{"id":8866,"date":"2023-12-06T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nirvc.com\/blog\/?p=8866"},"modified":"2023-12-04T15:02:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T21:02:06","slug":"your-ultimate-rvers-guide-to-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nirvc.com\/blog\/your-ultimate-rvers-guide-to-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Ultimate RVer\u2019s Guide to Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]

I\u2019d never imagined what it would be like, walking through the entrance gate, through a break in the row of festival tents set up on the perimeter of an enormous, grassy field, in the midst of a bustling, joyous crowd of onlookers and participants\u2026 to witness hundreds of huge, brilliantly-colored hot air balloons suspended in the air directly in front of you, some landing RIGHT THERE; some gently bobbing along, at higher and lower elevations, to other destinations\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]

Q: So how can you experience the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in your RV?<\/span><\/h5>\n
A: Your Ultimate RVer\u2019s Guide to Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2024!<\/span><\/h5>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]

1) REGISTRATION INSANITY<\/b><\/h2>\n

According to AIBF (Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta):<\/span><\/p>\n

Intense competition for RV camping spaces in January 2023: The website to reserve one of 1,785 spaces opened at 9 a.m. sharp\u2026 70 minutes later a record was set as all spaces were gone and a waiting list was activated. The website received 2.5 million requests per second\u2026 [and crashed repeatedly]<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I had no idea\u2026 The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta wasn\u2019t on our RV Bucket List, since we\u2019re usually on the East Coast, heading toward Florida in October. The Balloon Fiesta, of course, is in Albuquerque, 1,800 miles away from our winter destination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when our best RV friends, fellow Entegra owners and NIRVC family, called us in January to join in the registration challenge for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend with our besties\u2026 How could we refuse?<\/span><\/p>\n

Registration Day was insanity: Chaos! Between the four of us, we tried to coordinate being on the website, and communicate by phone and text, at exactly the moment registration opened, to grab two RV spaces in any of the six different camping areas surrounding Balloon Fiesta Park: TOTAL FAIL. We did, however, somehow manage to get on a Wait List, for one of the areas\u2026 I don\u2019t even know which lot it was.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the lucky people who were fortunate enough to get a reservation in that crazy process, I\u2019m told it feels like winning the lottery! Fortunately, for the rest of us\u2026 I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but there are other ways and means to get an RV site at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival:<\/span><\/p>\n