June 29, 2010: Two Aérophile Balloons

[Werner Weiss]

Here's a photo essay about Characters-in-Flight at Walt Disney World and the Great Park Balloon at Orange County Great Park.

You can take a flight on the Great Park Balloon absolutely free.

Link to Two Aérophile Balloons.

Please discuss it here.

[mark]

We've ridden the balloon at DLP- amazing views and experience!
Somewhere on my blog are the arial photos....
Thanks, Werner- another great article!

[danyoung]

I've wanted to ride the balloon in WDW since they put it in, but never timed it right. I'll be in SoCal next week, and the balloon in Irvine seems like the perfect thing! Thanks, Werner!!!

[Werner Weiss]

I've wanted to ride the balloon in WDW since they put it in, but never timed it right. I'll be in SoCal next week, and the balloon in Irvine seems like the perfect thing! Thanks, Werner!!!

Be sure to check the operating days and hours. The Great Park Balloon currently operates Thursday through Sunday only. There are no flights from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Have fun!

[danyoung]

Thanks for the extra info!

[SorcererHero5571]

I would just love to go up in one of those things. I never will though. My mon is just afraid of heights. She won't even go on the Fun Wheel. IF she's afraid of something, she won't let anybody else do it. I try to reassure her, but she's just to afraid, lol.

[Timekeeper]

Interesting, that the Balloons are exactly the same type (but in WDW, it's not free; but in CA, it's free.) I wished we got a new, big airport in the hanger base; but instead, we a got a new big park, which is losing some money from the city and got another new shopping center. Oh, such is life and times...



Timekeeper

[PEZZ Lightyear]

I took my 8YO twin girls to the Great Park balloon ride last Saturday! They loved it and I was more afraid than I thought I would be. It turned out to be a better day for kite flying than ballooning. The wind was pretty gusty and they stopped giving balloon rides soon after we went.

Luckily, we brought kites, a Frisbee, and lunch. There is no food there except a snack machine but there are plenty of tables with umbrellas for shade.

Even though it was a sunny, beautiful day, there were hardly any people there and we got to fly very shortly after we arrived.

It was overall a very fun day and here is the link to the park's website:

Orange County Great Park | Great Park Balloon

[Louiedog]

If you want to make a connection to Yesterland with the balloons, the one that was put up in Las Vegas stopped after less than a year due to high winds ripping the balloon apart on the ground. There's video out there of it being battered around and finally opening up and losing all the helium. I never went up in it, and now it's gone.

[Dizzey]

Thanks for another nice story, Werner. I saw one of those balloons from a distance at DLP and didn't realize that they took people up. They seem so small compared to a blimp that I just assumed that they didn't have enough lift. Anyway, always enjoy your nice, low-key stories!

[Werner Weiss]

If you want to make a connection to Yesterland with the balloons, the one that was put up in Las Vegas stopped after less than a year due to high winds ripping the balloon apart on the ground. There's video out there of it being battered around and finally opening up and losing all the helium. I never went up in it, and now it's gone.

Yep. The Cloud 9 Balloon has gone to Yester Vegas (not that there's such a website).

The Cloud 9 Balloon in Las Vegas opened for business on October 8, 2009. Here's the story from the Las Vegas News: World's Largest Helium Balloon Celebrates Official Launch on Las Vegas Strip

Winds destroyed the balloon on March 18, 2010 — slightly more than five months after its launch.

Here's the video from KVVU Las Vegas: Wind Destroys Vegas Strip Balloon

At their website, Cloud 9 is now promising "to replace the Cloud 9 Balloon Ride with a bigger and better Las Vegas Attraction" — but apparently not with another balloon.

The Cloud 9 balloon was an American-made Aeroballoon product, not an French-German-made Aérophile balloon.