:16 So that's from lighting, from flow, to feeding the coral.
05:20 All these things kind of go into caring for coral in an aquarium setting.
05:24 All right. Let's talk about how important this is to our ocean because, again, the coral plays a big part for fish and for keeping our ocean clean, right?
05:32 It does. So coral is really important in our ocean.
05:35 It provides a nursery for small fish to grow up and live.
05:39 It's kind of dubbed the underwater city.
05:41 So if we think of a city like Phoenix, a coral reef is an underwater city for fish.
05:46 So from a conservation perspective, our coral reefs have been threatened with, like, raising temperatures and ocean acidity.
05:53 So it's really important that we are taking care of coral reefs and providing an ecosystem for the future.
06:01 I like that. Okay. As you said, taking care of them. What's going on right now?
06:04 So right now, our diver is actually feeding the coral.
06:07 So we have to dive in this exhibit maybe three to five times a week and just do basic husbandry.
06:14 So that includes cleaning the coral, cleaning the rocks, cleaning the window.
06:18 And as you can see right now, he's actually feeding the coral.
06:21 So the coral can't move. All the food has to come to it.
06:24 And we accomplish that in two ways.
06:26 One is the flow in the tank is designed to take the food to the coral.
06:30 And the other way is actually getting in and hand feeding the coral, which is what our diver is doing now.
06:34 Well, this is awesome. Okay. I understand, too, that you actually have an area that you grow coral or take care of it.
06:41 We do. So upstairs is our coral propagation area.
06:44 And we actually grow the coral out up there in order to bring it down to our exhibit to showcase it to the guests.
06:49 Let's go take a look at it. Sounds good.
06:51 Okay. You said growing coral. This is amazing here. This is like a farm.
07:04 It is. Yeah. So this is the coral propagation area at Odyssey Aquarium.
07:09 This is where all the coral in the building comes through.
07:12 So as we get coral in, it comes up here first, whether that be from another AZA institution or from a donation or even sometimes from confiscations from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
07:23 Well, how is the coral in this area?
07:25 So we check to make sure that everything is good with the coral, that the coral is healthy and happy.
07:29 And then once the coral grows a little bit, we'll transplant it downstairs onto our coral reef exhibit.
07:34 Well, this shows that coral is actually alive.
07:36 And that's one thing that you're trying to teach people when you do go to the store and you buy a legal piece of coral that might go into your fish tank.
07:44 It's kind of it's is that alive or is that dead?
07:47 Well, the coral is alive. So it is an animal.
07:50 It's not a plant, which I think is kind of a misunderstanding that a lot of people have.
07:55 It's a colonial animal. So it's made up of a bunch of smaller parts called polyps.
08:00 And together they form the colonies of the coral that you see here.
08:03 This is amazing. OK, I see different colors, too. Why is that?
08:07 So the color is natural. We use a really good lighting spectrum to give the coral a variety of different lights.
08:16 It's very heavy on the blue. So the coral really like that blue light that they absorb to grow.
08:21 There is a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae and that actually feeds the coral sugar and that allows the coral to grow and develop.
08:30 I love this. Adam, this is so cool. Now, what's also neat, too, is that you can actually get behind scene tours here at Odyssey Aquarium to see some of this done and some of the other animals that you guys take care of and have and everything, which is really awesome.
08:42 So thanks for showing this to me. I love it. Absolutely. So there you go.
08:45 Getting educated not just about the fish they have here, but about the coral, too.
08:50 So you got to go to their website, find out how you can get a tour of the aquarium.
08:55 Welcome back to the Arizona Daily Mix. I have a new co-host here, as you can see. Not really.
09:14 We left Brad a minute ago to come up here and check out the UFO experience.
09:19 So you guys, I don't know if I'm necessarily a believer, but this place might make a believer out of me.
09:26 And we have an amazing guest here today that I'm so excited to talk with. Shane, how are you doing today?
09:32 Good. How are you doing, Lexi?
09:33 I'm fantastic. So this place is so cool. When I walked in, I was shocked that all of this is here.
09:39 You have no idea on the outside. You walk in. It's so cool in here. All kinds of displays.
09:44 Tell me about what people will experience when they come to the UFO experience.
09:49 Yeah, it's a really great production here. I think it has something for everyone, whether you're on the skeptical side or a real believer.
09:57 It's great for the kids. It's very interactive. It's very informative and interesting.
10:02 And they've done a great job. They selected the right cases, the right evidence to present.
10:07 It's really worth your time and effort.
10:09 Because this isn't just about movies and shows. This is actual real evidence that people have seen unidentified flying objects. Is that correct?
10:19 Oh, yeah, absolutely. And when you look at the statistics, about 85% of reported UFOs can be identified.
10:27 Well, we kind of don't care about the identified stuff, right? It's the unidentified, that other percentage that is really interesting.
10:34 And they display some of that evidence here.
10:36 And now, Shane, after reading your bio, I know you are a UFO expert and a self-proclaimed science nerd, is what you call yourself.
10:44 And I know you've had an experience with some extraterrestrial things. So tell me a little bit about that.
