Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon Co. — Attraction in Albuquerque

Rating my Balloon experience at the 2025 Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. My ride was awesome, the "Pilot" was great, and the day was absolutely beautiful. I reserved my ride in early 2025 (around March), and the process was seamless and the Customer Service agents were always helpful. I am rating my experience a 4 overall, because of the unfortunate process that occurred during the event. My ride on Saturday, October 4th was cancelled due to weather; 300 people were informed upon check-in which started at 4:45am. Our option was a refund, reschedule to another day with open spots, or go standby. I went standby on Sunday, October 5th as we were scheduled to travel home to Florida on Monday, October 6th. The Standby process stinks. On a number of fronts, but the main points being you have to arrive and be at the Rainbow Riders tent (inside the park, which requires another entry fee and parking fee) when it opens to put your name on a standby list which is managed by one (1) person. It was mass chaos that morning as people were showing up as early as 2am to wait in the general admission line (near Gate 9, which is the one closest to the Rainbow Riders tent). Security permitted all people with balloon rides to go into a pre-staging area (past the security check) to gain quicker access to the park. There ended up being 4 different lines of people, which confirmed rides and those going standby. Noone from Rainbow Riders was present to help with communicating what was going on. Once the general admission opened, it was then like Black Friday with people literally running to the Rainbow Riders tent to check-in or get on Standby. There were approximately 100 people going standby. Standby people were not cleared until approximately 6am after the scheduled riders; to be expected since not until they checked in do staff know what spots are available. Out of the 100, there about 30 people cleared from the Standby List, thankfully I was the next to last. I submitted a written letter to Rainbow Riders sharing my thoughts on the Standby process. As we all know, there is never a guarantee that the weather will permit the balloons to take off, but I feel the Standby process could be better organized and communicated to patrons. This event has been going on for years, and surely someone could have come up with a process for...

What an amazing time! It was our first balloon ride and these guys did not disappoint. The whole experience was beautiful. We pulled in to park in the parking lot, and we're directed to park on the street adjacent to the office. Once in the office, we signed waivers stating that there could be potential risks involved (safety first!), and assigned a pilot. Our pilots name was Al and he was delightful. Him, Frankie and Nick drove us and 11 others in a van to our launch site with the giant basket in tow. Once we arrived, the 3 of them set up the MASSIVE balloon, and asked for 2 volunteers. I got to assist with holding the balloon open which made me feel very honored and definitely heightened the experience! Then we all got into the basket and Frankie offered to take photos of us using my own phone! That was really generous and a wonderful touch. Once we were up in the air, it was a beautiful sight. There was practically zero wind the whole time. Our pilot told jokes and interesting facts about flying. He was very skilled in maneuvering the fire and fabric. We got to float low over the city, and then higher than all the other balloons. My pictures came out awesome, however it really doesn't do the justice of what being in the sky like that really feels like. Because there was such a minimal amount of wind, we ending up landing somewhere not conventional. Al stuck our balloon right in the middle of a cul-de-sac!!! The residents were just as shocked as we were, it was so much fun!! By the time we landed my boyfriend really had to use the restroom (too much coffee), however there is always a toasting ceremony after a good flight as per tradition. Al set everything up, gave a nice prayer, and people enjoyed their drinks. Somehow, he either overheard my boyfriend, or noticed his body language and immediately helped him get to a restroom which was such a exceptional gesture. We both sincerely appreciated his kindness and attention to detail (not to mention his ability to land!). OVERALL THE BEST...

Wish I could rate 10 stars!!! We got the VIP Ride last Friday morning of the huge Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. We got a special parking and check in lto enter the Park (as opposed to the hundreds in the other check in lines!) We got an excellent catered breakfast in a heated tent, an impressive swag bag, and after the Dawn Patrol gives the okay and info on wind conditions, we were the first balloons up! WOW what an experience, my first time up in a balloon. Our crew chief, Amanda was great letting us all know what to expect and managing the blowing up of the balloon (I got to help!!!) Our pilot, Brook Owens, was fun, funny and yet I felt entirely safe with his aircraftsmanship (is that a word? It is now!) The website says a 45min-1hr ride - ours was 1hr18min. We flew right over the tall downtown buildings, across and back over the Rio Grand, over stands of cottonwood trees just changing color and the sunrise over the sandia mountains was like something so beautiful, like it was scripted and enhanced for a movie! AND other balloons, we basically got to see and experience a mass ascension from the air! So many balloons, hundreds! According to Brook we flew 13 miles and reached a height of 2,000ft. Landing was a breeze! little bump, littl4 drag, little bump, little drag and we were aground safe and happy. Next came the champagne and fellow Rainbow Ryder pilot (who landed after but near us, gave a lovely history of balloon aviation from ancient times to pre-revolutionary France when the balloons were made of paper and fish nets. Comfortable ride back in the chaser van. Highly highly recommend!!! This was truly a bucket list dream come true - all their balloons say bucket list on them...