Disney's Up Inspired Hot Air Balloon Stunt...I Wanna Ride In That

I’ve seen pictures of this Up movie inspired hot air balloon off and on since back in 2009, and every time I see it, it makes me happy. I finally decided it deserves a place on Bit Rebels since I know many of you like hot air balloons as much as I do. I’ve never taken a hot air balloon ride before, but I’ve always wanted to go on one. It’s been on my bucket list for a long time. This particular hot air balloon is extra special though since the hot air balloon itself was designed to look like a bundle of balloons, and the traditional basket at the bottom was replaced with an inflatable house.

If you click over to Exclusive Ballooning, you can see more pictures and read the incredible story about this hot air balloon which was commissioned by Disney to promote the movie a few years ago. According to that website, the big balloon took six months to build and had 540 individually sewn balloons on it (each with 13 panels).

Although it looks beautiful, it was apparently very difficult to operate. Since the pilot couldn’t see out of the inflatable house to navigate, there was a second balloon flying close by whose pilot radioed to the first pilot to help him fly blind. But that is not the most incredible part of it all. This hot air balloon flight included one of the greatest balloon stunts of all time. It flew underneath the Tower Bridge in London. The day after the stunt, the inflatable house was replaced with a basket, and the Up inspired hot air balloon gave rides to people who wanted to give it a go. How fun! This is one of those things that I wish I could have seen up close and personal. Although, the pictures are fantastic!