Up Up and Away at Kentucky Kingdom has been in operation since 2015. Designed and manufactured by Zamperla from their Samba Tower balloon ride line. Riders climb into a hot air balloon that soars into the sky and then allows you the option to make it spin or not. Great for families and anyone with kids that like a decent thrill.
Up Up and Away at Kentucky Kingdom Experience
Up Up and Away is a kiddie ride but doesn’t sit inside of King Louie’s Playland. Instead, they put it just a minute walk from it. Pass up Tin Lizzies but before Scream Extreme. This one gets a fair amount of traffic but the line doesn’t get crazy. So there is no need to prioritize this ride over another. Riders must be at least 42 inches tall to ride alone. However, anyone under 42 inches can ride as long as they are accompanied by an adult rider. A seat belt will keep all riders safe. Once the ride attendant has checked all restraints, the fun can begin!
Once the ride begins the ballons will begin to circle around the structure as they all start to rise up the tower. The rate at which the ride spins is pretty mild, but kids have the option of spinning a wheel inside their balloon that will make their own balloon spin much independently. The ride will rise up a decent amount of feet for a kid’s ride, stay up there for a second. Then come back down at the same speed. The ride will last around a minute and a half. Once the ride has come to a complete stop the ride attendant will give the all-clear. Once that is done, everyone is good to remove their restraint, and exit the ride safely.
Up Up and Away at Kentucky Kingdom: The Good
We love rides like this that put kids in the driver’s seat. Inside each balloon is a wheel that kids can spin if they want an intense ride. This means that you can sit back and have a nice relaxing ride, or you can make the thing spin out of control. So no matter your comfort level with spinning, everyone should be able to ride and enjoy this.
Everyone can get in on the fun! The height restriction here means that as long as the kid can sit up on their own, they can ride with an accompanying adult. This means no matter what, everyone in your group will be able to experience this together. We will always give extra points to the kid’s ride that lets the adults get in on the fun!
When you travel to many parks you will find the same batch of kids rides from city to city. However, this one is pretty unique. Like the classic Condor models from long ago but in a kid-size model. We like to see new kinds of attractions, so families that travel will allow their kids to ride something new as well.
The Bad
Not much to complain about on this one. We wish it had some theming to it but kids won’t care about that. About the only complaint, we can offer is even though adults can ride this it isn’t exactly a comfortable experience. You sit pretty tight in there, and the seat belt isn’t made for Ice Cream lovers. However, this is a very minor complaint. This one is for the kids and it is well done.
Final Verdict
Up Up and Away at Kentucky Kingdom is a great addition to the park. It offers a really fun experience for its target audience. If you travel to theme parks then the fact that this one is unique will be a plus as well. But the fact that just about everyone can ride is our favorite thing here. Not only can they ride, but then they get to choose the intensity of the experience. Complaints are very minor and barely worth mentioning. Because of these reasons, Up Up and Away gets an eight and a half out of ten.
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Rock-A-Bye Swing at Kentucky Kingdom