Aerophile - The World Leader in Balloon Flight — Attraction in Lake Buena Vista

If I could give it a zero star I wld. 1-5-25 I spoke with an employee over this attraction and I was told winds should be fine to come later that night, once I arrive between 8pm-9pm the ride was closed down due to winds, well I have on video showing the balloon it was barely any winds and if this balloon can not with stand a lil wind then why even have it by the water rite next to a lake inside Disney Springs here in Florida, help me make sense of it. I drove 2 hours just to come here to do this attraction and the worker new that cause I told him over the phone. Inside Disney Springs is nice but I only came just to do this attraction not to see inside Disney Springs, now once I did the attraction I probably wld have went sight seeing afterwards maybe even bought some food or even souvenirs, but when I was told the attraction was closed and wld be for the rest of the night I was so upset, I didn't care to sight see or eat any food inside, I was so pist all I wanted to do was get back into my car and drive 2 hours and go back home and that is just what I did too. I have a Brand New 2024 (330i BMW) so my car is reliable to get on the highway at any time, so that is definitely not my issue why I'm upset, I live 2 hours away from Orlando and I live in a upscale area that has plenty of upscale restaurants, so I dnt have to drive 2 hours to come to Orlando to eat at Disney Springs. it was a waste of my time and effort and my gas a total of 4 hours in gas wasted. I do not recommend Aerophile Hot Air Balloon Flight. I emailed Guest relations at guest.services@disneyworld.com and filed a complaint and also asked that Matt Simon the Vice President over Disney Springs does something about this issue because from what other workers inside Disney Springs Park said to me when I was venting about how upset I was that Aerophile was closed both workers at two different locations inside Disney Springs said that other customers has complained and said that they drove far away just to do this attraction and it was closed. So I wld think that Vice President Matt Simon need to see and hear this if he already has not and do something about it and if he doesn't then I say just do not go to Disney Springs Park at all. Maybe losing customers will get him to see that he should do something about this attraction. So I do not recommend Aerophile Hot Air Balloon Flight nor Disney Springs Park either unless they do something about that attraction and Matt Simon in the Vice President so I'm pretty sure he has a lot of say so and can do...

I've been to Disney Springs/Downtown Disney a hundred times and never done this balloon, so this last trip I managed a ride during sunset. The line gets long near sunset, so plan accordingly. If the line is almost to the Starbucks, you've got about a 20-30 minute wait.

The line moves pretty slowly, mostly due to the fact that you have to sign a waiver which requires a screenshot of your face. This is all done on an iPad, and several folks seemed to take quite a bit of time getting their selfie just right. Not that getting through the line to buy your ticket will get you on the balloon that much quicker - you still have to stand in line at the dock. (It might be feasible to buy your ticket earlier in the day when there's a shorter line, then come back later to line up at the dock. That might save quite a bit of time.)

My biggest disappointment is that once you're loaded onto the balloon basket/cage, you can't move around to see the different views. Not if it's the least bit crowded, at least. Loading happens pretty quickly - they can load and unload almost simultaneously. But once you've got your spot, that's your view. The sunset happened to be on the other side of the balloon from me and I would have loved pictures of that side and the Cirque du Soleil tent, but there's no getting over there. Even the ride operator area is on that side, so there's even less chance to be standing in the right spot for sunset views.

Other than that, it is a fun ride and only a little bouncy coming on and off the landing platform. We had a decent wind and some sway and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and the ride operator (Mr. Crash) was great fun.

Since I couldn't jockey for a better sunset view, that's why I think it's not worth the $25. You're stuck...

First, let me say I am a lover or aviation, thrills, and amazing views, plus doing something new, so when I saw this balloon ride, I was sold. Read to the end, and I will tell you how much money they make per day from this attraction, haha. This is $25 per person, and you must sign a waiver. They do make you take a selfie with the tablet to ID you are signing the waiver I asked the guy how many times someone has fallen from the balloon, and he said they had been there 14 years and it has never happened. They do not offer any discounts such as a travel agent discount or any others according to the employee. There is no way to make reservations because of the waiver in advanced you must walk up but the good news is that each ride is about 8 Minutes, so you do not have to wait long at least we did not have too. For the high cost, I would not do it again, but for someone who has never been up in a balloon, I thought it was an amazing experience. Now the promise I think I remember it was 16 people at $25 and the trips are 8 minutes plus 2 minutes loading so in a 8 hour day this balloon makes 19,200 a day I would recommend doing it once though you get amazing views of Disney Springs and the other parks. If this review helped you at all, please mark as helpful and follow me for more...