Total waste of time & money! There were a handful of hot air balloons inflated briefly & tethered. The only illumination of the balloons was the from the flame. Laser light show was just some laser beams randomly being shot in the sky. The "food court" was one food vender selling chicken tenders & the line was a mile long. read more

Do not Go to this festival! We were there yesterday balloons got up at 7 pm only for 1-2 meters and no weather warning was sent! Now they dont want to refund saying it did go up for 1-2 meters! Who goes to balloon festival to see balloons up in the sky only for 1-2 meters and still tied with the rope to the ground?! Laser show is little light in the sky with music nothing more! Total disaappointment! read more

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They are the worse. They promote a show of quality that they in no way give. This event is all about a money grab. Stay away from these people. Save your money and don't waste your time. They will laugh at you when you are leaving complaining to them that the experience was horrible. They shoved thier shoulders to me as to say 'O well'. Ballon show even ended early because of rain perceived 30 miles away...that never happened. Smh read more

Balloon Festival - Ballon deflating because of supposed coming rain with clear mid evening skies - Festivals Near Me - Carefree, Arizona

This was the second Cave Creek Balloon Festival I have been to... and its the last. Just reading the other people's reviews of this event says it all. I got there just before 4pm, and staff seemed to be very organized, they directed me to handicapped parking and had a cart waiting for me as I could not walk far. Picture this as I will come back to this later. The event was held at the bottom of a 1.2 mile road, the road in question was a two lane road with a little strip of desert for off road parking. Which is where i was directed to park. So in this narrowish road was.. People walking to the event Shuttle buses carrying people to the event golf carts carting people to the event and handicapped parkers. We waited in line and paid $8 to get in. walked around maybe.. 6 stalls selling 'stuff' 12 food stalls 3 alcohol stalls and a corner bunched up with inflatables. In the middle was just a ton of people walking around and some camped out for the oncoming balloons. I was surprised that within 2 minutes we had walked the whole event! Not wanting to stand around and listen to a high school band or wanting 'festival food' we decided to see what the resort had to offer. The resort was nice, we walked around, looked at the pool and inside the opera house where Leann Rymes will be next month. Then after a quick something to eat and drinks we headed back to the crowds. I originally thought that the balloons would be in the roped off area that the organizers had kept people away from, however I was highly amazed to see the small fenced off area where the people were huddled together was also were people were setting up these balloons. You could not move, volunteers and balloon teams were holding people back from their balloons as they were laid out on the floor and being blown up. We did brave the crushed in crowds to get through, take a picture of the bumble bee and head back towards the front of the resort to where some balloons were still being laid out. (less people). Or so I thought. All of a sudden in front of 100s of people moving through the event a balloon was inflated sideways along the ground covering a train of people who was walking. We rushed to get out of the way and there was a wall of us stuck huddled together between a steep slope of landscaping, a 20ft wall of oleander, the onslaught of people rushing into the event and the balloon wall that had just inflated. This was so badly planned. We finally made into through the area with the balloons while being shouted at by a lady who was trying to control the out of control balloon... she was pissed that we were standing there... we had no where else to move to lady we were trapped. It was all too apparent that these balloons were too close to trees, people, flag poles and buildings for anything good to have come out of this event. And just as we were watching in horror as the one balloon could not control itself between a flag pole and the wall of oleanders... one balloon escaped out of control. Narrowingly missing people, fences, trees and buildings the one man crew of spiderpig went off into the wind and the dark desert night. Never to be seen of again. I have seen reports that there was a helicopter sent after the balloon and the one man was found bruised but fine. At in instant all balloons came down.... onto the masses of crowds i might add, people seemed to be fed up, cold and headed out of the entrance. We decided due to the number of people heading out that it was time to get out of their and try to beat the masses before people realized that the event was officially over 3 hours early. As we headed out we felt for all the 100's of people that were queuing up still being charged $8 to get in. As for myself, we could not find a golf cart to take us back to the car in handicapped. 100's of people queued up for the 2 small buses to take them back to their cars. I hope they made it safe. Now it was getting really chaotic on Mule train, small streams of people were still walking from Cave Creek Rd, down Mule train, there was 100's of people on a mass exit, the shuttle buses were trying to turn around but were unable to because of the mass of people, people who live on that road were driving like crazy to get home or go out. And now me trying to navigate around streams of cars and people in a very badly lit road. To top it all one of the shuttle buses tried to overtake the people and cars and went on the wrong side of the road and nearly hit us instead of allowing people to move through and make way for it. Best of all was the police not allowing our trail of traffic out of Mule Train to direct the traffic on the main road and keep it moving. So people, cars and buses were at a standstill for a good 10 minutes which caused more chaos. read more

