Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning Review

Understanding that weather is the key factor when determining if balloons will fly. If its raining, balloons don't fly. If there are thunderstorms within the flight radius, balloons don't fly. If it's foggy and the balloons can't see where to land, balloons don't fly. If its too windy and there is potential for out of control landings, balloons don't fly. Had a great time with the family.

Aweful aweful experience. Getting out of the parking lot was horrible. People directing traffic were idiots. It seriously took hours to get out of the lot....,after waiting hours for NOTHING. No balloons because of weather. They could have at least inflated them even if they couldn't get them off the ground. Complete waste of money.

Been here before, now it has more entertainment, last day today.

The balloon sight was alright, but not really that much balloons. Parking, food, drinks, and the rides was way too overpriced. Paid $30 just to ride the rides for 6 times. Way too overcrowded. Spent 1 hour just to get out of the parking lot. Never coming back.

Nice balloons and lots of giveaways. However exiting after the event was disorganized and took over an hour to leave the parking lot of the venue. They needed better traffic control and staffing.

Well worth the 4:30am wake up! I just wish more of the vendors were open when they start letting people in at 6am. The balloon launch is really an incredible thing to witness and there's lots of free stuff! Will have to do a night time launch next year!

This was the Best...we went this past Saturday...Well organized...lots to do all ages...Kids Magic shows... Concerts...Lot and Lots of Free Stuff...About 40 Balloons went up...very cool ...Fireworks...Easy out to main road...worth the$$

Paying 35 bucks to enter the festival venue was ok but whatever you buy inside are way too overpriced. There was no free activity for the kids. The children s rides cost 5 usd. Parking is not free. I was not awed at all by the balloons up in the air. I won t return next year.

This is a craft fair with raffles not a balloon festival. The balloons are only there at 6am and 6pm. That s it. If you arrive at any other time, you will not see any balloons. If you do go at 6am or pm, you will be charged $10 to park, see the balloons for 10 min (weather permitting) and you will spend 1 hour leaving the parking area which is a grassy field. It rained the night before I got there and it was a muddy mess. I would not recommend going to this.

The way this parking is set up and the traffic control for the festival is horrible.
The local police do nothing to speed the process of parking.
Absolutely horrible experience and I have not parked the car yet.
WE WILL NEVER ATTEND THIS EVER AGAIN.
Horrible job all around.

I am so disappointed this year with the NJ Balloon Festival. I have never seen it like this before. In the past years it's just gotten more and more packed and I feel like they were so disorganized and did not prepare for thousands of people to come. It took forever to get there because traffic was insane, 202 was bumper to bumper and It took us over an hour and a half to leave the parking lot tonight and it because we cut the front of the lines otherwise we would still have been there. The food lines inside were insane. Most ATMs were out of service or had error messages on them. Out of the 2 hours we spent there we spent an hour standing in lines. Not worth the $50 plus $10 for parking plus all the other money we spent inside. Sorry for my rant but I'm so annoyed. Plus people were just so rude there too. We definitely won't be coming back for a long time. I remember when the balloons would fall in our back yards and it was a fun family friendly event and now it's just out of control.

It was my 1st time and we had a wonderful time, but should have done a little research. You are allowed to bring chairs and umbrellas, which would have made waiting for the balloons easier. Thankfully they had a misting and a couple of shade tents. The balloons were slow to start but once they started lifting off it was great. There is plenty of seating on the lawn for the concert, was Lighthouse, and you could hear them perform all over the airport.

Nice to go to the 1st day to see the balloon launch but way over priced.

I've gone to this festival every year since I think I was in the womb. I absolutely love going, it's the one thing my family still does together. If you buy your tickets early enough it's an even better deal. For those who have never gone, you buy a general admission ticket to get in to the event, you pay for parking, and then you go and walk around to all the different tents and whatnot and get free samples of drinks, bags of chips, candy, gum, whatever they have. I would bring an empty backpack or duffel bag because you can usually get a lot of stuff. Then there are little knickknacks and other things to buy including food and drinks. Bring cash, sunscreen, and some blankets or chairs to watch the balloons take off!

Right now we are sucking at the parking for 2 hours. They charge us $10 for parking, and $35 for entrance. Now we can't get out. There is no body who can solve this problem. I'll never come here again. Worse experience ever.

