[Mandy0726]

Has anyone been on the balloon ride in DTD? Is it worth the money? What age would you recommend to be on that ride?

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Mandy

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[cpudd]

Sorry ... never been on it myself but the website says any age can ride the balloon. I'm not sure very young children would enjoy it unless they love heights! Yikes!

[Curious Alice]

I would NEVER go up in that thing!

I think Winkster might be able to give you some answers when he gets back.

[Doodlemommy3]

I heard that it is a lot of fun! But I agree, I would not take little little ones on it though....

[dmand13]

I'd love to do it but ever since riding "The Sunwheel" in DCA I've been deathly afraid of heights!

[Winkster]

Yep - been there, done that, loved it!

As for ages, I'm afraid I'm not really sure. My 10 year old nephew would love it while I think it's probably be too high and scary for my 4 year old niece.

Here's the extract from my trip report which I think sums it up (photos too!)...

With this in mind, we took a very gentle stroll through the Marketplace and Pleasure Island, ending up at Characters in Flight. Luckily, with no wind at all, today was a good day to fly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563407285/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563408035/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563412611/

Being quiet, we bought our tickets and boarded the balloon with only 4 other people, bringing the total passenger numbers to 7 including the “pilot”.

I had assumed the Characters in Flight was a hot air balloon but it was only upon seeing it that I realised it is actually a sealed balloon full of helium that rises without heat - if it wasn’t tethered down by a huge rope that they let out on a winch to allow you to rise up to 400 feet.

As we took off, we had some great views of The West Side, opening out as we climbed higher to take in the whole of Downtown Disney, Saratoga Springs and, before long right across Disney World and out to Downtown Orlando.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3564230940/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563410955/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3564227214/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563408863/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37602845@N05/3563411827/

On a clear day, they say you can sometimes see the coast although I’m not entirely sure that this would be possible from only 400 feet up! As it was however, today was slightly hazy so we had to make do with a slightly lesser view.

Although I enjoyed Characters in Flight, I did find it a poor alternative to a proper hot air balloon ride – something we did back in 1993. Having said that, I guess at $16 compared to $150 for a hot air balloon, it’s a pretty good value alternative!

[Mandy0726]

Thanks Winkster. You gave me much to think about.

[Winkster]

No probs. If you have any questions, just let me know and I'll do all I can to help.

[Kebabs]

We went on the Characters in Flight balloon on our last evening on this trip, so last Saturday and we absolutely loved it, never been in a real hot air balloon, so have nothing to compare it with. But the whole experience for us was brilliant, there were only four other people in the balloon with us, but that was because of the weather, there was a big storm coming in and they were being careful as it was very windy. You could see as far as downtown Orlando and all of the theme parks, which was really good! I'm not sure we could see as far as I expected, but it was well worth the $16 each. I think the youngest person in the queue for the balloon was about 9 or 10 years old, but there were no age restrictions.

I think if you get a chance to do it, then you should give it a try! I think it was one of the best things about our trip this time.
Dx