iSkydive America - VIP Jumps (Pre-scheduled Only) — Local services in Goulds

Think of what it would take to get a one star review: Your chute didn't open... yep... thankfully that didn't happen

Now, to what it takes to get a 5 star review: Let's face it, most of us fear the worst, but as soon as you walk in to their facility, you immediately realize... this isn't their first tango... these guys are pros

Two dedicated people folding up parachutes non-stop, gives you a sort of sense they've had some practice. You make your way through the dozens of people putting on their harnesses and making their way to the plane, as well as those who have already jumped, waiting for their certs, their videos, etc. Then, once you sign your waiver, log your info into the ipad, you are introduced to your instructor

My instructor's name was Csaba. Other than his name and "Welcome to Miami Skydiving Center", I really don't remember what he said, I just remember thinking "I like this guy, mostly because he's not going to let me die".

Csaba and I went over what we were going to do, when I was going to lean back, when I was going to spread my arms out, etc, and we began making our way towards the plane

I paid for the video, so as we were walking, we joked around about how crazy this was, whether or not I had written my will, etc

It was my lucky day. I was the last one on the plane, so I got to sit near the door. When we finally made it to the right height, Csaba strapped me in tighter to make sure I wasn't going anywhere and the door opened.

A crazy guy in a helmet stood by the door ready to jump and all the instructors began teasing their jumpers about how terrified we were. Something about knowing you are in good hands eased the tension quite a bit.

Today was my lucky day, since the guy in the helmet asked me to push him off. "HELL YEAH!!!" I said... How many people can say "I got to push a guy off a plane once"... I happily obliged

Then it was my turn. As soon as my legs cradled the plane, Csaba reminded me to smile for the camera. One thing these guys probably don't get enough credit for... aside from taking you through the ride of their life, they actually document the entire process on video... Double props!

Csaba didn't torture me much at the edge of the plane and we jumped right off.

The first 10 seconds, before the guide chute is deployed, are of a complete free-fall, and you feel the pressure... Amazingly, Csaba captured the entire process between when my face went from sheer terror to complete bliss... then the random gang signs to up my street cred ensued (a computer programmer has to do what he can) as we dropped at 120 MPH...

The drop is completely amazing, but remember to close your mouth from time to time. Wind coming in at that speed will dry it up pretty quickly

Then, possibly, the most important part... The chute deploys, and you begin a nice slow glide to the ground. Csaba turned one way to show me the view of the Keys, then the other to show me South Beach, then he handed me the controls and instructed me how to turn it... I don't think I impressed him much and soon he would yank harder on them to make us turn faster... to the point you and your chute are practically side by side.

The landing was perfect. We were coming down fast, but remembering to trust this master, I raised my legs completely and Csaba converted the downward movement to forward and we glided a mere foot off the ground until coming to a perfect stop... Yeah, this guy has done this before

We shot the last segment of the video... the "So what did you think" part. I may have high fived Csaba a few too many times, envious of the impact his job has on his clients... You'll be...

Overall, skydiving will always be a great experience for anyone who hasn't done it before. So I was so thrilled I could do it!

However, the jump was very rushed because I was the last one on the list for the day, and there were delays because of bad weather. I got zero instructions before boarding the pane, the instructor didn't really smile, I had no heads-up before the video went on, and it was just all mechanical. Thankfully I am not someone who gets scared of heights or adventure, but for anyone else, it would have been traumatic. There was a bigger disappointment though, which is what I really want to share!

I was booked for the 3pm slot. I had opted for the video($99) plus photos($99) in a USB($10), in addition to the skydive. Clearly, that's more than the cost of the skydive itself, and I had hoped it would be worth it!

How would it feel to have the video not capture the landing audio, and the camera have NO pictures from your landing? How would it feel when you hear them saying it themselves, and then lie to you to cover up?

I actually overheard the staff talk to each other that the landing photos were missing. So I figured something was wrong and asked if they found the photos. I knew I was the last one for that day, so they really wanted to just close the case asap...so they lied. They (Erik) said, "Nothing to worry maa'm, we found it, here's your USB". I told him "Thank God, I got so worried" and he said, "Trust me Maam, I was more worried than you were. The pictures were in a different folder, we found them, and they are in your USB now". I trusted him, and left happily!

It was only when I came home that I realized they lied, which is a big turn off. I would have appreciated if they had told me honestly that there was an issue. We all know technology can fail, right?

They knew it was my last day in the country, so I wouldn't come back to complain anyway, which meant they could afford to lie.

Skydiving is one of the best experiences ever, I just wish there wasn't this spoiler...

I GIVE THEM A 0 STAR!!!!!!!! The only reason 1 STAR was given was for me to post this message!

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY! READ EVERY DETAIL ON THEIR WEBSITE BEFORE PURCHASING! They offer pay online as an option of service & will cancel & reschedule your reservation via EMAIL (which was in my son’s junk mail...NO TEXT, no prior alerts & we wouldn’t have known if we didn’t call to find out the info. I’m sharing). Most of the reviews that I read said something of poor customer service.

First, they offered a 7am appt time & the office says it opens at 7:30a but really didn’t open until after 7:30a (I would guess 8am because we were there after 7:30a), we drove 1 hr. 20 minutes to arrive at the location, my son paid over $200 online & when we arrived was told the reservation was cancelled for the day & we wouldn’t get our money back because we paid online. This is a horrible business & I hope your company never stiffs another person after you’ve scammed my family for NO SERVICE AT ALL! We aren’t residents of FLA & leave town tomorrow morning so he couldn’t reschedule. You totally ruined my son’s spring break (on this bright sunny slightly windy day)!

Afterward we left Miami Skydiving Center, I sat and read more reviews to find out a lot of us share the same story. I’m pretty sure your business makes a huge bulk of their money cancelling & not refunding online payments of people’s money!

To the owner: I DO NOT need your apology...I’ve read your apologies to others & their has only been one solution to refund the customer’s money. What I would appreciate is if you’d stop scamming ppl out of their money...not just my son but everyone interested in your service & make changes to your policy that says due to inclement weather (or even a slight bit of wind like today 3/13/19) we have to cancel and a full refund will be received to all customers that did not receive our skydiving service.

YOUR BUSINESS IS HORRIBLE because of the lack of...