Z-Balloon Adventures-Iowa's #1 Balloon Ride Company! - Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Naomi P.

The hot air balloon ride was a complete disappointment, overshadowed by the owner’s clear lack of care for his customers. It was obvious that his primary motivation was profit, with little regard for providing a safe, enjoyable, or memorable experience. From the poorly maintained equipment to the dismissive attitude toward safety concerns, it became clear that the focus was on cutting corners rather than ensuring the well-being and satisfaction of the passengers. The experience felt transactional, devoid of any personal touch or genuine effort to create a magical moment. It’s disheartening to see someone prioritize money over the trust and safety of the people they’re supposed to serve.

M T.

Danny doesn’t offer refunds only rescheduling. We were instructed to meet at a Casey’s gas station where he then met us and 2 other random individuals. I found it very strange to meet at such a random odd location especially with the risks of potentially having our vehicles towed, hit or messed with while being unattended. The experience over all should be about a hour in a half long with being in the air for an hour of that time but this experience took over 4 hours long. We then all drove together in his van to a park, we also had to listen to a recording device that went over expectations etc. the auto recording explicitly stated unpacking or repacking of the hot air balloon itself shouldn’t take longer than approximately 15 mins in total. The Owner Danny gotten on his phone a few times to look at past photos etc. while driving. Danny was so adamant on stating multiple insurance statements regarding seatbelts or how hard it is to be insured for a 15 passenger van and so much more. We could’ve all met at this park as it would’ve been more comfortable and convenient. While waiting at this park for a hour in a half I was bit by bugs more than I can count. I actually have a bad reaction to bug bites where I swell easily. We even relayed this message to Danny’s assistant as we were putting the bug spray on. Danny unprofessionally stated that “the bug spray tastes good too” trying to be funny to eat / drink it which I didn’t find funny when I am unexpectedly getting bit up from being in this woody park area for too long. I was also getting hot / thirsty from the sun beaming down & waiting for as long as we unexpectedly did. Danny made a few alarming statements that I personally felt uncomfortable with & wanted to hurry up to get this experience all over and done with. It’s not always about what you say, but how you say It. Such as “I was talking / telling a story so let me finish, shh be quiet, I have a gun and will shoot you, that rope will kill you in 3 seconds, downing homeless people and how he feels unsafe when refilling his propane tanks, you can wait in the van if you don’t listen or obey what I say when I say it” & a vast majority of stories. In fact the whole 4 in a half hours with Danny was nothing but stories on stories. Wether it’s a past customer / client he had propose on his balloon and how “it wasted a good balloon ride” or telling us the past peoples names he has had, joking about throwing someone’s mother in law off the side, stopping to have side bar conversations with everyone including a drone guy that he had recently just met the day prior and got him to film us. I was told the drone guy isn’t being paid for those footages, but we’re supposed to pay for the go pro footage that can only be transferred to a Flash Drive or a CD for $25. The individual price rate should include a free pic / video which the whole group thought so as well. We were informed that he was out of stock on flash drives / CD’s. I had dinner plans that had to be canceled due how long setup & take down times took. Not only that, but my partner also had an assignment due this same night we & we were cutting close arriving back home with. Danny also rudely tried photo bombing my partner and I private photo we wanted to take alone. To top it all off Danny stated he does not land in field crops, cattle pastures or by electricity poles & wires, but landed in a farmers field crop as he basically ran out of gas and had no where else better to lead us to. We were all asked to help take down & pack everything up which I & others respectfully refused. The landing portion was super sketchy as we border line tipped over and skidded across this farmers field. It would’ve been much more convenient and smoother if they had another vehicle to do the picking up / drop offs while the others set up and take down. Once we finally reached our vehicles Danny offered us all warm sparkling cider as a celebration that wasn’t quite amusing in a kid like party cup. We were also given a printed out certificate with our names written by sharpie on to them.

Mariah J. F.

Danny has been so patient with me for YEARS while I tried to coordinate a day to come fly. Today was the day! We’ve been in contact so long we’re talking about sending Christmas cards 😂 The ride was unforgettable. When they say HOT air balloon ride they mean it..that mf was HOTT. everybody was dripping in sweat but we got some awesome pictures and videos to look back on and the experience was WELL worth the wait. If you take anything away from this review it’s that IT’S WORTH THE TROUBLE. Oh and that Danny and the crew are amazing! Thanks for always staying in contact and the random facts you always shared on the phone the many times we’ve called back and forth lol. We had a great time ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

XdotEXE

Danny was very inappropriate and tried to put his hands on my 12 year old daughter in order to “calm her down”. When my wife and I asked him to not do that, and that she can come to us to be comforted, he got defensive, snippy and overall upset over the fact.. do NOT let your kids or any women you care about on this ride!

Nermina D.

Edit

9 years later and still no ballon ride. For the record, we tried rescheduling several times and even had one ride set up during the balloon festival and they still said they couldn't fly that day. Plus my husband is the most calmest person ever so if anyone was telling it was probably not him 😂. As a business, I would take a step back and look at all of your negative reviews and try to do better instead of declining that you are the common denominator. Also, yes, my card company said no refunds which is fine, but the money went to waste and we never got a ride, regardless of how many times we tried rescheduling. **

7 years later and I still have never received my money back or the balloon ride. They kept rescheduling due to weather and never got my money back since I signed a contract stating NO refunds, the card company declined my request of getting my money back. Stay away from this company! As you can see the one star reviews speak for themselves.

Eric F.

Made a 5 hour drive for this balloon ride and it did not disappoint. Views were incredible and it felt like such a team experience with everyone getting involved from set up to tear down of the balloon. We had to make an emergency landing because one of the people riding in the balloon with us passed out (she’s fine). Danny was on point with giving us all the direction we needed to make it safely back down. It all depends on the weather and you gotta be up for whatever Mother Nature brings you on the day you decide to go. Danny and crew made it fun and we felt well informed about protocols. Loved the “champagne” ceremony at the end 🥂

Cheers to A FEW soft landings lol
And many more for you guys! Thanks for the ride!

William ?. B.

Danny was quick to respond to my 1-star review like he was waiting for it. The only thing he said that was untrue was me crying and my wife yelling at me? Speaks volumes about his character, which is trashy, rude and fake. Look anywhere online, he is the worst. I was 3 minutes late, they were gone and he did tell us to be there on time. There you go Danny, not going to lie, my fault, life happens. Sounds like it would've been a disappointment had we gotten to go up anyway. Called him and there was nothing he was willing to do. Moral of the story- READ THE OTHER REVIEWS and don't be late, it's all about him and money, period. I see your 33 years worth of 5-star reviews Danny- not. Should've known better.

Eric C.

Kinda the worst people ever to exist why be there if you hate it jeez kids cried they cursed the entire time not only this they lie when you book and double book