Balloon flight - UPDATED with photos

I've always wanted to! Enjoy the experience! Where I live we have a 3 day balloon fest and I try to go every year. It's so amazing to see all the different types of balloons!

I feel like I'd like to try this but I know that actually I would be too terrified of the height and would chicken out 

Hope you have a fab flight 

Sounds like an amazing experience! I hope you enjoy every moment! Will there be photos?

I have flown twice, & it is AMAZING! My hometown in NYS used to host the NYS Festival of Balloons. My mom & I hosted a balloonist & his family one year in the 90s. As is custom, they took us up for free for one of the evening flights. I don't remember much about that flight except that we flew right over my dad & stepmom watching from their backyard lol. But then my 2nd time, I paid to go on an early morning flight.It was so worth it. We flew over the farmlands. The pilot showed us how well he can control the balloon by "pollinating" the corn in a field - he had us low enough to brush the tops of the stalks, then rose the balloon at the edge of the field to go over the trees. The view is amazing. And it's just so peaceful. I would go again in a heartbeat! Now I will say it's not always perfectly calm. My parents went up once in the 80s, & on landing, the basket apparently tipped, I don't beleive they were atually dumped out, just had to hang on. But stuff like that is rare. These balloonists know what they are doing, & they follow the weather very carefully. The saying is, I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there then up there wishing I was down here. Wise words! In the decades of this fest on Labor Day weekend, there was never any real issues. Enjoy! And make sure your phone is well charged so you can take tons of pictures!!

If you’re prone to motion sickness, take some Dramamine. It surprised me, but both me and my son felt a tiny bit off. Something about the more gentle motion - kind of like how being anchored can be worse than when boat is moving. It was really fun!

My dd and I took a hot air balloon ride in Sedona this past May. It was amazing! We had to arrive at an office building at 0430, broke up into two groups, and then transported to the launching field. There we watched the balloon assembly process. We had about 16 people, plus the operator in the basket. There were two balloons. It was a little tricky to hoist up and over basket to get in and out, but there was a step on outside of basket to use to lift up. Four people per section and there were rope handles to hang onto if you wanted for security. It was incredibly smooth. We went up and down, looked for animals on the ground, and even "kissed" the top of a second balloon we were flying with (little balloon operator photo op tricks). Great sunrise pics amongst the red rocks.
The set up crew met us on a gravel road with the vans/ trailers and assisted with soft landing. The balloon operators had walkie talkies to communicate between each other. We joked, had some local history lessons, and learned about height, air currents and general procedures with flying . After they packed up balloons, we drove to a lookout spot to toast with mimosas to a great flight. Of course it was an opportunity for them to sell us the etched flutes and other merchandise but a nice touch , nonetheless. We flew with red rock balloons. It was a true bucket list item checked off. There was another balloon company in Sedona, good reviews as well, that we saw floating in the air. Red rocks seemed to give us a lot of bang for our buck.

Eta: when the operator fired up the torch or whatever you call it, it was so loud, we all jumped almost every time. And so very hot, I thought my hairspray would ignite my hair. Then it would stop and we'd cool off. 😅

Sort of - I got to go in a tethered one when I was 9 or so. It was pretty amazing, I'll be honest. I would gladly go on a real flight. For what it's worth, I'm not a particular adrenaline junkie or anything, either. It was very peaceful but like nothing else!

I surprised my DH with a balloon flight in Moab. It was such a great experience. The flight is actually very serene, you are just moving with the wind. Enjoy.

I've bought them for other people, but I've never done it myself. One of the things on my bucket list is to do a hot air balloon ride at Cappadocia in Turkey. I have a few friends who have done it, and OMG, the photos are beyond amazing!


RedSquirrelUK I hope your flight went well, and I hope you're able to share some photos soon.

I’m so glad you had fun. Both my parents are/were balloon pilots, ( since the 80s ). I grew up with it so It’s fun to see people get excited over it. I was always kind of meh about it LOL My mom and aunt fly together now that they’re both retired, they meet up for weekends or fly rallies together, it’s cute.

No advice, but take photos!!

Also, have someone take your pic while you're in the balloon basket, right before you take off.

How exciting!