Mental note.... if you get to the Fiesta at 3:00pm, this is about all there is to do :)
This is the picture my friend posted of what she saw just a few hours before we arrived.
October 4, 2014
The Balloon Fiesta was from Oct 4-12th this year. It typically starts on the first Saturday in October and runs through the following Sunday (9 days). We arrived there on the first day in started. That morning (as we were driving there from Carlsbad), the Mass Ascension went off without a hitch. We saw people posting pictures on fb and such and we got so excited to see it all with our own eyes - hundreds and hundreds of big beautiful balloons covering the sky. We arrived to the Fiesta at 3:00. Little did we know, there is a whole bunch of nothing going on between the Mass Ascension at 7:00 and the Twilight Twinkle Glow at 5:45. So, we just waited and waited and waited, wandering around the food/souvenir tents. 5:45 finally arrived. Nothing. We started hearing word that the wind conditions were not ideal. Sure enough, about 99% of the balloonists decided to not inflate their balloons. Here is the picture of what we saw. I could tell that it WOULD be cool to see what we saw x 700, but this was rather underwhelming. Especially after such anticipation. So, we disappointedly went "home" to catch a few hours sleep before getting up at 4:00am to head back for the Mass Ascension the following morning. It was FREEZING! We huddled together in the pitch black sipping on hot chocolate waiting for the 5:45 Dawn Patrol. Nothing. Then for the 6:30 Morning Glow. Nothing. Then for the 7:00 Mass Ascension. Nothing. An announcement was made that it was canceled due to unfavorable wind conditions. I cannot even describe to you our disappointment. Our flights were all leaving that afternoon. We centered our entire trip around this event and all we saw was... nothing. What a bummer. I don't know what happened in the few hours between the morning of our arrival (when everything went as planned) and a few hours later when we arrived. The weather seemed just fine to us. But alas, we are not expert balloonists.
Verdict: No. I'm sure for many, they would give a favorable verdict. Those that actually saw a balloon or two at the Balloon Fiesta. But for me, given my experience, it was just a big disappointment. Cost: $10/car for parking plus $8/person admission. (Children free) Non-refundable in the case of Balloon cancellation :(
Note: I went back to the Festival the following year in 2015 and actually saw the balloons launch! It was amazing! And yeah, it probably will be one of my "I'm glad I saw that before I died" memories. So, the bottom line is, if the weather cooperates and you are part of the sunrise launch, it will be a worthwhile lifetime memory. But if the weather doesn't cooperate, well then for obvious reasons, not so much!"
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