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Review - "Fantasy Ballooning"

We had the opportunity to take a balloon flight with Fantasy Ballooning. Here are a few details of the great time we had.

Starting early in the morning we met Doug Gantt and his son Ryan, as well as several other balloonists for coffee and wind condition testing. Doug is the owner of Fantasy Ballooning. After everyone was ready we all traveled to the launch site which on this morning happened to be near Splendid China. There were about 13 balloons flying that morning and the field was full of balloons, there crew and passengers. All the balloons were very colorful and being right there with them as they inflate is awesome. Definitely better than seeing a picture of a bunch of balloons.

We helped Doug and Ryan put the basket together and get the balloon stretched out across our section of the field. Dora and I held the cables on either side of the balloon out of the way as the balloon was inflated first with a big fan and then with the burner. It quickly rose to an upright position and we had to hold the basket down to keep it from floating away before we were ready. We then put Matthew (our son) in the basket and Dora and I jumped in along with Doug.

Doug's son drove the "chase" vehicle while we flew. A quick check of the radio between the basket and vehicle then we were off. Doug held the burners until be lifted off the ground. The breeze took us up just clearing some beautiful vacation homes. It was quiet and we felt like Mary Poppins just rising over the roof tops.

We quickly rose to a nice altitude and could see for miles. It was a totally different perspective in the air looking down at all the homes, lakes and resorts. We passed right over our 4 bedroom villa. The only sound we heard was the when Doug held the burner from time to time.

We drifted along with the other balloons, passing over another balloon that seemed to want to touch the roof tops from where were looking. I guess they wanted a close look at some of the resorts.

We eventually crossed over 192 and 27 and Doug started looking for a place to land. He has been ballooning for quite some time and knows good places to land. Crews from all the balloons talk via radio to help each other find the best landing spots and know what the air currents are like.

We spotted a pasture where cows were grazing and decided to land there. After we landed Doug's son radioed to say that the gate to the pasture was locked so he couldn't get back to the balloon. Another balloonist radioed that there was another field just a little further and that we should try for that so we took-off again and floated just a little bit to another field where we landed again. This time we were able to get the vehicle back to the balloon so we could get it packed up. The landing was fine.

Before deflating the balloon we took some pictures for our memories. Matthew watched as we helped Doug and his son deflate the balloon and pack it up. It didn't take long at all. Then we all loaded into the vehicle and headed back to the meeting spot. Then they broke out the cheese and crackers as well as champagne for the traditional celebration of flight. After this it was still early enough for us to have a full day at Disney.

Doug and his son were great and we had a wonderful time. If you've ever thought about taking a hot air balloon ride I would highly recommend Fantasy Ballooning. They are very accommodating and we should know because Matthew with his disability is a load to handle but they were more than happy to help him fly. Matthew kept asking for the next 2 weeks afterward when he could get his own balloon to fly. Give him a call at 877-744-7359 and tell him Mark & Dora referred you.

Thanks Doug, you're the best.

Also, in case you're interested, Doug also does "Corporate" Aerial Balloon Promotions for Corporate advertising across the country with "HAM-LET" - the Worlds Largest Flying Pig! Check it out at www.whenpigsfly.bz

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