Balloon Festival - blury photo i know, happened quick and we had to get out of the way! - Festivals Near Me - Carefree, Arizona

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I wasted $140. We had 2 $50 tickets for fast past but there were no lines in Gainesville, fl. I did not get to even see the laser show must less take a ride in the balloon. Someone who saw the show the day before said the balloons barely went off the ground. They just want to rip you off. Do not waste your money!!!!!! I was very disappointed. Not worth $20 each. read more

It is advertised as an all-day event. Got there at 12:30 thinking I'll grab the mid-day show but the parking lot guy says the hot air balloons don't start till 5:30. No where did I see that said. If I had young kids maybe I would have stayed but not willing to give up the afternoon read more

Please read the reviews before you go. Not at all what is advertised by balloonshows.com, and the pictures are misleading. Totally unorganized, overpriced, and disappointing. Save your time and money, and go somewhere else. They could not do anything right, a million cops that could not direct traffic. Tickets are high, they charge parking, and there are no services for the tickets. You pay for food trucks. The vendors were hidden in the corner and got no business. Yes the lines were long but there was NO glow, and if you want a ride, pay a REAL balloon operator to take you up. These guys were bozos and purely incompetent. They did not care about anyone at this festival read more

Drove from venice to see. opening band, the lead singer should not be lead singer.... and they played allot. the 2nd soloist should have opened. he was good. lines for food were very long. very small amount of exhibitors. the balloons never went up (5-6 of them) and it didnt seem very windy, 6-10mph. the laser light show was really horrible. maybe if the balloons went up they would show on the balloons? ring of fire? where. just all around horribly managed. they made allot of money and they should have had some kind of backup entertainment. cant get your money back. just dont.... read more

Terrible event. We have been to other Balloon Festivals and really enjoyed them so I was excited that this one was happening right here in Arizona. Well long story short they didn't even do the balloons because "unfortunately we can't control mother nature." What the heck? It was an absolutely beautiful Arizona desert night. The weather didn't get anymore perfect. The rest of the event comprised a few blow up toys for the kiddos, about a dozen food trucks and a single music stage. The band was great, but felt bad for people who bought VIP tickets and had to sit behind the stage while general admission got to sit in front. lol read more

