View Full Version : WDW from a different viewpoint
Slowhand
15-10-2009, 12:20 PM
During our recent vacation my DW and I went on the Characters in Flight helium balloon at DTD.
Here are a few of the shots we took from 400 ft. in the air.
Notice how quiet it is at DTD.
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View towards Epcot.
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View towards the Contemp. & GF [there sure are a lot of trees around!]
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View towards Hotel Plaza Blvd.
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arkvilla
15-10-2009, 12:30 PM
Great pictures.
Jai was going to take Kyle on that balloon but the day they went it was a bit stormy so they didn't let it go up
Hopefully next year
Sandra
Keith
15-10-2009, 12:41 PM
Absolutely superb!!!!!!
foreverducky
15-10-2009, 12:43 PM
Fantastic!
Thank you for the photos, Slowhand! I'd like to do the balloon one day, but Herself is afraid of heights and won't be doing it with me. Perhaps I'll take Seth! :D
What time of day were you there? DTD looks almost deserted! :eek:
Slowhand
15-10-2009, 12:46 PM
Jai was going to take Kyle on that balloon but the day they went it was a bit stormy so they didn't let it go up
Sandra
Yes, they are very wary regarding the weather conditions.
The pilot did say though that a storm was heading our way from the Orlando area so they would probably have to temporarily close down for a while until it passed.
When we went on the trip we were very lucky as we were up there for around 10 minutes all by ourselves as it was very quiet. Normally when more folks are on the ride you only get 3 mins. or so.
Slowhand
15-10-2009, 12:49 PM
Thank you for the photos, Slowhand! I'd like to do the balloon one day, but Herself is afraid of heights and won't be doing it with me. Perhaps I'll take Seth! :D
What time of day were you there? DTD looks almost deserted! :eek:
Herself would be fine Tink, honestly.
Sue is quite afraid if heights etc. but she didn`t have any problem at all.
It was around 11.00am when we did it during our first week over there and DTD [along with the parks] were the quietest we have seen them for ages.
daveann
15-10-2009, 01:13 PM
wow fantastic :)
catrancher
15-10-2009, 01:34 PM
Great pics, Terry!
Carol said I could go on it if I wanted but there was no way she was getting on that thing!
For anyone who might be wondering, here's what it looks like from the outside! Just not all the way up by any means.
Tom (:macwave:... kept my feet on the ground!)
uscwest
15-10-2009, 01:39 PM
Great pictures Terry.
Johnie
15-10-2009, 02:40 PM
Fantastic pictures.
Still not sure that I want to be in a little basket up in the air....though that does look larger than I imagined.
Slowhand
15-10-2009, 02:50 PM
Still not sure that I want to be in a little basket up in the air....though that does look larger than I imagined.
They told us that it could hold 30 passengers. It`s quite a lot bigger than it first appears.
Beccaberry
15-10-2009, 03:07 PM
:WOW:
Isafari
15-10-2009, 03:30 PM
Brilliant photos :thumbsup:
We're hoping to give it a go on our next visit :fingers:
Wow....I've never seen the DTD car parks so empty. We normally have to park way at the back!
Johnie
15-10-2009, 03:38 PM
We got in Oct 6th and the parks were practically empty until the weekend.
josh.p.
16-10-2009, 07:47 PM
It looks brill. Is it still attached to the ground? If so, I think they have the same one in ocean park in Hong Kong :yes:
Love the photos. Thank you for posting.
Margaret
Slowhand
17-10-2009, 08:47 AM
It looks brill. Is it still attached to the ground? If so, I think they have the same one in ocean park in Hong Kong :yes:
Yes it is tethered to the ground Josh.
The pilot told us that it was the largest helium balloon in the US and would continue to soar upwards if it wasn`t anchored down.
daveann
17-10-2009, 09:31 AM
we have one here in bournemouth its called the bournemouth eye
BigThunder
17-10-2009, 03:45 PM
The pics are beautiful! I'm not sure if I will ever be doing this or not as I do have a bit of a fear of heights & it just looks plain scary to me, lol. I would love to be able to see this view & get pictures like you did though so that makes it more tempting :)
Slowhand
17-10-2009, 05:58 PM
I'm not sure if I will ever be doing this or not as I do have a bit of a fear of heights & it just looks plain scary to me, lol. I would love to be able to see this view & get pictures like you did though so that makes it more tempting :)
Don`t worry about it. You really don`t get any feeling of movement as you rise and descend and you are well caged in so there`s absolutely no danger of falling out.
Also if there is even the slightest chance of wind or rain, the balloon will be out of service.
Isafari
17-10-2009, 05:59 PM
Can you move around once in the air for a different view? Are you strapped in?
BigThunder
17-10-2009, 06:25 PM
Don`t worry about it. You really don`t get any feeling of movement as you rise and descend and you are well caged in so there`s absolutely no danger of falling out.
Also if there is even the slightest chance of wind or rain, the balloon will be out of service.
It's a pretty big 'basket' too isn't it? Can't they fit a lot of people in it? So I guess the basket doesn't sway around once up there then. Hmmmm, I may have to give this a whirl.
Slowhand
18-10-2009, 12:14 PM
Can you move around once in the air for a different view? Are you strapped in?
Yes you can walk all around the basket at all times....actually it`s not a basket like in a hot air balloon, rather it`s a metal cage affair, and no you are not strapped in.
There are caged handrails all around with netting above them which I had to poke my camera through in order to get those shots.
This photo will give you an impression of what it`s like on board.
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Slowhand
18-10-2009, 12:16 PM
It's a pretty big 'basket' too isn't it? Can't they fit a lot of people in it? So I guess the basket doesn't sway around once up there then. Hmmmm, I may have to give this a whirl.
I was told that the "basket" will hold 30 folks at a time. As the balloon is tethered, it doesn`t sway at all...it would do if there were windy conditions I guess, but then again, the balloon wouldn`t be open to the public under those conditions.
Isafari
18-10-2009, 12:31 PM
This photo will give you an impression of what it`s like on board.
Thank you :hug2:
So, it's like a ring doughnut :wiggle:
BigThunder
18-10-2009, 08:38 PM
Looks really fun! I may have to figure this in on our things to do when we go back :) It was there this past summer when we were at DTD but I wasn't feeling particularly brave that day.
Johnie
19-10-2009, 01:52 AM
ok it's much, much larger than I thought it would be. If it's not swinging about then I might give this a try.
Beccaberry
19-10-2009, 02:11 AM
Excellent photo of you and your lovely wife, Slowhand :hug2:
Nice shot of you and Mrs. Slowhand! You both always look so happy to be with each other. It's nice to see.
Thanks for the photos. I'll tell Herself and maybe she'll give it a thought! :yes:
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