10:50 Yeah, in my role as Assistant Director of Arizona MOVE Fund, we are the world's largest UFO investigative organization.
10:59 5,000 members worldwide, 1,000 investigators. And I've worked hundreds and hundreds of cases.
11:06 And in those cases, you range everything from something very prosaic to some really anomalous stuff.
11:15 So one of the cases I like to highlight for people is the Phoenix Lights incident here in Arizona.
11:21 Because it's really the world's largest mass sighting. Thousands of people reported seeing something.
11:27 And I know that that was in 1997. And so a lot of people have since moved to Arizona and aren't aware of that history.
11:34 But it is a really compelling case. And to this day, some 25, 30 years later, it's still unsolved.
11:41 So cool. Yeah, those are the kind of things that, I don't know, maybe might make me as a kind of a skeptic, myself,
11:48 might make me a believer. But Shane, thank you so much for sharing.
11:51 You guys absolutely have to come check out the UFO experience here at the Arizona Boardwalk.
11:55 But another thing that's kind of out of this world, Brad's going to check out some amazing tacos.
12:01 Brad, how's it tasting over there?
12:05 Lexi, I'm telling you, you got something out of the world over there.
12:08 Well, I got some out of the world food at Taco Roswell, which is right next door.
12:14 And Jesse's here with me to tell me about a couple of their favorite things.
12:18 And I'll tell you, I'm looking down here and seeing something that definitely makes it Taco Roswell.
12:23 A taco board. What's going on down there, Jesse?
12:27 Yeah, most definitely. Over here, we got a veggie taco.
12:30 We got a chicken salsa verde taco and a pork carnitas taco and a ground beef hard shell taco.
12:36 Oh, my gosh. Looks so good. And that's what you guys are known for because it's Taco Roswell.
12:41 But then I see a couple of little plates here. What do we got right here?
12:44 This is just our pork carnitas burrito and just a couple of our sides, refried beans, Spanish rice and black beans with some cotija cheese on top.
12:52 I love it. Now, we know that this is definitely an area for the kids here at the Arizona Boardwalk.
12:56 And so I like that you have a little kids quesadilla or adult quesadilla. What is that?
13:00 This is an adult quesadilla. We put some salsa verde sauce inside.
13:06 And we can add whatever meat you like, whether it's ground beef, carnitas or chicken.
13:12 There you go. And of course, you can't forget about the cocktails here.
13:16 I like this. A couple of different margaritas they have here. What is this one?
13:19 Yeah, this is our margarita board. We have mango, strawberry and a small classic.
13:25 Oh, my goodness. And of course, you have a beers here for those who want to do that.
13:28 And you have just the classic margarita. But also you have soft drinks and stuff for the kids and stuff, right?
13:33 Yes, we got Coke products.
13:36 So I like this. And you guys have pretty much only been up here for how long now?
13:39 Roughly six months.
13:41 This is really cool. So you got a place you can come eat and enjoy while you're doing the different things around here.
13:44 It's really nice. What are your hours, though? That's very important.
13:47 Our hours are from 10 to 6 or 10 to 4, depending on the weekends from Monday to Thursday and Friday to Saturday.
13:54 I like that. And everything you got right here, they even got pretzels. They got all kinds of stuff.
13:58 When the TV's are going, they got sports up here so you can enjoy.
14:00 The kids can go out and have fun and have a great meal and everything.
14:04 So it's Taco Roswell right up here next to the Out of the World Place.
14:09 And of course, in between the Ripley's, believe it or not, at the Arizona Boardwalk.
14:13 And we're having a good time up here. So it's fun.
14:15 So stick around. We got more for you from the Arizona Boardwalk here in North Scottsdale.
14:21 [Music]
14:47 You guys, I am the butterfly whisperer. Look at that.
14:52 We have moved over here to Butterfly Wonderland. And it is truly a wonderland in here.
14:56 I'm standing here with Derek Kellogg, who is one of the entomologists here.
14:59 So, Derek, this is so gorgeous. Tell me a little bit about Butterfly Wonderland and what everybody can see when they come.
15:05 Yeah. So Butterfly Wonderland is a 10,000 square foot facility.
15:09 And we get about 1,200 chrysalises every single week.
15:14 And these chrysalises come to us from all over the world, mainly tropical areas.
15:18 So we have people who send us butterflies from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, Africa, Asia.
15:26 So they're coming from all over the world.
15:28 And clarify what a chrysalis is for us real quickly for those who don't know.
15:32 Yeah. So butterflies pass through four stages in their life cycle.
15:36 They start as an egg. The egg then hatches into a caterpillar.
15:40 And the caterpillar, when it's ready, will turn into a chrysalis before it becomes an adult butterfly.
15:45 Okay. Gotcha. Okay. So you get them from all over the world.
15:48 They come as the little chrysalis. And then they come out of their shell while they're here in the exhibit?
15:53 Yeah. So we actually have a separate area called our emergence gallery.
15:58 And in this emergence gallery, that's where we put all the chrysalises that we've received for the week.
16:03 And so people can see those chrysalises in there.