First and last year attending this event. Now, keep in mind, we all had a discussion before opting to take in this event that we would encounter some lines but we were mentally prepared for the adventure... We found some free parking near the event and opted to stroll down the street rather than pay anywhere from $5.00 - $20.00 to park, yes some places were gouging people for $20.00!!! The general admission line was long but we only stood there for about 10 minutes. It cost $15.00 per adult to get into the event so that went smooth. Arrived in time to walk around and discover that unless you were a family with small kids that enjoy blow up slides and jumpy houses or you want to stand in ridiculous lines to get a balloon animal or free face painting, there's nothing else to do except sit in the grass a listen to music, seriously, NOTHING else to do. We spent $15.00 to sit and listen two bands but okay we thought we'd make the best of it and had high hopes of hearing some great music. We walked by a long line which was to get tickets to purchase food/drinks then saw more long lines at the food booths of which there were very few. Now, they advertised online that this event would have various food trucks, we saw zero food trucks at the event, NONE so false advertising there folks. Thank goodness we had the smarts to go eat and have a beer and water before entering the event, otherwise, we would have gone hungry and had nothing to eat nor drink OR we would have spent almost 2 hours in line to get food/drink tickets and then more time in line for food or drinks! The country band, Junction 10 was great, best part of the event. We put down a blanket and sat in the stage area and listened. They also advertised that high sitting lawn chairs would have to be placed in an area further away from the stage but that low profile lawn chairs would be allowed. Come on people, lets be polite and not bring in your big-ass lawn chairs and make it impossible for those of us who brought a blanket or low profile chair to be able to see the stage and bands. Of course, the event did not enforce the high-profile chair rule and people sat right in front with their high chairs making it impossible for many patrons to be able to view the show, again false advertising by the event. One of the people in a group next to us went to get food (they had already stood in the long lines when they got there to get tickets) and said it was a long time waiting just to get them. We thought we'd gauge how long it took them to get food and if we wanted to leave our spot in the grass to stand in line for tickets then food. He was gone for 1 hour and came back with 2 sandwiches - WOW! Then the balloons started blowing up and what another disappointment. I've been to balloon events around town and this was lame! Only a few standard balloons I think there were 6-7 of them, not the really cool ones of animals, faces, etc...just plain ole balloons (with the exception of 1). Then this female emcee appeared on stage and would shout over the speakers "lets flicker the balloons" at which time the balloons would blow the gas and fire into their stagnant balloons for a few seconds and that was it, woo-hoo! Then the band we had high hopes for, an Eagles tribute band was on stage touted online by the event to be "one of the finest eagles tribute bands in the country"... NOT and yes folks, once again, false advertising. Seriously, did the event planners actually listen to this band beforehand?!?!?!? This band known as South of Winslow was a complete joke! They paid no tribute to the Eagles because they sounded nothing like them. They were a disgrace. They were out of tune vocally, they missed numerous guitar parts in the songs and played every song off key. We decided that it was time to go and kiss our $15.00 per person good-bye and go get something to drink since we'd been sitting there for a few hours with nothing to drink or eat! As we left, the lines to get onto the shuttle buses were - you guessed it - LOOONGGG and people were not too happy. For any of you reading this review in 2017 trying to decide if you should go, save your money and go do something else. The event planners touted online for the 2016 event that it was better with the "Whats New This Year" tag line. Don't fall for it. The event is poorly planned and executed. After 7 years, this should be running much more efficiently and they haven't figured it out by now so save the aggravation and your hard earned money! read more

Went to the Cave Creek Balloon Festival last night (2018) for the first time and found it very disappointing. We bought the VIP tickets and were hoping for a grand time. Not. the food was just mediocre with the best thing being the salad. No shade to be found and the balloon fest did not happen because they stated it was too windy. They should have offered a return ticket to see the balloon fest - to reimburse the people who paid to see the balloons instead they did not. I will not recommend this to anyone. Poor management and I know they cannot control the wind but they were paid a lot for a no show. They should have reimbursed people. Never again. read more

I'm not certain that I could add anything to what has already been written. I was really disappointed...no...I was pissed, for all the reasons mentioned here. Even the music was horrible. But it makes me curious what the Event Planners has intended this event to be!?? Ironically, my pictures from the event are just beautiful! Being able to be there, under the balloons, with so many of them right there to experience was cool. I hope they can build on that in the future. Unfortunately, now they will have to work twice as hard to get me to come back. read more

