Finding something for the whole family to do on the weekends isn’t always easy. With a 3 year old, a 5 year old, plus a 15 almost 16 year old and two adults… our interests can be quite varied!
Taking a ride on a hot air balloon is a great learning activity, especially when transportation has been your topic at school for the past few weeks!
Juanito has been learning about all kinds of transportation vehicles! Planes, trains, boats, cars and even Hot Air Balloons!
The Minneola Hot Air Balloons in the Park was a perfect real-life learning activity! 
Minneola is not too far from where we live, but not having been to this event before, I did not know what to expect.
The Facebook page I found said there would be some bounce houses, pony rides, train rides and of course Hot Air Balloons!
The famous Remax balloon was to be up for show, and two others were going to be giving tethered rides, for only $10 of which the proceeds were going to support Special Olympics Florida program.
Most of the activities and vendors were going to be donating proceeds to Special Olympics Florida and the Minneola Parks and Recreation Department.
The event was only from 4-6pm due to weather conditions and park hours, but for us that was perfect because I knew the boys would only last so long outside!
After the boys had their nap, which was necessary if we wanted to have an easier time, I packed up some essentials: some snacks (grapes, cheese sticks, crackers, tangerines), some water and juice, the iPad, and of course the stroller!
We woke the kids up and loaded everything into our truck and drove to the event. The only parking allowed in the park itself was for handicapped visitors and those who had requested assisted parking via the event website. Other visitors found or were directed to parking nearby. We parked at a local private school within a short walking distance.
We had planned to be there at 4pm because we didn’t want to have to wait too long for our ride and we wanted to make sure we were able to eat at a reasonable time for the boys! We arrived just after 4. It was really warm, so bringing drinks to keep the kids hydrated was definitely a good idea.
The first thing we saw as we walked into the park was the petting zoo, with the pony, goats and other small animals, including chickens and rabbits! But we didn’t stop, because we wanted to make sure we figured out the balloon ride setup!
We passed by the food vendors, of which there a good variety of choices. they had lots of cold drinks available and there was a pavilion at the end of the food trucks where you could enjoy your selection at shaded tables.
We could also see the small train ride that had been setup behind the area where the hot air balloons were going to be setup.
Opposite the food trucks, were booths where vendors had different types of items for sale, from clothing and handmade jewelry, to crafted foods like honey and flavored chicharrones. However we couldn’t stop to enjoy them!
At the end of the vendor line was the booth for the hot air balloon rides. Of course, I walked right past it! Which was ok, because behind the vendors were the bounce houses. I went ahead and purchased a couple of wrist bands so the boys would be able to jump for as long as they wanted while I got in line for the balloon rides.
That ended up being about 15-20 minutes because Juanito had trouble following directions on the obstacle course one and refused to come down when he was supposed to. It started creating some problems so Daddy brought them back to where I was waiting in line and we munched on some cinnamon flavored chicharrones made from wheat!
By the time I got in line there were about 20 people in front of me. So after the boys and Daddy joined me in line, we watched the balloons get brought in and setup.
It was pretty cool watching the flames and the fans working together to create the hot air needed to fill up the balloons! The balloons started out as a flat envelope of material and a basket sitting on the ground, to this massive balloon that would lift off the ground a little as it sat waiting!
Once the first balloon started filling up, Juanito recognized them and would point to them saying, “Balloon! Hot air balloon!” Since he is largely non-verbal, this intentional recognition of what he was looking at made me so proud of him!
This is where balloon rides get tricky. Hot air balloons require fairly perfect weather to go up and this includes no wind drafts! As each balloon filled up, we would frequently see them start to sway with the wind. The balloons had such brightly colored patterns that they made a pretty sight!
The Remax balloon we were standing in front of actually swayed so far to the side that the basket and anyone standing inside of it, were momentarily laying on the ground sideways before the draft allowed the hot air in the balloon to pull itself back up. The people waiting with me in line (which was getting considerably longer and longer) were all “Ooooh!” and “Wow!” and thought it was pretty neat to see this “trick”!
How did I know about the wind drafts? I didn’t! But those wind drafts were so frequent that the balloon rides were put on hold for almost 90 minutes after they were set up and the balloon ride staff had to explain to us why we were still waiting for the rides to start! It had to be waited out for them to be sure the rides would be safe. Keep in mind, we got there at 4pm and the event was supposed to close at 6pm!
We weren’t sure we were going to be able to ride at all. Plus, Juanito was becoming more impatient from having to wait and the heat was making him hot and a little irritable, even with the snacks and drinks AND the iPad!
We were waiting so long that people started dropping out of line. Daddy and I decided that we would wait until 5:30 and call it quits if the rides didn’t start by then. And just as we were about to get out of line, they announced the rides were able to start!
Enough people had dropped out of line by then so we were about 5th in line for a ride. We didn’t have to wait long to be directed to the line of the balloon we were going to go up in! Once we got moving everyone perked up and the excitement started to build.
I knew balloons used weights to help control the speed a balloon rises but since people were getting on and off the balloons, the attendants explained that we would be getting on the balloon as the previous riders were exiting. They tried to keep the weight even by switching out riders as evenly as possible!
When we were finally able to get into the balloon basket, I realized one big mistake I had made. I forgot to bring his headphones to help block some of the loud noise the burner made when the flames were used to add more hot air into the balloon as it took off.
Juanito tends to be more at ease when he is with me, so I ended up having to carry him and hold him as we got on and during the ride. We were not able to see the lift off, as he got agitated from the noise the burner made and the heat we could feel from it, so I had to crouch down as low as I could in the basket until he acclimated a little to the new situation.
He probably would have stayed there the whole time, but the balloon rides were not very long. The balloons were tethered to the ground and had enough rope to let us up a good ways, but we didn’t go very far!
I stood up while I talked soothingly in his ear and then he was able to enjoy the view with us as he held tight to me. We were high enough to see over the trees of the park and it felt like we were touching the sky! We even got some pictures as we admired the view. This was not easy considering we were both holding a little one!
All too soon, the ride was over and we were trading spaces with the new riders getting on. The boys kept looking back as we left the hot air balloon rides so I know they enjoyed the experience.
By this time it was almost 6pm and we were hungry. As the event was closing soon, we went ahead and left for the cooling A/C of the truck and in search of a quick meal as we headed home.
It wasn’t the perfect experience I had hoped it would be due to the unexpectedly long wait, but how often do you get to take a hot air balloon ride in your own backyard and in perfect timing to our school theme??
Up, up and away!
It was worth the trip and the balloon ride was pretty cool all things considered. I hope the boys will remember it. And I will be on the lookout for this event next year and cross my fingers for better weather!
Special note: This event raised $5,000 for Special Olympics Florida!