All day family fun! Such a great time, especially when the weather is cooperating.

Came there for balloons. Had to wait in line forever to fly one. Rather pricey for 2 min in the air.

Fun place! But wear some shoes you won t feel bad getting dirty

It's a great time. Balloons go up around sunrise and around sunset each day, but for all the hours in between there is a ton of stuff to do. It is like a giant fair with rides and booths and food and entertainment. They even have events like a 5k and various other competitions. You can go up in a tethered balloon or you can pay more and even go up in a regular free-flying balloon. They have live music from some known bands and the balloons are truly special to watch.

This was a nice summer experience, the take off of the balloons is a nice watching. There was enough restrooms, bit garbage cans was too far away and filled to top. They don't allow food to the festival area but should have some decent food choices. Most of the vendors sell junk food at high prices and long lines. One thing I didn't like is as soon as you enter the area, there are the carnival toys which makes your day harder with kids. The lawn area was large enough to accommodate the visitors. The fireworks was nice to watch. The logistics was good in means of transportation from our car to the festival ground as well going back. Coming here full, and bringing some snacks with a foldable chair will make your festival worthy.

Been going for years. Always a fun outing to attend!

What a great family outing. Great entertainment, balloons and fireworks. Prices for drinks and food expensive but you can find inexpensive food at the Quick Check booth. Loads of freebies and grounds kept clean. Plenty of port potties. Parking may be difficult.
Get there early and stay late.

Better managed than last time (2018). But still too pricey entry ticket($35) and it offers nothing in return. Warren has the similar balloon festival for free entry at the same time.

Always a great time and the Beach Boys were the absolute high light!

Super commercialized, poorly organized parking and tent layout. WAYYYYYY overpacked for the area, long lines. I wasted 70 bucks for no reason :/.

The festival was a lot of fun and the vendors gave some nice samples and small trinkets. The balloons were awesome.
We had VIP parking and someone blocked us in. We had a person in a wheel chair and had to make other arrangements. Then we waited 2 hours to get our car out. No one seemed to have a solution.
The person who blocked us in drove a White Honda Accord MDX and had a VIP airport pass. They should have known better.
There needs to be more organization in the parking arrangements as we were not the only ones blocked in. There was no parking lot monitor. If there is a minimum of spaces; then there should be a system whereby you give your keys to a lot attendant.
If you deliberately block someone; you should get towed.
The police were very emphatic but could do nothing on private property.
The current parking situation is a lawsuit waiting to happen if an emergency .happens and one cannot is trapped.
This incident ruined the night for us.

Went Friday July 28th 2017.
The festival itself was cool with alot of vendors and things like that.
But the balloon festival itself was disappointing. The schedule said that there would be "up to 100 balloons" but I only saw maybe 10-15 total. Was not what I expected.

The balloons were AMAZING... everything else, not so amazing! There's nobody emptying trash cans... garbage is overflowing everywhere. And parking was an absolute nightmare... took close to 2 hours to exit. No organization whatsoever.

One of the treasured summer festival of hunterdon county

Great experience (when weather is good) there's no ease of pain when there's rain/high wind 10+ mph; you just miss out. Buying early may not be a good idea even for discount

Tons of freebies, normal high price food vendors as usual, we did the vip breakfast which served a breakfast buffet. Served under a tent the food is alright, but watching balloons without crowding and pushing was nice and worth. Also serves alcohol too.

They also have concerts and magic shows and other entertainment.

Glad this thing is in NJ. Family or couple this place is a great idea.

A lot of things to do. A ton of free samples and choices to eat as well. Parking is $10 and $35 to get in. Standard security so can't bring in water, but again plenty of free samples to satisfy your thirst. It does get crowded, especially later. Balloons are flown in morning and evening on or about 6:30 PM conditions permitting.

The experience was good, all the different vendors, free samples, added to the experience. Once the balloons were getting filled up it made for great pictures, and was a nice experience. The fireworks at the end just made it a perfect summer night trip, seeing the balloons, fire works, and they even had rides for the kids.

Good experience to watch all the balloons go up, easy parking going in, over 2 hrs to get out.

