California Dreamin' Balloon Adventures — Attraction in Temecula

Do NOT recommend it! We had a horrible experience with this company! My mom was visiting me and we decided to go to Temecula for a balloon ride, which was one of her dreams. I got the ticket from Tripadvisor the day before the tour (on early afternoon; around 1 pm) and got the email confirmation that it was all good. Then I booked a hotel, since the tour was leaving super early in the morning and we were coming from an hour away. We woke up super early in the morning to be there at 5:15 am (we even arrived earlier), just to sign a waiver and then wait so they could check the weather. Around one hour later, they called us to say that they had overbooked the ride and we were not included in the tour "because we booked from Tripadvisor and they didn't check it and didn't have space for us"!!! It was so freakin' frustrating!!

They claimed that it was "the way that Tripadvisor sends the notification to them, since we didn't purchase the ticket directly from them" but right after booking their tour I also booked from Tripadvisor a winery tour for the same day (to go after the balloon ride) and that other company immediately sent me a message and started communicating with me to arrange all the details, so that's a big BS. Besides, if you can't or won't always check the bookings from the site other than your own, then you should not allow people to book your tours from another website in the first place!

They apologized and reimbursed us, of course (the bare minimum), but this didn't compensate us for the hotel reservation or for the frustration of making us come from far and wake up so early and wait for an hour, just to then be told that we were not allowed to participate in the tour. I honestly hope this was the first time that this happened and that they will learn from it and take the necessary actions to be the last time, because this was outrageous, to...

What an unforgettable experience! I spent a VERY long time researching options before booking with California Dreamin' and I am so glad I did. This company is everything you should be looking for when making the decision to try this once in a lifetime experience. They are 100% safety-oriented while being personable, reassuring and even more importantly, they know how to share their passion with you and you can feel their love for ballooning (and top notch customer service) in everything they do.

There is a huge team involved in getting every balloon off the ground and then landing them again safely and each and every person you come in contact with is friendly, welcoming and passionate.

I can't say enough good things about Dillon, our pilot. He was wonderful - from chauffeur to pilot to bartender and storyteller, he knows his stuff and has a way about him that would make even the most nervous participant feel safe and comfortable. Thank you for all of your kindness and all of the interesting information you shared throughout the trip.

The views are stunning, the feeling of peacefulness is overwhelming and the overall experience is one you will never forget. If you are still hesitating, don't! California Dreamin' may not be the least expensive choice but they are absolutely worth every penny spent. Thank you for the unforgettable,...

Oftentimes, when I participate in an adventure such as ziplining, paragliding, etc., once is enough for me. But I would definitely participate in the hot air balloon ride again! The ride is smooth and, Josh, our pilot, was full of local history. We met at 5:30am in October so it was pretty chilly, but by the time we were ending, we warmed up, partly from the flames. We took off from an open field where we watched while they and others blew balloons up. The colorful balloons are so pretty and seeing them from the air was exciting. The view of the vineyards and mountains from so high up is post card perfect. In the mornings, it's pretty dark so we drove past the meet up spot, but turned around to park at the only parking lot there on the winery site, which was the meet up before they loaded us in a van to take us to the field. The landing spot was not the same place as the starting spot. On the FAQ on the website, it states that breakfast is included after the landing and it also states that a toast would be at the winery. The website shows photos of guests toasting at the winery with champagne glasses. So it was a little disappointing that there was no breakfast and the toast was not at the winery in champagne glasses - whether it was at the landing spot with plastic disposable cups. The FAQs need to be updated; Otherwise, it was a...