It was my first balloon ride. The flight operator & the crew were courteous & decent at their job. Randy in fact kept us amused throughout the ride. Though at times he was little too talkative :) But no objections. He was doing his job the best.
The ride experience underwhelmed me.
At $130 per head, i feel the ride is a little costly. More so because we didn't have a lot of space to move around. 10 of us, scattered in 4 "couple compartments". And we had to share a compartment with another couple. I think it should've been strictly limited to 8 persons.
Also, the gas flame was bothersome at times.
Pick up experience was good. They waited for 5-10 minutes. That helps when you have to be there by 6 AM !
The champagne breakfast post-ride was much-needed. I could appreciate it more if it didn't have so many sugary stuff. But not to underrate it, they did well to provide us breakfast.
Randy didn't have to ceremonize the safe landing , by having us kneel down to sing balloon flight song ( don't emember what it was) , followed by kissing the drinks glass. Too melodramatic.
Not to blame Randy, but the location of the ride isn''t that picturesque too. Above the Sonoran desert - no charm. But that's the price we pay for being in the sun state :)