The Great Park Balloon Ride in Irvine is a wonderful, family friendly attraction for all ages (with adult accompaniment for those under 13). Best of all, since it’s sponsored by FivePoint, the ride is completely free! Make sure to check in at the park office first, where you’ll sign waivers online and obtain your tickets. Then you can head over to the balloon. The line can get a bit long, and it seems 10-12 people are allowed on the balloon per ride, with each ride lasting about 10 minutes. With a beautiful view of the city, as well as the open-air thrill of riding in a balloon, the Great Park Balloon Ride is a must for visitors and locals alike.

10/10 experience! First come first serve so make sure to come early to get a spot. Best time to go is during sunset!

We did not go on the great balloon but it was a pleasure to look at while we were watching the kids soccer ⚽ tournament. Next time we visit the Great Park, we want to go on the Great Park Balloon, the waterpark, and explore the area.

Can't ask more for this free ride experience! Perfect view of Irvine when the balloon rises to its maximum height.

If you go 6:30 pm on Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings to sign in for a 10 minutes free balloon 🎈 ride . If you are lucky, then you can get in line for the baloon ride .You might have to wait an hour before you can get on the baloon . You can see the view in the Irvin city up in the sky at night there .

Best place in great park. Too much wait times during weekend. Overall good for one time and it’s free.

Worthwhile ride, but you need to wait in small line to get liability waiver (paper or online), sign it for everyone and then they will put your name on list, and tell you to check back in an hour. Once your name comes up, you receive a ticket to stand in line for another 20 to 30 minutes to board the balloon. However, there is a chance that you might not make the last departure if you start too late. We started process around 5 pm and ended going up after dark...still worthwhile, but probably more fun while still light out.

The balloon ride lasts about 10 minutes and the ride would give the best view during the night. My family and I loved the ride. The slots get booked real fast. And the wait time would be some where between 1 to 2 hrs. You should be able to register yourself for the ride at least 2.30 hrs before the closing time. We registered for the ride and during the wait time we walked around the park to explore it. This park has a lot of interesting stuff that you don’t even realize that you were waiting.

Great park! My son loves that carrousel. I took some pictures of the balloon… so nice! Next time I will go there 🎈

I was here on Thursday, August 19th. The Balloon ride opens at 10am and they start boarding people 30mins before each ride. I signed my waiver online and checked in at the Visitor's Center. You have to have a boarding pass to ride the balloon. I was on the first group to ride the balloon. The views are amazing. It was a smooth ride up and down. I recommend it. Plus, it's free to ride and free parking. I suggest you park in Parking Lot 3 (closest to the balloon ride). Have fun and enjoy.

It was such a great experience, The ride was a whole experience and it is great for the whole family. 🤗⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ They had Hot chocolate and snacks at the vending machine every worker was polite and Happy to see us which made us feel happier. Would recommend to families with kids just for a day or night out.

Amazing experience for the entire family and friends! The activities around this attraction let the time pass fast while waiting for the ride. First, go to the visitor center to sign the waiver and waiting list. As soon as you receive a confirmation text, go to the boarding line and show your pass, and enjoy the ride.

So much fun!!! Been wanting to do this for a while and my Boyfriend finally brought me. A little bit of a line for sure so plan to come early (wait like 25-30 min) and bring a sweater. It gets chilly even on a summer day.

What an EXPERIENCE! I went during fall season on October, when they decorate it as a pumpkin. And to tell you it was a thrilling ride would be an understatement, the guide said it takes about a minute to reach the peak, but it feels like it keeps going up and up and never stops, but once you reach the top you are faced with an amazing view of the city. If you haven't been then I suggest you visit, especially when it's dark out.

What a wonderful place to spend the day with the kiddos. The balloon ride was free, just had to be added to the waiting list. The carousel was three dollars. And the food lab, wasn't really nice place for your kiddos to explore.

We were in line almost ready for our turn and the wind picked up so they canceled all rides for the evening. Which we understood, but no one even told us they were done, just left for the evening 😐

Really fun, sprawling park with a nice playground, sports fields and visitors center with vending area. They sell merch including kites and bubble wands in addition to food and drinks.

It was shut down because of atmospheric winds.

It was great. Took an hour in line and nothing to do or look at while waiting but it was a great view of the city at night

Great views. Get there early to get on the waiting list. Arrived at 10.30 am on a Saturday. Waited 1 1/2 hours. Free ride was worth the wait.

Needed to make a restroom break and stretch my legs from a long drive back and stopped here. I signed the wavier online and checked in to see if I could get in. Unfortunately all the day time slots were booked by the time I got there before 2pm however they made an exception since I was a solo rider. Made my way over and there were about 10 people in front of me but many small groups. They loaded two groups in at a time and it took me about 40 minutes of waiting til I finally got on. It was a relaxing experience and I would love to come back for an evening ride!

Nice view and relaxing ride. It requires a walk in reservation 30minutes before each session. Therefore, we arrived at 6:30pm to take the ticket for the 7pm session. After that, they messaged us when the ride was ready. We were up at the ballon for around 5 minutes, lucky enough to see the sunset!

Well maintained and open area. Plenty spaces for kids to play with.

Unfortunately when I went it was closed due to weather conditions. There was no way of knowing this before I drove out. However, this balloon ride is free you just need to fill out an online waiver!

Pretty cool spot, the air Ballon was nice. You're able to see the whole city, car football and basketball field etc. Only thing I didn't like was that it was short, it was like 5 min. Wish it could've been longer atleast 10min but can't complain since it's free. Highly recommend for you to go with your family and kids, they will love it

Loved the ride. Make sure to get there with spare time. You will have to wait in line to get your pass.