If you haven't been there, you must go at least once in your life. However, few things to keep in mind.
1) Buy tickets few months ago from site like Groupon. I got mine for $30 for two people.
2) Try not to eat there since the food and water is a bit expensive. Moreover, you'll be standing in long line to buy it.
3) Parking is not free. I paid $10 this year.
4) Getting out from parking is worse part. You'll spend minimum 45 minutes to get from the parking lot.
5) Lots of free stuff if you arrive a bit early.
6) Don't forget to bring your chairs and umbrellas on sunny day.

The balloons were nice but it definitely wasn't worth the money or drive. My house is 10 minutes away and it took us an hour to get here because traffic is awful. The event was disorganized and I won't be coming back. The show was delayed because they said traffic but I believe it was because they want more money. I brought friends from Florida and feel awful to put them through such a bad experience.

Its not 100 balloon as they claim.. its around 50-60.. the atmosphere, free samples and food is good..
They do not allow any beverage or food inside except for a baby..
Make sure you carry a big bag to collect all the samples.. it gets really hot..
Carry your chair and mat..
Make sure to buy tickets a month in advance to save some money..

Was a fun summer fair, but very expensive. $35 to get in. $10 for parking. And then you have to pay for children's rides ($6 for one token, and most rides are 1-2 tokens). Food is also exorbitant...So to do this cheap you can go see balloons by just tail gating in the parking lot for $10. A lot of people did that...And bring bug spray.

Lots of vendors I would love to see more balloons. And a good tip buy the tickets in advance so much cheaper. If you buy at the gate is like $35 per adult.

First time there a few balloons didn't make it and the food is very expensive bring your life's savings if you go

Great family fun. Everyone was so friendly. Plus lots of free raffles lol

Super expensive to get in and then they charge for parking. All to be able to shop what equals a craft fair. Hoping the balloon launch will be spectacular enough to warrant the price to spend money inside.

I came from NYC and the location was pretty far but the drive was very well worth it. Parking was a bit distanced from the entrance of the festival but not too drastic. The event has a lot of sponsors that offer many free gifts. they also have a lot of shops that sell a variety of things. I was able to see the balloons getting inflated and watch them ascend. To actually ride on the ballon is approx. $300 which is why i didn't get in one but the ascension was beautiful and if you look at the photos i attached to this review you can see how beautiful the view is. I would visit this place again.

Always fun! Usually hot as heck and this year was no exception. Thank goodness for the cooling tents, and vendors handing out beverage samples. Street fair food that I love, at street fair prices which I don't. Very family friendly, and easy to spend the day. I'll be back in 2020 for sure.

$250 per balloon ride? Are you freakin kidding me? Doesn t even include admission. No thanks. Rip off.

Seeing the balloons take off was pretty awesome and unique! However, other than that, this has all the trappings of a state fair - lots of people, overpriced food, and heat!

So comfortable so pretty so quite super organized. A beautiful place to spend w/fam. Our first time there and we Loved Every Minute Of It. Can't wait till next time. Believe Me You Wont Regret It. Make sure you bring water, sunscreen etc.. wear comfortable sneakers as well. By Belinda Eric

Overpriced, then charged extra for parking, then left us trapped in the parking lot for 3 hours. Find a nearby park and watch from there, save money and aggravation :)

I was pretty excited about going to this festival due to the fame it has around my area. I was expecting hundreds of balloons and some other additional attractions, but it was not as I expected. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful but way too expensive. A family of four has to save some money to be able to spend the day at this fair. I thought the admission ticket included parking but it was a big fat NO. So, on top of being expensive to get in, parking is additional. Live music was pretty good and the area was clean and well organized, but once again the main attraction sometimes doesn't even work. If it is too windy, they cancel the Ballooning festival for safety reasons.

Went Sunday evening, and the amount of balloons was highly disappointing. There were maybe 20 total which were all very sparse, so the amount in the sky at one time was only a handful. For $35 a person, I felt it was a complete ripoff.
As you can see from my pic below, it's a far cry from the one that's the main pic when you google this event. Maybe it depends on the day, either way, each day should get the same amount.
PARKING NOTE - please be mindful of where you parked, a lot of people weren't able to find their cars, there are minimal signs and no markings. It's easy to get turned around once all the cars start leaving. I saw a lot of people just wandering around aimlessly with their key fobs trying to locate their vehicle.

