Hot Air Balloon Glow Last Night -VIDEO
 

Was there last night. We enjoyed it, and can see this becoming an annual event. They do need to have a longer period of the balloons glowing at night.

The Villages Hot Air Balloons - YouTube

In the area where my husband and I lived when we first got married, little did we know that there was a hot air balloon landing site very near to our home. One Saturday morning when we were still in bed, we heard this weird noise and then all of a sudden it appeared to get cloudy outside as the natural light in our bedroom dimmed. Imagine our surprise as we peered out the window to see what was going on and all you could see was this huge colorful balloon floating very near to our house. We got used to it in time and enjoyed seeing them float in over the years we were there, but that first time was a real shocker!

Never saw the glowing ones at night that you speak of. That would be awesome to see!

They were not glowing very long last night. This was a first time event. So, of they had problems they will get it worked out. Will probably be more crowded tonight.

I am happy to see them start this and hope that it will grow in the future. We went one year to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque and it was amazing. There were thousands of balloons and they were in every shape and size and color. The sky was just filled with them.

I am sure after all the complaints that were on Facebook about last night the promoter will probably do things a little differently tonight.

They make money taking people up, not by letting them glow at the same time. That is what happened last night. They didn't have enough gas for a full glow per the owner of the event.

it reached capacity tonite ( sat) and the promoter indicated that Sunday will be free admission... Facebook posts said there was lines around the block for the restrooms and the vendors ran out of food.. tomorrow should be even more interesting..

Don't know about the food, but there were only 5 bathrooms for all (the Polo Club facilities were not available). Hard to believe that a Villages function would be that short of bathrooms.

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We had to leave at 8 PM, and it took 45 minutes to get out at that time, and people were still coming in! The balloons were just starting to get filled, so we saw a few as we got to Buena Vista, had to go North and turn around, left turn was impossible due to limited visibility due to backed up traffic still trying to get in! I will cut TV a break as this was the first time for this event, but there were many short comings that will need to be addressed.

We went to the event tonight....we arrived around 6ish...no problem getting in...went to get food....2 hour wait for food....many vendors ran out of food...went back to cart watched the balloons fill with gas...they periodically were bright but not in unison and for a short period of time....then the promoter counted down around 8:40 or so and all the balloons were glowing for a very very short time in unison. We thought the glow would have gone on longer. People started leaving immediately. We were disappointed in the "glowing" part. The event needs tweaking for sure.

Sounds like it was fun.

It was fun but like any first time event has a few kinks to work out. I think they must have underestimated how many people would attend.

Kind of like The Villages version of Woodstock. People were parking cars along Buena Vista and walking in. I would guess a 100 carts parked in the grass between the MMP and BV.

:coolsmiley:

Loved it. Spent 1 1/2 hr on line, but got the ride a little after 9:00

Remember, this was not a Villages sponsored event. This was put on by a private promoter that rented the polo grounds for the event. If this event is repeated, I'm sure the Public Safety and the powers that be will require a much more substantial action plan for it be be approved.

Many issues, including a severe lack of porta potties, unprepared food and beverage vendors and disorganized traffic and parking control. The promoters had also advertised a ban on outside food and drink that was widely ignored by many coming into the event, it seemed the only important thing at the gate was to collect the cash. I'm sure if this event were to happen again, they are more than a few lessons learned that will need to be implimented.

Need to sell tickets ahead of time if event is repeated, large crowds Saturday night.

The promoters blew it with the five porta potties, but if I was looking at a permit application for an event with multiple food and beverage kiosks and the big draw of balloons and rides I would question the figure of only five. Common sense would dictate a much higher count.

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Overall I would say it sounds like we didn't miss anything. Hoping the promoter learned from this. 5 Porto pottys?

The Albuquerque Balloon Festival has about 600 balloons, not thousands.

Ok hundreds but still just amazing.

So just out of curiosity, how was Sunday?

Sunday was great.
Short lines for food. No lines for porta potties. Easy to get around. Hope they return.

I should have tried to go Sunday but a little too busy.

An older gentleman fainted, I gave him my chair to sit in, and my wife went looking for help(First Aid), which there was "none" on-sight. We called 911. As far as the port-a pottys, "5", are you kidding me? Only 1 of them was for handicapped. The main concern was to get as many vehicles parked for the money, which can someone please tell me where all the money is going to?

There were additional Potty's just beyond the food vendors.......Not a line, walk around next time you attend!!!!!

A hand out or a sign would be nice noting rest room facilities. When we golf their is always a ranger driving around keeping everyone hydrated and making themselves available for all kinds of mishaps.

I didn't go because I didn't know about it. That's my fault. It looks like fun.

They only brought in more porta potties for Sunday. And Sunday, they shut down attendance at 7 pm. People who had driven an hour were turned away.
I'm still wondering why it is a 4 hour balloon event and the balloons didn't even get blown up until 3 hours and 15 minutes later. The "glow" was for a few seconds only. Blink and you miss it.

we went sunday about 6:45 in a golf cart... no lines, event was free and drove right in.. sat in chairs we brought and they made an announcement about the balloon glow to be about 8:40... at 8:40 they did have the glow which lasted maybe 10 seconds .... VERY DISAPPOINTED in the glow.. never again would I waste my time for a 10 second show... exiting the polo fields was quick also.. my wife has seen the balloon festivals in California and she said the balloons were lit for hours

Having only five porta pottys for thousands of people is like having only one tree for a pack of dogs [emoji6]

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The promoter?

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One balloon owner told me that 50% of the revenue from rides had to be given to the promoter.

This was not a Villages sponsored event. Probably normal amount of kinks for the first time, and a record crowd.