16:06 They'll emerge sometimes even while people are watching.
16:10 And then twice a day, we'll gather up the new butterflies and we'll take them right out in here into the exhibit.
16:15 Okay. So here in the exhibit, you guys, it's warm in here. What's the temperature?
16:19 So we try and keep it around 80 degrees and about 70% humidity.
16:23 Yeah. Because that's what butterflies like.
16:25 They like that warm, tropical vibe, which is why we get them from all over the world.
16:29 Those kind of warmer, tropical climes, which is what you were saying earlier.
16:33 And what about all of the foliage that's in here? You were telling me a little bit about that earlier.
16:37 Yeah. So in order to care for all these butterflies, we have to be able to provide enough food for all of them.
16:43 So when you're looking around seeing all the flowers in the exhibit,
16:47 these flowers are specifically chosen to provide the nectar that the butterflies need in order to survive.
16:53 But not all of our butterflies are nectar-feeding butterflies.
16:56 Some of them, because they come from the tropics, are actually fruit-feeding butterflies.
17:00 And to help provide enough food for them, you'll see these tubes over throughout the exhibit.
17:05 And these tubes will take a fruity, sugary solution. We'll mix it up with some honey and some water.
17:13 Then we'll put what's called water crystals in there.
17:16 And these basically start out as little hard things, and they'll absorb water and become kind of like a gel.
17:23 And we use that to keep them inside the tube because there's all these holes drilled down the tube.
17:27 Ah, okay. Interesting. And so that's why you see the butterflies kind of like hanging out on the side because they're over there feeding.
17:33 Absolutely. Very, very cool. And remind me, I don't know if you've said this already,
17:36 how many different species will people see on a regular basis when they come with an average?
17:40 So we'll have an average about 50 to 75 species at any point in time.
17:45 But we'll get somewhere around 200 species through the course of a year.
17:48 So depending upon when you come, you'll see a different mix of species.
17:52 So cool. And you guys, this is such an incredible area.
17:55 I've already had butterflies landing on me, and they're just kind of flying around.
17:59 It's really magical. It's really beautiful in here.
18:02 So tell everyone where they can find more information where they can get tickets.
18:05 So you can find more information and get tickets online at our website, www.butterflywonderland.com.
18:12 And you can also purchase tickets here in person over at our admissions window.
18:17 I love it. Oh, my gosh. This is so cool.
18:19 You guys, make sure you stick around because we have more of the mix coming to you from the Arizona Boardwalk coming up next.
18:25 And welcome back to the second half of the Arizona Daily Mix,
18:45 live from the Arizona Boardwalk right here in the North Scottsdale area.
18:50 And Lexi, you been having fun? I've been having so much fun. What about you?
18:54 Let me tell you, up there at the Taco Roswell.
18:57 Did you see the taco? Oh, maybe I did. Yes, I did.
18:59 The penguin. How about seeing the penguin? I know. That was so awesome.
19:02 And we're getting a lot of education. I mean, you learned about butterflies.
19:05 I learned about butterflies. I learned about UFOs.
19:08 You learned about tacos. The coral reef.
19:11 I just want to keep bringing it back to the tacos, guys, because I'm kind of hungry.
19:15 Well, we got a lot more planned for you. We're going to learn about dinosaurs.
19:20 And I'm going to play with your mind a little bit that you can do out here.
19:25 But so much going on right now. It's the fall time. The weather's kind of cooling off a little bit.
19:29 It's great to enjoy yourself in this amazing areas around here.
19:34 So different things from stores to shopping or anything.
19:36 And I'm kind of hungry. I mean, I know I could always use a sweet treat.
19:41 Can you? I definitely can.
19:42 Well, you know what? How about this? I'll go get some sugar drop. You go get some ice cream.
19:47 I'm an ice cream girl. I will see you up there.
19:49 All right. I'm going to head into here.
19:51 It is the Sugar Drop Candy Shop right here in the Arizona Boardwalk.
19:55 Dee, how you doing? Morning, Brad.
19:58 Oh, my goodness. This is a sugar tooth fan's dream come true here.
20:03 This is awesome. Tell me a little about the place here.
20:05 Well, first, we're the sweetest shop in Arizona Boardwalk.
20:08 But, yes, we are all about having fun in life with candy.
20:13 And all of it is American made.
20:15 We're very proud of that from the caramels to the chocolate to the peanuts that are roasted.
20:20 But welcome to Sugar Drop Candy Shop.
20:22 We're proud to have a lot of licensed product, Harry Potter, peanuts, et cetera.
20:26 I like it. And one thing I do. Wait, Maddie, before you go running off, I got to show something.
20:30 I just noticed this. Sugar free gummy bears for some people out here.
20:33 So you really take care of everyone.
20:35 Absolutely. You have to remember everyone out there.
20:37 We have over, oh, my goodness, 200 bins of different candies from all over.
20:42 And, of course, Jelly Belly, Laffy Taffy, you name it, they're all here.
20:46 I like that. So you're bringing back some of the classics, some of the new ones.
