Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta — Attraction in Albuquerque

October 5, 2024 - Magical 9 day event . . . Add it to your “ Bucket List” 😃👍🏼❤️ WOW!

We bussed in from Maryland , to spend 2 sessions over 2 days ! ( good tip, in case of high wind or rain. . . Balloons won’t lift off) Morning session is before Sunrise to noon! Evening session is 3pm to 9 pm . . . Buy tickets for a session !

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started 1972, over 50 years growing to 600 balloons of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Over 30 balloons sponsored by different countries! It’s pricey, worth it! You can bring in food & beverages to save money. ( No alcohol)

The Balloon Park is 365 acres . . . It’s big! People buy their tickets, enter the park, and walk around on the field to meet the balloon crews as they set up their hot air balloons! Near the Main Stage folks watch the color flag flying. . . If it’s Red, no lift off! If the flag is YELLOW, it’s caution ⚠️ must wait for weather to stabilize ( winds to calm, under 10 m.p.h.) The GREEN flag means LIFT off !

As you walk around you’ll notice merchandise tents , where you can shop! You’ll also notice corporate sponsors that restrict entrance to special visitors/members of that organization. You might notice the Gondola Club, or Chaser’s Club . . . Big tents that cater food, beverages, and merchandise to clients who buy advance tickets. Our bus group paid $130 a ticket to the Gondola Club. They catered a nice breakfast with morning cocktails on our 1st day/ morning session to see lift off on October 5th!

Our bus group also purchased tickets for an evening session at the Gondola Club. They catered a wonderful BBQ menu with salad and pulled pork . Then we watched at dusk, an evening glow burn 🔥 of 20 balloons! Followed by fireworks & Drone Laser show! Amazing the synchronized patterns of the drones in colorful formations! 😃👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Over a million visitors attend these 9 days of events. Well organized venue , with 5 locations to purchase shuttle bus transportation to the Fiesta Balloon Park. Get use to portable Potties! My highlight was talking to some of the balloon crews as they readied their equipment. They offered small color cards of their balloon, like baseball trading cards! In the past pins were given & collected. I saw several older folks with their jackets stacked & packed with different balloon pins! A great tradition, that I hope continues through...

Omg went to the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta opening ceremony for the first time. Exhausted. We booked our hotel in January 2024 for this because it's such a popular event.

We had to sit in a long line on Balloon Museum Drive just to be told by staff once we almost got to Jefferson to u-turn and make 3 lefts and then you'll be at some parking lot - except that information was wrong. We were able to park in the Road Runner lot for $20 at the corner of Alameda & Balloon Museum Drive. How does staff not know this and why weren't there signs with this information so people weren't having to sit in a huge line just to be told to turn around? This festival happens at the same place every year.

My husband and I got there at 3 AM to get parking, gates opened at 4:30 AM. The 10 minute drone show finished at 6 AM. First balloon didn't lift off until 7:42 AM due to high winds delaying launch.

What happened in between? Waiting. Lots of waiting with little information about what was going on. Oh also, it's pitch black outside where people are trying to find seats on the lawn while bringing toddlers in wagons, strollers and the mountain of kit parents travel with.

For the love of God, please stop bringing small children to events like this. Kids were MELTING down because there is like a bazillion people, it's during the time they'd most likely be asleep and it just lasts too long. The opening ceremony was 5:30 AM - noon, with gates opening at 4:30 AM. It's inappropriate to expect any child to not lose it under those conditions. So many kids were crying, screaming, running around demanding snacks and toys, and asking when the balloons would start, from 4 AM while we stood in line to get in until nearly 8 AM when the balloons finally began take off.

Okay, you're an adult that wants to go to the Balloon Fiesta? Get family to babysit overnight or wait until your kids are older. It's just gross seeing parents have no concern for their children's limitations.

This is definitely a one-and-done type event for me. It's just way too early and too many people to do this on the regular. If you love crowds, crowds, crowds and overpriced fair food while seeing hot air balloons, you'll enjoy this.

Visited...

We had family coming from out of the country and out of state during the same week that the 2023 balloon Fiesta was happening and our family wanted to go. My husband and I (he’s from NM) have never been before to the fiestas either since the idea of traffic, parking, etc was not attractive to us. Everything was going good, until they said that because there was wind (which is totally understandable) there was going to be no ascension. The weather predictions didn’t include any wind for the next day which is why we bought the tickets, but it’s Albuquerque, you truly never know. I understand they cannot control the weather and we definitely don’t want to risk anyone’s life, but the fact that there’s no planning in case that things go wrong is beyond me. It was so embarrassing for us (as we live here) that our family paid so much money because we were such a big group, and didn’t get absolutely nothing for it. It is one of the only (if not the only) big event that this state has, but cannot plan ahead on bad weather days? Our families were totally expecting plans afterwards, free food, maybe little rides, live music, partial refund, free tickets for next year. I don’t know, ANYTHING would’ve been better than "Oh sorry, either stay here paying $15 for hot cocoa, or just go home. Thank you for coming!" Our park and ride was so full of people from all over the world, Argentinians, Australians, just to mention a couple. So sad to say, but our neighboring states would have planned in advance for situations like this for sure, we look so behind in comparison. If everything goes good, then I’m sure it is awesome, but if it goes wrong, do not expect a thing from it. There’s no incentive for you to ever try going again. At least, our family and us are never trying again. We’ll spend the money on a flight and see them in Cappadocia which is a world spectacle and a World Heritage Site instead. So much potential in such a beautifully looking state, and it just...