Chicago Balloon Rides, Hampshire

This has been a bucket list item for years! The rescheduling was a bit painful, the first reschedule link came within 12 hours of the cancellation, the next 3 I had to email, text and leave a VM. They sometimes don't get back to you right away, but it seems like a little operation. The morning of the flight, they sent me a text confirming the flight. The time on my original confirmation was a couple hours off when the actual flight took off. I was rescheduled 3 times (4th time we flew) in almost 2 months. I was afraid I wouldn't get to fly this season since there were a while bunch of cancellations. Call into the flight hotline a few days or weeks beforehand to see around what time your actual flight will take off. Even though it's called the 'sunrise' flight, they do not fly at meteorological sunrise. Things I would have done differently for my mid October sunrise flight: wear boots, the ground is dewy and my socks got wet when walking the first 20'. If you're tall, wear a hat, the burner gets a bit warm. Wear a jacket your don't really care about. We landed in a mucky corn field and got a bit muddy. Things to keep in mind: make sure you're comfortable standing for 40 min to 1 hour in the basket. Not recommended for claustrophobic people. I think our basket was at capacity with 6 people and the pilot. There's barely any room to turn. Try not to go dehydrated; I was afraid I might need to pee so did not drink mich but could feel a dehydration (or maybe it was an altitude headache) headache coming on. Probably not the best adventure for someone afraid of heights. When you look directly down, the view is breathtaking but could be terrifying for those that don't like heights. The turn to get into the field is really really easy to miss. It's not labeled at all. Thankfully, it's easy to turn around. The pilot was super chill and the ground crew was very helpful and friendly. The flight was smooth and enjoyable. The silence brought a special kind of serenity that is especially unique. Would recommend this experience at least once in a lifetime.

Great experience. Staff was extremely helpful and accommodating Would take this trip again. Beautiful views and an overall wonderful adventure.

Excellent fun experience!!

Awesome!