20:49 And I know with it being Halloween, this might be a great place to come out
20:52 and get those little Halloween packs that you can put together for the kids.
20:56 Absolutely. And we have some pre-made for them, too. So that's good.
21:00 I like this. Oh, my goodness, this is so delicious.
21:02 And all the different ones you have around here.
21:04 I'm noticing, too, that you got the Snoopy going because Snoopy's coming back.
21:09 Yes, Snoopy movie is coming out. So, of course, we've got to feature Snoopy. He loved candy.
21:13 And then this is, I'm looking at this, this is bringing back old memories.
21:16 You're way too young to remember the barrel of candy with the different kind of treats in here.
21:22 Look at this, from Suckers to the Kit Kats, everything you need.
21:27 Tootsie Rolls, you name it, they're all in there. Rolos, and I'm not that young.
21:32 What time do you guys open up?
21:33 We're open every day from 10 in the morning till 6 at night and 7 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
21:39 I like that. Well, there's something else that's pretty cool, too, and that is, I guess, a special candy from a local candy maker?
21:45 We do. We have Kelly here from Rockin' Freeze-Dried Candy.
21:49 We sell lots of it. It's unique, it's handcrafted, and it's absolutely delicious.
21:53 I love it. Kelly, hi, how are you?
21:55 Hi, good to see you. I'm good.
21:57 What do we have here?
21:58 We have lots of freeze-dried candy. Fabulous stuff.
22:01 We've got some Skittles, we've got some Gummy Worms, some, these are Nerds Clusters.
22:07 Wait, freeze-dried Skittles? How do you freeze-dry the Skittles?
22:11 So you put them in the machine, and it kind of, it first cools the machine, and then it heats up, and then a vacuum comes on,
22:17 and then it expands everything, makes it crunchy and dry, and it's just super fun.
22:21 Okay, can I try one?
22:22 Yes, please. Do you want this, or do you want to just dig in?
22:26 This is a Skittle.
22:28 Let me try a Skittle.
22:29 Let me try one.
22:30 Here, let's give you a couple.
22:31 Oh my goodness, sorry, a couple, here, let me see.
22:33 Oh my goodness.
22:34 Isn't it fun?
22:35 I love this.
22:36 It intensifies the flavor, too.
22:38 Oh my goodness, this is so good. You know what this would really go good with?
22:40 Maybe some ice cream, Lexi?
22:42 Oh, what about some ice cream, Lexi?
22:44 Yes, ice cream. My husband does that all the time.
22:47 And in cereal, too, believe it or not.
22:49 I love it.
22:50 And this is the Cotton Candy Taffy. This is really delicious.
22:53 What is it?
22:54 Jolly Ranchers.
22:55 Oh my goodness.
22:56 I mean, we have, like, everything. It's fabulous. I make it myself.
22:59 I love it. All right, well, Lexi, let's talk some ice cream, huh?
23:03 So I'm sure that candy was amazing, but I'm definitely more of an ice cream girl,
23:11 maybe even an ice cream sandwich kind of girl,
23:14 and that's why I'm here with Taylor of Frozen Penguins.
23:17 So, Taylor, thank you so much for having us in here,
23:20 because, like I said, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, it's the way to go,
23:24 especially right now.
23:25 It's still kind of warm outside, so people are digging on that ice cream,
23:28 but you guys specialize in the sandwiches.
23:32 We do.
23:33 Okay, so I know you have homemade brownies and homemade cookies. Is that correct?
23:36 Yes, they are fresh-baked daily.
23:38 Ooh, fresh-baked. That's even better than ice cream, maybe.
23:42 So walk me through how people would do this, because this is like your signature.
23:45 This is what you guys are known for.
23:46 Yes, so some people get two brownies, some people get two cookies.
23:49 We can do brownie or cookie. We can mix and match whatever you would like.
23:53 Okay, why don't we mix and match? Would you make me a brownie and a cookie sandwich?
23:57 Yeah, which cookie would you like? We have birthday cake, double chocolate, and chocolate chip.
24:01 Let's do birthday cake.
24:02 Birthday cake, all right.
24:03 Okay, yes, this fresh-made brownie looks absolutely incredible.
24:07 So we're going to have that as one side and then the cookie as the other.
24:11 Okay, and then you get to come over here and choose your ice cream.
24:13 We have 16 different flavors of ice cream. The most popular one right now is Superman.
24:17 You don't find that one very frequently.
24:20 Okay, so which one would you like?
24:22 I think let's do the mint chip.
24:24 Yeah, all right.
24:26 Oh, my goodness, that looks perfect.
24:35 Okay, so yeah, you said you can choose from all of these, and then you kind of smush it down like that.
24:41 Make it even.
24:42 Okay, that looks amazing.
24:44 And then you finish off with some toppings.
24:47 We have 15 different toppings that we switch out often.
24:51 Which one would you like, Ghana?
24:53 Let's do some--do you guys have nuts? Am I seeing nuts in here?
24:57 We have peanuts back there.
24:58 Let's do some peanuts.
25:00 Just roll it around just like that.