Many awesome balloons .. well organized .. lots of food options typically found in fairs and carnivals .. good option for a fun summer day out ..

Overpriced to be a captive audience. They don't even let you bring in your own water. Plus there were no hot air balloons. Never again.

The good: Great 2018 launch of balloons (Sat pm) thanks to good weather and right wind direction! Concerts and fireworks are fantastic as all! The bad: Traffic is horrible getting to the parking area, partly due to the staff directing traffic was terribly inefficient, no optimization training at all. General admission tickets were expensive $35/adult and $15 for my 4 year old; they didn't include any rides or F&B... Riding on the hot air balloon is quite pricey ($250pp for a short ride), compared to at other countries, but perhaps normal for the U.S. Tips: check weather ahead of time, bring a blanket to sit on, bring a beach umbrella for shade, bring water for kids, eat at Costco nearby before coming to the festival! ;)

This is one of the great wonders of living in New Jersey. It's a must do every summer. Bring your camera.

Quick Chek event was well organized and a great experience

Cool event, but a little disappointing, and unethical water practices.
Pros: The event is basically three things. 1. a fair, with an unusual amount of booths passing out free samples of their food/beverage. You could walk down the main isle and get plenty of snacks for free. There are also booths with occasional shows, like a magic show. 2. A music festival, with occasionally some pretty big names taking the (single) stage. 3. A balloon launch, which may or may not happen depending on the whether, but is planned for twice a day at both 6:30am and 6:30pm. There's lots of cool balloons, and their operators are themselves competing for $15,000 cash in a "follow the leader"-style contest. Finally, there also seems to be a few carnival rides now, but not much.
Cons: 1. Those freebies mysteriously disappear around eating time, and as it turns out, the booths were instructed to stop handing them out after 5pm. Make the rounds before then. If you go around this time, you may even be able to snag an entire box of samples, as they try to get rid of them in time. 2. You can't get anywhere near the festival stage without yet another paid ticket, as the area in front of it is fenced and gated. You can watch from afar though, if you grab a good spot amongst the outer crowd. Otherwise, you might as well just listen. That said, this year they let anyone in the gated area freely as the encore started, so you might catch that. 3. That balloon "mass ascension" should not be interpreted as "all at the same time", which is what you probably pictured. Actually, they're usually more than a minute apart, and never get too high or do anything particularly impressive in the air. They just kinda go up a bit, and then drift to one side and land. Disappointingly, they landed before the rest had even launched, so you don't *actually* see "100 balloons in the air" simultaneously. Oh, and again, none of this could happen at all, if they determine there's even the slightest bit too much wind. And don't make the mistake of thinking you'd be able to *ride* in this balloons, unless you already paid the extra $300 or so to go up in one.
More caveats: Parking is yet another separate fee, of course. (But there doesn't seem to really be any other way to get there.) If you leave after it ends, expect to be at a standstill for a long time when trying to leave the parking lot. They even block off lots of roads after you get out, so you won't be able to follow your GPS nav for a while after.
Health-critical: if you're human, or especially if you have a condition where you moreso need to stay hydrated, you will find that there is no way to do fulfill this basic human need without going beyond the original cost of admission. I believe this is unethical. You see, no outside food or drink is allowed, as is typical - but they even force you to dump out your water bottles to enter. Assuming this was just for safety, I asked where we can refill our water (not "purchase water") once we got in, and the bag checker said there was somewhere beyond the gate. So we dumped our bottles and entered: but after going to various levels of management, we were eventually told there was simply no such place to hydrate - not even a water fountain - and we could only purchase the small water bottles available in the QuickChek stores, $3 at a time. Not prepared for this, we couldn't even plan to temporarily leave the event to return to our car for water, since we had dumped it all out. In light of this, there's just no good reason to bring a reusable water bottle in with you at all. It's not like they'll let you fill it directly, even for money (though we did so anyway by dumping ice in it). A shameful anti-environment, anti-humanitarian practice. There is usually nowhere to throw things out anyway, because the trash cans are all spilling over.

