Festival of the Balloons
Review so when you search and add “Reddit” as one does you can learn from my mistakes.
TLDR: make sure you check the schedule of events thouroughly! We paid $25 to visit a public park and a loooong walk
Me and my family came by the festival Sunday afternoon, thankfully it was only $5 tickets this year. Parking was $15, the road attendants were not allowing through traffic and later told us they are not allowed to tell people about residential parking because residents are prickly about it (on the website it’s accurate).
The kid zone was included in the ticket, but I didn’t check closely enough on the schedule of events to see that Sunday it was not up. All the balloons were in the morning, no sign of ANY balloon activity. Fair that that’s a morning activity, but I thought there would be…something? Educational booths, photos, a display, idk.
The carnival was up, but we didn’t want to spend ~$7/ride, so we ended up just having a heck of a walk and playing at the playground as many of the other parents came to the same conclusion as us and it was bustling. Cook has a great playground with many ADA options.
I learned my lesson, don’t just look at what the ticket includes, check the schedule! And don’t assume parking shuttle is a courtesy! I’ve had this event on my radar for a few years to visit, and will definitely check the calendar if we ever venture out here again! Don’t be spontaneous like me! Ha