25:08 That looks incredible. And then can we also do maybe some sprinkles?
25:12 Perfect.
25:14 Oh, my gosh.
25:18 And then you can enjoy this amazing concoction right here outside of the frozen penguin
25:25 after you've seen some live penguins.
25:27 I love it.
25:29 That looks amazing.
25:30 All right, Taylor, thank you so much.
25:31 You guys stick around because we have more amazing stuff live here from the Arizona Boardwalk coming up after this.
25:37 I'm going to try this.
25:39 [music]
26:00 Welcome back to the Arizona Daily Mix live from the Arizona Boardwalk where we are having some fun out here.
26:07 Yes, look at me.
26:09 Look at--I'm climbing up like Batman.
26:11 Yeah, it's a little illusion.
26:13 Yeah, there you go.
26:15 That's what I love out here is going and playing with people's minds.
26:19 And one place you can do it is the Museum of Illusions.
26:23 [music]
26:32 Okay, Teresa, I didn't have plans on starting the interview like this.
26:38 Can you help me up a little bit?
26:40 Can you help me, please?
26:43 It's okay, Brad. It's just an illusion.
26:45 We can stand up. We can stand up.
26:47 Stand up?
26:48 Yeah.
26:49 Oh, my gosh.
26:50 That is awesome.
26:52 That's what this is all about, the Museum of Illusions.
26:55 Yeah.
26:56 This is an awesome place. So tell me a little about this area.
26:58 So this is our building, Illusions.
27:00 Guests can get very creative with their poses in this one.
27:04 And they can act as if they're either standing or falling off this balcony from two stories up.
27:10 But really, they're just laying on the floor.
27:13 And that's what this whole museum is about is tricking people's minds, right?
27:16 Yes. You learn about how these illusions really trick your vision and perception of reality.
27:22 I like it. All right. Let's go check out some more.
27:24 Okay.
27:25 [music]
27:29 Okay, Teresa, what's this area?
27:31 This is our puzzle bar where we showcase some of our super fun puzzles that we have available in our Smart Shop.
27:37 Here we have our 3D tic-tac-toe.
27:40 Okay. And it's kind of cool.
27:42 And this is also an illusion when you play this game, right?
27:45 Yeah. So it kind of can be a bit confusing, not looking like an original tic-tac-toe game.
27:51 But it does work pretty much the same way.
27:53 I wasn't even paying attention because I was so in awe with it.
27:55 Oh, there it is.
27:56 There you go. You won it.
27:57 I did.
27:58 So this is awesome. And that's what's really cool.
27:59 Also, you guys do some fun things for adults, don't you?
28:03 We do. So we actually have an exciting adults-only wine event coming up.
28:07 It's one of our hollow wine nights where we partnered with the local wine bar, The Wine Collective,
28:12 to put on a festive and really new fun experience in the museum for adults.
28:19 So those tickets will include two glasses of wine courtesy of The Wine Collective.
28:24 We'll have a DJ. We'll have some Halloween treats.
28:27 And also full access to our museum and all the amazing, fun, spooky decor we have.
28:31 I love it. I think it's one of the places I want to be scared at, right?
28:34 Yes.
28:35 Let's go for it.
28:41 Teresa, this is an illusion, right?
28:44 Yes. So this is our head-on-a-plate exhibit.
28:46 Nothing screams Halloween more than this installation.
28:49 It makes it look like your head is detached and being served on a dinner plate,
28:53 but in reality, it's just an illusion, of course.
28:56 Okay, good. I don't want anybody to think they actually could put my head on the plate.
28:59 No, just kidding.
29:00 And so this is really cool. So it's all decked out for Halloween?
29:03 You're saying come out and enjoy, right?
29:04 Oh, yeah. So as you can see, we're all dressed up for Halloween.
29:07 Halloween is our favorite holiday at Museum of Illusions.
29:10 It just makes people think of tricks and magic and mystery,
29:13 which is exactly what people think of when they think of a Museum of Illusions.
29:17 So we're all dressed up, ready to go, so please come enjoy all of our fun, spooky exhibits.
29:22 All right. There you go.
29:24 Okay, I'm going to move away from this so people don't think that my head's on the plate.
29:39 You won't believe it until you see it.
29:43 And that's why I'm here with Gary from Ripley's Believe It or Not.
29:46 Yes, that's right. Here at the Arizona Boardwalk, they also have a Ripley's Believe It or Not.
29:50 So when you walk in, you are met with a whole array of incredibly cool pieces.
29:55 So, Gary, tell us what people are going to experience when they come.
29:58 When you first walk in, one of our highlights of room number one, which is where we're at, is Robert Wadlow.
30:03 He's the world's tallest man at 8'11".
30:07 We also have other interesting things in here.
30:10 We have this big chair, and that was by a gentleman from Iceland.
30:14 His name is Johann Pedersen.
30:17 And we have the artwork in the back over there, which is made out of burnt toast.
30:22 That is one of my favorite pieces right there.
30:25 That is Albert Einstein made out of burnt toast, you guys.
30:30 You can only see it here, I'm telling you.
