Characters in Flight Times?

[DonaldDuckUSA]

Hi Fellow Disney fans!

DBF and I are thinking about maaaybe taking a little weekend get-away to Disney and thanks to fellow intercot users, we bought the Characters in Flight groupon!

We're not too crazy about DTD and since we're only going to be in Disney for the weekend, we'd like to arrive shortly before the balloon departs and not spend a lot of time lingering.

I seem to remember a marquee by the attraction giving departure times, but I am having difficulty finding those times online. All I found was 10 AM - 10 PM. Does it launch at intervals or anytime? Do I have to schedule a time or can we just show up during one of the departure times? Thanks in advance!

[jnfr2424]

This is going to sound funny but it depends on how the wind blows
We went tonight(Feb 18) and the balloon was closed all day due to high winds they opened up around 6:30 and was only letting 10 people at a time go up and they wold not sell advance tickets unless you were the next group going on board
Just show up and see if its flying or not you have from 10am to midnight
I still have one more groupon to use let's see what happens tomorrow

[Melanie]

This is going to sound funny but it depends on how the wind blows

Not funny at all. I've said it many times here, and I'll say it again - that balloon was grounded more often than not when I was there or passing by over the past few years. It's grounded with any bit of wind.

Good luck finding it open!

[Polynesian Dweller]

All balloon rides have the same issue, the wind. They can only fly when the wind is below a certain level. And that's not just wind at the surface but wind aloft. It may be reasonably calm at the surface but blowing hard 200ft up.

That's why they don't sell advance tickets and don't publish times. Just go on a day when the wind is light and hope its flying. The wind tends to be less in the early to mid-morning and late afternoon (less heat from the sun energizing the atmosphere) so try at those times.

[Tigger68]

We were in Disney last week and had the Characters in Flight Groupon but never got to use it. The balloon never took off any of the days we tried. There is a number you can call to check to see f it will be flying, but sorry I tossed it before we left Florida.

[faline]

Not funny at all. I've said it many times here, and I'll say it again - that balloon was grounded more often than not when I was there or passing by over the past few years. It's grounded with any bit of wind.

Good luck finding it open!

I agree. On our last trip, we stayed at Saratoga Springs. If the balloon went up, we could see it from our resort. It was very windy and chilly during that trip (Sandy went by off the coast) and I only saw the balloon up once towards the very end of our stay.

[DonaldDuckUSA]

Thanks! We've been trying to not over plan and over schedule our weekend trips anyway. I guess we'll just continue to go with the flow. Or, in this instance, we'll go where the wind takes us I don't like it, but I'll try it. ;-)