I have read numerous reviews about this event, which were negative because of the parking facility and the time it takes to pull ur car out of parking after the event. But I guess they fixed that issue this year. The event was very well organized and the price at the gate was 35$. They had so many hot air balloons ascesioned. Probably around 100 of them. Its fun to be around that time. You will enjoy the event for probably and hour or 2. Coz there is nothing much to do before the balloons are ascesioned.

Very poorly organized! Seemed like just a big commercial money making operation. This 'balloon festival' had nothing to do with hot air balloons, it was just some generic carnival stuff at a small airport. Overcrowded, overpriced, and no info available! No announcement when they decided not to fly the balloons either. I understand the weather didn't cooperate, but no announcement system and no partial refund program, etc. What a bait and switch operation...

Very racist people over there I would not be visiting nor will I be suggesting others to visit if anything I would advise for you not to go unless you're white and agree with racism

Undoubtedly the best hot air balloon festival in New England

This was on my list since 2016. This year also I would have missed it, had it not for the newsletters. And I made no second thought and went ahead with bookings.

At the festival, it was just amazing. Ample parking, arriving early ensured parking right near the entry point. They do not allow outside food or drinks except if you have allergies.

Right after entry was PlayStation truck and my son did not lose a second hopping in the fun. I wandered around to enjoy the vendor offerings. It was awesome, I got useful freebies to tackle scorching heat; like sunglasses, small fan and plenty of drinks all around.

Next came the family fun area and some other covered performances. Those were well managed with plenty of space. Right outside the family fun tent was most amazing setup trampoline . There were 3 superb athletes doing all sorts of acrobatics on the trampoline, totally unseen and unbelievable acts.at about 4:30, tethered rides started and we had first glimpse of how these balloons look. Those are a good cost effective way to get a feel of riding in these balloons.

At 6:30, the center stage shifted to the sky. A normal balloon, a bad guy shaped one, another normal one and within 15 minutes the sky was filled with all sorts of balloons. Amazing scenes unfolded for next 30 minutes. I was overwhelmed with the sightings. The timing is equally good. If you can afford upwards of $250, plan ahead and book a ride, I bet it would be awesome.

It was SO expensive to get in . $35 a person. Unheard of.

Balloon ascensions were very nice...however it was $35 to get in, plus $10 for parking. Stood in multiple beer tent lines, only to be told they didn't have what I wanted. Food lines were equally ridiculously LONG. But the absolute worst part was the wait to get out of the parking lot (2 hours). This festival is clearly not organized well and this is one Readington Township resident who will NEVER be coming back.

Chaotic parking.disorganized dangerous exiting
Rude unprofessional staff.would not return.

We have fun every year we go. Great concert and value.

Super fun time for all ages! Rides, lots of vendors offering free samples, and shops with all types of products from gourmet dressing and salt to hand made wooden decorations. And of course the balloon show is great especially when they do it with the sun setting behind the balloons!

Amazing amazing!!!!! Love this place. Theres a huge tent that sells butterflies when you walking the gate.concerts are great. Lots of shopping and things to do for the kids.

Do not support Balloon Fest until they appropriately handle the amount of people that are coming.

Thor Solberg and the surrounding locations and roads are NOT suitable for this festival anymore. It causes congestion and traffic problems for the local residents. Some roads and locations become off limits for parking temporarily by local police, but there's just way too much activity for as small of a location this comes to.

I really wish I could post a photo of the bus that was parked in the middle of the road/yellow close to my home (SWEET I COULD)

It sat there for 15 minutes only to not even go anywhere/board anyone...and then park on the wrong side of the road. There was no way to get around it due to the people surrounding the bus in the middle of the damn road. It's ridiculous.

Balloon Fest is great, except for the people that live around it that are just trying to go about their normal lives.

Getting out of a parking lot was a total disaster!!!

The Festival was fantastic! However, leaving the parking lot was horrific! After waiting for 2 hours, the cars finally moved but no one directed traffic and courtesy went out the window. No one was willing to give the an inch of space for a car to get into a moving lane, cars inched closer and closer to the brink of dangerously causing an accident! At this point we started regretting coming to the festival :( Its surprising that after 35 years of this festival, exit is so chaotic.

It was a great experience. There was free snacks. Lots of lawn space to sit and enjoy. There was fireworks after the concert and the balloons were amazing.