30:32 So this is basically a collection of pieces that are cool, unique, different, kind of fun.
30:37 And you've gathered them all here for people to come and check out.
30:40 I know you also said you have an original brick from the original Wizard of Oz.
30:45 That's correct. And that's very cool.
30:49 And we also have a camel that's made out of toys.
30:53 So just all kinds of unique wonders for people to come and experience.
30:58 And I know, Gary, you have a piece here.
31:01 I do, and it's a little embarrassing because it's 55 years ago when I was a freshman in college.
31:08 And to make a long story short, I was waiting for my turn to be in a chess game.
31:15 And while I was waiting, I took the pieces from the kit, and I made a little structure, a little pyramid,
31:22 and I balanced it on one domino.
31:25 And my roommate thought it was neat, took a picture, mailed it to Ripley's,
31:29 and they contacted me that, yes, it would be in the Ripley's 16th edition.
31:34 Well, believe it or not, guys, it's right here.
31:37 We have live with us one of the, believe it or not, legends, Gary.
31:42 And this is so cool. I mean, it's just kind of all different kinds of things.
31:45 It's not one style. It's not one kind of thing.
31:49 You guys call it a gallery, but it really does feature multiple different works of art,
31:55 different kinds of historical things and treasures, so it's just really cool.
31:59 And we also have a lot of hands-on computers with quizzes for the guests to take.
32:05 We have a theater in room number two.
32:07 We have a little dance studio in room number three, so it's very, very interesting.
32:12 Very interesting, very interactive. I love this.
32:14 So this is great for kind of people of all ages, kids of every age to come and enjoy.
32:19 All right, Gary, well, thank you for showing us "I Now Believe It."
32:23 And, guys, stick around because we've got more coming up after this, live here from the Arizona Boardwalk.
32:27 [music]
32:49 All right, welcome back to the Arizona Daily Mix from the Arizona Boardwalk here in North Scottsdale.
32:54 And you can't have a boardwalk without having an arcade, and that's where CyberQuest comes in.
32:59 Jess, how you doing?
33:00 Great today. How are you?
33:01 I love it. Well, this is not the arcade I grew up with.
33:03 I grew up with having, you know, two pockets full of quarters, pretty much then moved up to having tokens.
33:10 Now it all comes with a card, which is pretty cool.
33:13 But also the games I played were pinball, then moved up to Pac-Man, different things.
33:18 But you guys have state-of-the-art new games in here, which is really cool, don't you?
33:21 Yes, we do.
33:22 How many different games do you have in here?
33:24 About 45.
33:25 45 different ones.
33:26 And as we look around here, we're seeing everything from, of course, kind of like the Papa Shot that we're going to play in just a minute.
33:32 But then we go through and we see the token ones, the bonus ticket ones, virtual reality.
33:38 Fantastic for all ages. The kids love it.
33:40 This is cool. And then let's talk about the different games you have here.
33:43 Well, right now, the Ticket Ring one gives out the most tickets.
33:46 Please play that one if you want to win some of our fantastic prizes.
33:50 The video games are toward the back, which all the kids love, the motorcycle game.
33:54 Toward the front, we got all of our ball games, basketball, hyper pitch, and more.
34:00 And I'm seeing that I played Space Invaders, but not like this Space Invaders.
34:04 Wow, that is a giant Space Invader right there.
34:07 Absolutely. It's one of our most popular games as well, just because of the size and the way it looks.
34:11 The kids won't stop playing it.
34:13 Oh my goodness. What's the Nerth Arcade?
34:16 This is the one that gives out some good tickets as well, and it's just target shooting. Kids love that as well.
34:21 And we look around, you mentioned about tickets, so it's no longer getting the tokens back out like we used to,
34:25 but it's about getting tickets, right? And the tickets get you what?
34:28 All these prizes that you see behind us. All the good prizes, whatever you want, Pokemon cards especially.
34:34 I like that. Now, you guys are also doing something pretty cool for kids who are doing good in school, right?
34:39 Absolutely. If you've got your report card, bring it in, and you get rewarded for it.
34:44 Wow, that's cool. Okay, I do have to play a little Super Shot here, so come on over. So how does this all work?
34:49 All you do is swipe your card, just like putting tokens in the game, and you get to play.
34:53 And how much can you put on here at a time?
34:56 At a time, $10, $100, it does not matter. It all works.
35:00 So you're saying I could put a million dollars on there?
35:02 Absolutely. It'll say it at the kiosk.
35:04 That's so cool. All right, let's try a little bit here. All right, so I'm going to--all right.
35:09 Let's see how good I am. I'm going to let you hold my mic. Are you going to play too with me?
35:12 All right, so you hold that.
35:14 Take a shot.
35:15 Okay, so we'll do a little classic here. And so I'm going to throw a couple up here really quick.
35:19 So look at that. Look at that. Oh, yeah. All right, all right, all right. Here we go.
35:29 That's it right there. Jess, this is a pretty cool thing.
35:32 I'm going to let you finish off. Keep going. Give me the high score up there.
35:35 But it's Cyberquest you've got to check out.