7PM We waited in line to get in.... 7:30PM we made it in to the event to find that we had to wait in another line to buy tickets to purchase any food, beverage, or ride since none of the vendors took cash. They don't even tell you how much stuff costs. So, you end up buying more tickets hanny u need and cannot get refunded... We showed up hungry... We stood in line to wait for food. We get to the person taking orders who informs us that there is a 45min wait. We order our food... Then find out people have been waiting for an hour. We wait longer. It's now 9:30PM (no exaggeration). We watch the fire works show while we are waiting for our food... Mind you, event closes at 10PM. We literally spent the whole time there waiting in lines. Horribly organized. The easiest shortest wait was for drinks. (Those guys rocked their booth).... COME ON CAVE CREEK. We paid $20 to get in to spend $40+ waiting to get food & beverages... To leave a half hour later. Get it together please. Hopefully you figure it out for next year, it was a total rip off. My husband and I tried to think of an event that was more horribly put together than this, and we could not. #worsteventever #ripoff read more

To the Organizers: How about something besides country music? Or at least limit the country music and add maybe Motown or a 70's band. Also how about tethered ballon rides. read more

Having attended this event several years ago, our family decided to make the trek up to Cave Creek and enjoy the festivities. What a terrible mistake. The festival opened at 3pm we arrived at 4pm. Parking was confused at best. Once you parked you queued up for the bus in a line that was 400 people deep. The line moved surprisingly fast which was a huge relief. What we realized in the bus ride was that we should have just walked - it wasn't nealy as far as we expected, as we thought it was back at the Rancho Manana resort, but it was much nearer. 25 minutes waiting wasted. Finally we were in and the money extraction tools were hard at work. First there were the inflatables with the usual 'ticket" game. But the lines were hideously long. We only purchased a handful of tickets, thank goodness, but after waiting close to 30 minutes to jump in a bounce house for 3 minutes, the remaining tickets were wasted. We followed the "rules" that said no outside food and drink. What a horrible racket. This year they implemented a "script" purchasing. Where you had to purchase tickets that were worth $1 each (minimum of $10) to purchase food. The food lines were slow moving and many of the vendors were running low on food. Plus since outside food was not allowed in you were STUCK if you wanted to see the balloons. There were no In/Out privileges so if you tried to find food at another source you were not allowed re-entry. Selections were limited (hot dogs, kettle corn, fry bread, tacos, and B-B-Q) and there was definitely not much in the way of healthy cuisine. Expect to stand in line for 10-15 minutes to purchase tickets then expect to stand in line for another 30-40 minutes to get food. Many people just gave up and went back to the scripts stand and demanded their money back because they couldn't get what they wanted. Let's also mention that many people waited in the food lines and then got to the front and were informed they needed tickets, not cash to get food. Wow - the looks on their faces. Problem could have been alleviated by allowing families to bring in picnic dinners. Now, the bathroom situation......this was quite likely the worst lines were 40-50 people deep..... at an event that is attracting children and an older community, wow.... could they have been any less considerate? I believe there were 6 potties - 3 at either end of the festival. The line took 30 minutes to work through. Next problem, did the entire festival have but 1 trash can? People were wandering around for The best part is the balloons. It is great to be so close to the actual workings of the setting up and blowing up. Children think it is really awesome. But with so many people in bad moods it was hard to muster up smiles from anyone around. So in sum we spent 4 hours at the festival and almost 3 hours was spent waiting in lines. We last attended the festival in 2010 and it was completely different experience. I should have read the Yelp review for 2012 - because 2014 was a train wreck too. We will be taking this off our list of cool things to do. read more

Very disappointing. They oversold VIP for $80 and had to wait for an hour. Fireworks malfunction and only later 15 mins. Never again.!

we paid $80 for the VIP this year and also went last year. This year was much better getting into the vent. Food was great. The bad: They oversold VIP. lines were very long to get drinks and food. Hard to find a seat. Fireworks were OK, only lasted about 15 minutes. Getting out was the worst. Had to wait almost an hour for the shuttle to taken us to the parking lot. Last time we attend. read more

I've read the reviews and I don't necessarily agree. Yes there were lines, but go anywhere and tell me where you don't wait in line. As far as those lines were concerned, they moved quick. The kids had fun on the jumpy stuff and waiting for food and drinks really wasn't that bad. Seeing the balloons was tons of fun and excitement for my boy. The fireworks were cool. Go to any festival and you'll be paying a lot more for less. It's a good family atmosphere and I had no complaints. Bathrooms were plenty and never ran out of toilet paper. Successful festival if you ask me. read more

