How is the new hot air balloon ride in Downtown Disney?

[disneypolybride2008]

I haven't heard any reviews of it, how was it?

 

[bringmethathorizon]

did it in june and they loved it.dw is even a little scared of heights and she was ok.was able to see all the parks.it was a little pricey to me but they realy enjoyed themselves.

 

[gojoe]

We loved it! Great view. We have some great pictures and video (I wish I knew how to post them). I know people have said why but why not. Smooth ride up and down. I've taken a tethered hot air balloon ride but something about all that propane, flame and roar right next to my head put a damper on the view.

 

[BradyBz12]

We did this a few weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. It was a crystal clear day and we could see for miles. You could see the major landmarks from all the parks except MK - the castle is hidden behind the Contemporary. We could see well into downtown Orlando and beyond too. You get a fantastic bird's eye view of all of DTD and the neighboring resorts (Saratoga Springs is HUGE!)

Our captain was very nice, and he went around and for anyone that brought a camera, took our photos.

The ride itself was pretty smooth. There were a couple of small "bumps" on the way up as they release the brakes. Coming down was super smooth, although you get wiggled around a bit as they roll the balloon back into landing position on the platform.

There was just the slightest of breezes on the ground, which translated to a bit more up in the air. However they loaded fewer people on board, so we were still able to go up the full 400'.

You definitely need your sea legs, and if you get motion sick, try not looking down (worked for me). If you're at all afraid of heights I'd skip this one.

Some pics...
Here are some pics from our flight...

Contemporary in the distance. You can't see the castle because it is behind it...

Epcot...

Saratoga Springs...

One last tidbit we were told when we bought our tix. If you save your receipt, you can come back at any time, and as long as the receipt is still readable, you'll get 20% off your next flight.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My children also loved it. Incase you didn't know, it's $16.00 for adults and $10.00 for children for a 10 minute flight. I think it was worth it because they wanted to do it again.

They did it in the daytime, but my DD said that the pilot told her that it's really neat at night too, especially during the fireworks at the parks.

 

[Karrie Davis]

How do you make reservations for this? Do yu need to or what do we need to do to make this work for our vacation in early Jan My son is about to turn and has ALWAYS wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. I wish they did a private one for minutes! hum...Does anyone do that?

 

[BradyBz12]

As far as I know no reservations are accepted. And actually, you do want to chose the time you go as carefully as you can. You generally want to shoot for clear conditions and little/no breeze on the ground.

If it's too windy (and they judge by the winds aloft, not on the ground) they will either load fewer people per balloon, or not go up as high.

I haven't heard anything about private flights being reserved, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

How do you make reservations for this? Do yu need to or what do we need to do to make this work for our vacation in early Jan My son is about to turn and has ALWAYS wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. I wish they did a private one for minutes! hum...Does anyone do that?

We just walked right up and signed in, but it was not busy when we went. My kids went on the very next flight. I guess you would just have to wait in line if it was busy because I'm not sure if they take reservations or not.

 

[Karrie Davis]

Thanks!

 

[rkdahl]

Just a minor correction on the terminology here. The attraction in Downtwon Disney is a helium balloon not a hot air balloon. It's filled with thousands of cubic feet of good old helium and stays inflated at all times, even at night when it sleeps. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to fill it!

And as a previous poster noted, those hot air balloons, with the noisy flame and all that propane and stuff are much different. But then again those are my favorite things. As a hot air balloon pilot for many years I just love it when that flame shoots up and I take people as high as they want to go!! And to top it off we can float free as a bird and not be tied to a cable!

Either way they both are fun rides, although I'm much more partial to the hot one!

 

[BradyBz12]

Really good point, actually. This was a very quiet, peaceful, smooth ride.