35:37 Now, let's go out here because I was hearing some noise.
35:40 I was hearing some things going on out here.
35:42 Whoa! Oh, my gosh. What in the world? A dinosaur here at the boardwalk? Oh, my goodness.
35:49 And I forget the reason why. It's because there's a place called Pangea that you can check out.
35:55 [music]
36:05 Okay, so now we have moved over to Pangea, land of the dinosaurs, and I'm here with Chase.
36:11 So, Chase, you are the connoisseur, the keeper of all things dinosaur knowledge.
36:17 Absolutely.
36:18 All right, so tell me a little bit about when people come here, what are they going to see?
36:21 What are they going to experience?
36:22 Well, we ask people to come here with a readiness to learn because we've got over 30 different species of prehistoric animals.
36:29 So, not just dinosaurs because there were a lot of animals that lived during that time with the dinos,
36:34 but definitely a dino aficionados going to see some of their favorite dinosaurs.
36:38 I like to always point out our big friend, the T-Rex here, but we've also got all your most famous dinosaurs.
36:43 Anybody who loves dinosaurs is going to love a place like this.
36:47 Well, you know what? You make such a good point that it wasn't just dinosaurs back then.
36:51 They had other species.
36:53 So, I love that we saw like a big butterfly over here, all kinds of cool stuff.
36:57 Yep, there's quite a lot to learn about that time frame, and since they can't speak for themselves, that's what we're here for.
37:03 And you do have these cool QR codes, so anybody who comes can easily click on that QR code, get all kinds of information, yeah?
37:12 Absolutely.
37:13 We have our own integrated app with the exhibit that when they scan the QR codes through the app,
37:18 not only can they learn about the dinosaurs, but there's a trivia game, which is great for the kiddos.
37:23 Gets a lot of interaction, and everybody wins a prize.
37:25 Absolutely.
37:26 So, it's always so much fun.
37:27 No, that's so cool.
37:28 And yes, this is definitely a great spot to bring the family, to bring the kids, but it's not just for kids.
37:32 It's for adults, too.
37:33 We like to say that, you know, you never really outgrow your love for dinosaurs, right?
37:37 I'm a testament to that right there.
37:39 Absolutely.
37:40 Now, with that being said, we try to kind of blend that education side of learning about the dinosaurs,
37:44 which our adults love, with the entertainment aspect of, you know, having the animatronics and the arcade
37:50 and everything else like that that the kids love just as much.
37:52 Absolutely, yeah.
37:53 There's so much stuff to do in here, from looking at the dinosaurs, going over to play the arcade games.
37:58 It just looks like such a fun and educational experience.
38:01 And you guys have some amazing events coming up, so tell us about those.
38:04 Yeah, we've got actually two big events coming up.
38:06 We've got one October 28th from 3 to 6 p.m.
38:10 It's our T-Rex or Treat.
38:12 It's our special Halloween event where everything gets decked out, Halloween decor.
38:16 We're going to have our dinosaur come out all dressed up for the occasion, handing out candy, special events.
38:21 We're going to have some live creepy crawlers here as well.
38:24 Oh, my gosh.
38:25 So that's going to be a whole lot of fun.
38:26 And then November 11th, that's going to be Saturday, Veterans Day, we'll be doing our Dino Day event.
38:31 That's an event that we do out in the courtyard, 100% free to do all the stuff out there.
38:36 We're going to have face painting, inflatables, reptiles, dino appearances, doing a bunch of stuff.
38:41 And we're doing 25% off ticketing here at the exhibit.
38:45 That's great.
38:46 Okay, so tell everybody where they can find more information, your website, all that good stuff.
38:49 Absolutely.
38:50 So www.pangialandofthedinosaurs.com is going to be our website.
38:55 You can find a whole bunch of information on there.
38:57 You can also purchase tickets there.
38:59 We also got our friends up at the front window to sell some tickets there as well.
39:03 So no shortage of easy access for tickets.
39:05 I love it.
39:06 All right, Chase, thank you so much.
39:07 This is great.
39:08 My pleasure.
39:09 We've got more of The Mix coming up from the Arizona Boardwalk next.
39:12 [music]
39:29 Welcome back to Arizona Daily Mix.
39:31 The Arizona Boardwalk is a great destination to come out with the whole family.
39:35 And we have the person to tell us about some things coming up
39:37 and also about some expansion coming up.
39:39 Ron, how are you doing?
39:40 I'm doing well.
39:41 Thank you so much for having us today and showcasing Arizona Boardwalk and what we're all about.
39:46 Yeah.
39:47 Oh, yeah.
39:48 Well, it's so great because, like we were saying earlier,
39:49 there's so much more to the Arizona Boardwalk than I think most people know.
39:52 You know, you see the Odyssey.
39:54 You see maybe the Butterfly Wonderland.
39:56 But there's so much else going on here.
39:57 And you guys are planning to expand.
39:59 Yeah, well, we've been at work at this for the last 10 years.
40:02 And we started, as you know, with the Butterfly Wonderland and the Odyssey Aquarium.