I agree completely with Patrick K. This was a dangerous and pathetically organized waste of my time and money from the moment we eventually arrived. "Park on Cave Creek Rd and wait for event shuttle " said the event literature. We did and then wait for 45 minutes being passed by full shuttle buses packed like cattle...at that point give up and walk aimlessly for a mile on a dangerous stretch of highway. Clueless staff, badly organized ticket lines, more security than I've ever seen at any event...think they were expecting a rough crowd or just a really irate bunch of regular people? Then the real dangerous stuff began, this venue was way too small for balloons, check out the video on y o u tube where the balloon breaks its tether, and a 1000lb basket with burners and propane tanks heads for the crowd then performs an emergency take off with part of the envelope on fire!!! Heard the guy landed safely, he averted disaster. read more

Terrible! Just terrible! Poorly organized from the minute you drive up to the place. Where do I begin? The layout of the place is in NO WAY set for a festival for hundreds of people. The "convenience" shuttles were not-so-convenient, as there were only 6 operating for the HUNDREDS of people needing pick-up and drop-off. (It was faster to actually walk back to our vehicle.) The ticket line was convoluted and chaotic; there was no order to the line & one of the cashiers didn't have any one's so he motioned for people to get in another (so-called) line. The balloons were never blown up, as it was apparently too windy to inflate them (although the wind was minimal in my opinion). It's like - Duh - don't have a balloon festival in a place known for high desert winds and is in no way set-up for hot air balloons! The vendors sucked. The band sucked. The employees/volunteers couldn't answer any of my questions. About the only thing good to come out of the event was that their beers were decent and you get to see the grounds of the Carefree Resort. Other than that? No Thank You! read more

I have to agree,(for the most part), with the previous post. The event this year was terrible. In regard to the parking, it was downright dangerous. Due to the sheer number of people, we were forced to park almost a mile away from the venue. although apparently, there were "courtesy shuttles," there was no signage to indicate where to be picked up, and we subsequently choose to walk. This decision proved to be a bit of a risk to our personal safety since it was dark, with no street lights or alternative lighting. We HAD to trek down Carefree Highway, which STILL had all four lanes open to vehicular traffic. Ok, organizers, I can almost understand the need to suspend the balloon glow due to high winds,(we'll discuss that more in a minute), but to actually put the safety of not only your patrons, but the unsuspecting motorists at risk seems irresponsible of you. If you don't have proper infrastructure in place, perhaps you shouldn't hold the event, regardless of how much money you potentially stand to profit!. Parking/general safety issues aside, I thought it was rude not to have any type of roadway announcements to tell potential customers that the main reason for the event was cancelled. We had to wait until we reached the ticket gate,(after walking over a mile) to be told there would be no balloons. I found this abhorrent. If electronic roadway signs can be used to advise me of potholes ahead, they darn well can advice folks that there's no reason to keep walking to a non-event. Come on organizers, put some thought into it. You had to suspect that it might have been a possibility that the balloons couldn't be lit up, or do you expect me to believe that you're really THAT incompetent? I know Carefree/Cave Creek is trying to promote it's community as a local event center, but I think they need to decide whether they want to be the idyllic little cozy, semi rural, community they seem to be, or become a burgeoning suburb. This is the second time I've tried to attend an event in this area only to be disappointed with an unannounced last minute cancellation. SHAME ON YOU! read more

Under the circumstances the festival did the best they could. What every one forgets that it was seasonally cold and the WIND was gusting to 40 mph. The ballon crews did a comendable job to keep everyone safe. We had a couple of beverages and enjoyed the music and surroundings and had a goog evening. No one can controle the weather so my sugestion to the people who were upset is to go with the flow. read more