The Zamperla Balloon Race is a tilting, circular motion

amusement park ride An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

manufactured by Antonio

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

S.p.A. The ride makes its way up a structure, and at a certain height, it starts tilting.

Designs

Gondola designs

Twelve balloons with gondolas hold up to 4 passengers each. This ride also comes in 8 balloon and 12 balloon versions. There is also an essentially identical ride with pirate ships instead of balloons. Seat belts and locking doors provide safety. At some installations, a rider may exit themselves, while in other ones, an operator must let them out.

Similar designs

The

Chance Morgan Chance Morgan Coasters, Inc. is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. It was formed on June 14, 2001 when Michael Chance, grandson of Chance Rides founder Richard H. Chance, acquired the assets of roller coaster builder D. H. Morgan ...

company manufacture a version of the Balloon Race, which is similar except the balloons are much bigger.

Samba Balloons

A smaller version of this ride called Samba Balloons is also in existence. The ride does a similar motion, but the 'balloons' can be spun by riders. This version of the ride is often found in areas of

amusement parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, and at

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

Some locations

Number of balloons or pirate ships is in

parentheses A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

. *Big Easy Balloons (12) -

Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the ...

. *Ballons (8 Samba) - Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. *Balloon Race (8) -

Idlewild and Soak Zone Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is a children's amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as a ...

moved in 1995 from Kennywood where it lasted for four years. *Balloon Race (8) - Knott's Berry Farm's

Camp Snoopy Camp Snoopy is a ''Peanuts''-themed area for children at several Cedar Fair amusement parks. History Camp Snoopy was first introduced at Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and op ...

in Buena Park, CA. *Balloon Race (8) -

Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–2000), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts, a western s ...

Agawam, MA. *Balloon Race - Waldameer Park, Erie, PA *Flying Ace Balloon Race (was Boo Boo's Balloon Race) (8) -

Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park located adjacent to Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. However, it has an of ...

*The Pirate's Flight (12) -

Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's f ...

in Ohio (themed to pirate ships instead of balloons.) *Samba Balloons (8) -

Victorian Gardens Victorian Gardens was a seasonal traditional-style amusement park that is set up at Wollman Rink in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, from spring through fall each year. Description The facility, which started operating in spring 2003, ...

at Wollman Rink in

Central Park, NYC Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. *Up, Up, and Away (8) - Six Flags Over Georgia. (2004-Present) *Weather Balloons (8 Samba) -

Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It ...

Darien Center, NY. (1996–Present) *Balloon Race (8) -

Santa's Village AZoosment Park Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park (formerly known and colloquially referred to this day as simply Santa's Village) is a theme park in East Dundee, Illinois. It was originally built by Glenn Holland, who also built two other Santa's Villages ...

East Dundee, IL (1992–Present) *Up, Up, and Away (10) - Enchanted Kingdom

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, Laguna,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(1995–Present) *Balloon Race (12) - Mega Parc

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, Quebec, Canada (1988-2017) *Balloon Race (8) - The Flambards Experience Helston, Cornwall, UK. *Balloon Race (12) -

Flamingo Land Resort Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo, and resort located in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1959, it has been owned and operated by the Gibb family since 1978. History Flamingo Land Resort was established in 1959 when a ci ...

Malton, Yorkshire, UK.

References

External links

*
Zamperla Rides
Amusement rides by type {{amusement-ride-stub