40:06 And today there are multiple attractions here from Pangaea Land of the Dinosaurs
40:10 to Museum of Illusions, UFO Experience, Ripley's Believe It or Not.
40:14 Can you believe it or not?
40:16 And so we have so much to do for many, many families.
40:19 And we're totally pleased that we've been able to garner an additional 48 acres to the north of us
40:25 for additional fun and excitement.
40:27 I love this.
40:28 And this is one thing about the Arizona Boardwalk that you guys really want to make sure people understand.
40:32 It's a family destination.
40:34 It's for everybody.
40:35 You have food here.
40:36 You have something for, you know, anybody.
40:38 Sweet treats.
40:39 All of those things.
40:40 Coffee.
40:41 And that's something that you guys really want to make sure people understand,
40:43 that it is a family destination here.
40:44 Yeah, we are 100% all about families.
40:48 So we invite families with their children and grandparents with their kids to enjoy
40:52 and really create old-time fashion memories.
40:56 When I say old-time fashion memories, what I really mean is put the phone down for a little bit of time
41:00 and just enjoy.
41:01 Enjoy animals.
41:02 Enjoy nature.
41:03 Understand conservation and our place in the ecosystem.
41:06 That sounds like one of our birds.
41:08 Or it could be a dinosaur.
41:10 I don't know at this point.
41:13 Well, something else that's really cool that you guys do here is that you have events.
41:16 And tell us a little bit about what you guys have coming up this fall.
41:19 Sure.
41:20 Well, we always have events.
41:21 I mean, we've got crazy, fun, fun events happening pretty much every single weekend of the year.
41:26 Sometimes in the summer it gets a bit hot, I admit.
41:28 But this coming weekend, for example, tomorrow from 2 to 5, we have the Fall Fest.
41:33 It's an absolutely free festival.
41:35 We've got trick-or-treating.
41:37 We've got best costume, $1,000.
41:39 I plan on going for that.
41:41 I've got a pretty good costume, I've got to say.
41:43 And all kinds of things happening here in the courtyard.
41:47 Again, you don't have to buy a ticket to get in.
41:50 Admission is free.
41:51 So people can just enjoy themselves.
41:53 And if they like, there's plenty of food and drink.
41:55 Yeah, I like that.
41:56 And then, of course, you guys got the big Monster Dash coming up.
41:59 That's going to be on the 27th.
42:01 And that's a 5K walk or run that you get to come out here and do.
42:04 And, again, you want people to come out in costume, have a good time.
42:07 It's 7 p.m., so a perfect time in the evening time where it's a little bit cooler to come and enjoy.
42:11 Sure, sure.
42:12 Yeah, walk or run is the key.
42:14 So I know a lot of people who prefer to walk, and that's okay.
42:17 You know, and you were saying that this space is so great just to come and enjoy.
42:20 You know, I was out here a couple weeks ago with my family, and I have a new baby.
42:24 And it was perfect to put him in the stroller and just kind of walk him around
42:27 and get to look into the windows of everything and kind of window shop and hang out with him.
42:31 And it was great, such a fun place.
42:33 And like you said, you don't have to buy a ticket.
42:35 You can just come hang out here, grab an ice cream, grab a coffee, and sit at one of the tables.
42:39 You're absolutely right.
42:40 And, you know, we cater to families.
42:42 So many families love our annual passes that we have at the Aquarium and the Butterfly
42:46 because it's an opportunity for them to come 365 days a year and just enjoy.
42:52 So those annual passes are available for the stroller moms that come in five days a week in the morning
42:57 and for the grandparents who want to take their kids again.
43:00 Yeah.
43:01 Rod, let me ask you, if there's a company out there or a school or, you know, a church
43:04 or something that want to have their own private venue, can they rent this place out?
43:07 Yes, absolutely.
43:08 They can reach out to us at Arizona Boardwalk.
43:11 And, you know, as a matter of fact, for the 48 acres that we were talking about
43:15 and that we're expanding to the north of us with a lot of unique attractions,
43:19 they can reach out to me directly if they've got ideas, if developers have ideas,
43:23 if the public wants to see something.
43:25 We're all about creating something that will drive a destination traffic here to Scottsdale.
43:30 I love it.
43:31 This is awesome.
43:32 You know what?
43:33 As we know, again, great place to come out to.
43:35 And if you want more information about what is happening,
43:37 you head over to the Arizona Boardwalk's website.
43:39 It has it all right there.
43:40 All right.
43:41 Well, I think we should hang out a little bit more and maybe get to see some birds, some animals.
43:45 I don't know.
43:46 What do you think?
43:47 Let's do it.
43:48 Coming up.
43:49 [Music]
44:05 These are some of the amazing animals that you can see hanging out here at the Arizona Boardwalk.
44:09 So we have pickles, the armadillo, and our cockatoo over here.
44:13 They are so beautiful.
44:14 Thank you guys for bringing them out to hang out.
44:16 Great fun we had here.
44:17 I hope you did too.
44:18 We'll see you back here tomorrow for more of the Arizona Daily Mix.
44:21 Bye.
44:22 [Music]