Balloon Portraits on the Field

The balloons launch only in the mornings. Mass Ascension is at 7AM every morning of the Fiesta's nine scheduled days. The evening Balloon Glow is a static display, not a launch. There are no launches after 7am except for private balloon rides and competitions.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® is not a fast event, it takes all morning or all evening. You simply cannot show up last minute and expect to get in. Most of that time you are waiting either in line or in traffic. On average, it takes approximately 2 hours to enter the Fiesta. Security clearance, bag checks, traffic jams and long lines are expected. Our start times have been carefully designed after years of trial and error. It is very common for traffic to completely gridlock in the hours before launch, and you would not want to be stuck in traffic while the launch is happening!

Dates are first come first serve. We cannot guarantee an available slot in the event of a missed session. In order to remain on schedule for the benefit of all clients, our sessions begin at the posted times on the dot.

You should give yourself at least 1.5-2 hours from the moment of leaving your home or hotel to arriving at our checkpoint, so usually 3:30-3:45am. Anticipate gridlocked traffic, long lines at the gate, and a huge mass of people to walk through while in the park itself.

In order to adhere to our event schedule, all clients should arrive no later than 3:45am at their Park & Ride location for the mornings and 4:15pm in the evenings. If you miss this departure time, it will be your responsibility to travel to the Fiesta on your own and meet us.

Yes you can. To book us exclusively, you will want to purchase all four available slots for either the morning or the evening using the VIP buyout option. Dates and slots are first come first serve and we tend to book up at least two months in advance.  You can also reach out to us to have us set you up a VIP for a specific day.

We unfortunately cannot offer refunds in the event of a balloon ascension or glow cancelation. This is due to the fact that events are not officially canceled until the last possible moment, long after we've already arrived at the park. The "Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®" reserves the right to either delay or cancel a day's events at the last moment without warning. 98% of all cancelations are weather related. If it raining, windy or foggy, the balloons will not launch.  You will get photos out of your session regardless of conditions!

It's going to be cold. VERY COLD to start. The average pre-dawn temperature at the park is at least 40 degrees or lower and it will remain that cold until after sunrise and after the balloons have launched. We recommend dressing accordingly with heavy coats, long pants and comfortable, warm boots or shoes.

Festival policy expressly prohibits crowd control of any kind for both safety and attendee benefit. We will do our best to minimize others in your shots but we cannot guarantee it.

For 2026, Park & Ride does not run on Monday-Wednesday.

No. Ponic Photography LLC does not provide or service Balloon Rides. For official balloon rides, please visible Rainbow Ryders.