Magical Adventure Balloon Rides — Attraction in Solana Beach

Did a sunset tour in Del Mar on the 7/17, overall it was a positive memorable experience BUT they CAN IMPROVE on A LOT...

CONS:

Balloon doesn't travel much. We kind of floated up, stayed in the same area mostly, views were the same all the time. Don't expect to see many different areas or go different places.

We didn't get a full hour of flying, closer to 45-50 minutes

You have to wait around for them WAY TOO LONG while they set up and take down the balloon. The whole thing took closer to 4 hours. We were told to arrive at 5:30 pm, van didn't leave until 6pm, balloon didn't take off until about 7pm. We landed before 8pm and didn't get back to our car up until 9:20pm. Way too long. This can be solved by delivering people to the takeoff area when everything is set up and ready to go and taking them back shortly after landing so they don't have to wait for you and watch the whole pack/unpack, set up and take down operation.

-Pilot we had in our 16 person balloon was pretty negative and very cold/upset or something. It was not pleasant!!!! He kept telling us the stories about how he was wronged in his life during his previous balloon rides, about some angry sheriff and I get it but it was A LOT OF UNNECESSARY drama. It might be interested to drama loves but WE WERE THERE TO HAVE FUN. It would have been better not to hear it all! Overall our pilot seemed upset, compared to the other guy John who drove us first which seemed to be the opposite of Dave "I believe that was his name" Plus he was kind micromanaging and demanding to his crew which was also annoying to observe.

I don't drink at the moment but they claim that the champagne they have is GOOD stuff but it was Cooks ha ha, not sure if you can go cheaper than that...

-They don't seem to have an actual office, check in process was very unorganized. We had to street park and wait around for them to grab us on the street. No official restrooms either, you have to use the close by stores for that. We paid about $450 with tips for 2, they really can do better than that if they charge people this much, at least have some kind of small office for check in with a restroom and a parking lot.

-Last but not least - COVID. I don't worry about getting sick with covid personally but they really don't seem to have adjusted their operation for it much. We had 16 people crammed in one basket, basically on top of each other and about 20 people in one van during transportation. Again, personally I didn't care much but I feel like a lot of people who are worried about it can feel really uncomfortable with this setup. They do wear masks but there are no extra dividers in the basket as they claim to have. We really should have had 2 people instead of 4 in our tiny corner during the covid times.

PROS:

-Fun different experience to have -We didn't die :) -Free pics and banners from the crew are...

Must do experience! We had a wonderful time on our hot air balloon ride - we were surprised with how peaceful the experience of the flight was. I am glad we read reviews before booking as it was helpful to manage expectations. It is an adventure in terms of the process leading up to take off and after landing. There is a bit of a wait with roll call and getting bussed over to the hot air balloons, not a bad wait at all though I might add. The staff had us wait a little longer due to the fog that day - the wait helped the fog pass more making for an even more stunning ride I am thankful for their expertise on this! Our Pilot was a little high strung with the loading into the balloon (but to be fair we had a big group and it is a lot to coordinate) and had some snarky remarks along the way - thankfully our group had good humor lol. The flight was around an hour in the air and it was wonderful. If it is a little cold in the morning the fire in the balloon will keep you heated! Landing was graceful. After landing we had champagne and bagged snacks. The wait for the staff (and a few riders who were nice enough to help) get the balloon back into the trailer was the low point of the experience. A suggestion to the company to make the experience better for the customers may be to drive the riders back to the parking lot while the staff packs up the balloon, and then drive back to pick up the staff and balloon. I understand this would inconvenience the company but since the drive was only about 10 minutes back to the parking lot and took around 45 minutes to get the balloon packed up. All in all, a...

I booked this for my anniversary and it was amazing!!! I had never been on a hot air balloon and this was so fun and beautiful! I definitely recommend doing this for a special event like anniversary, birthday, graduation etc. It will be so magical that way. Our pilot denny was really nice and accommodating. He has flown several celebrities too! He made our experience so worth it! This will not be a disappointment. Just so you know in advance the balloon ride is about an hour. You arrive at check in spot and they drive you to the take off spot. You do have to wait for the balloon set up and break down after but you can take pictures during that time and they provide drinks and snacks during the wait.so the whole thing is about 3 hrs. I rode during covid times, and we wore our masks. It is a tight basket ride. So you cant really social distance. So if that bothers you then be aware and this may not be for you. It is hot in the balloon hence the name. When they release the fire through out the ride its loud and hot. Between those times its not hot and is quiet. Loud meaning you cant talk to each other. So I would bring a hoodie to cover your head and hair if your near the fire or tall. That helped me. The ride was smooth. No bumps. Take off and landing was smooth. No stomach feeling like a rollercoaster. Just smooth. The whole experience is beautiful. I highly...