I don’t see the posted anywhere yet so here goes:
Two teams are now on a nationwide tour with Carl’s easy chair attached to a cluster balloon assembly and “media” VIPs will go UP. Check out the schedule for the tour and if they are in your area, come out and see the show.
The first event has already taken place in Miami, FL. The local CBS station covered it.
See the video here: cbs4.com/local/up.Disney.Pixar.2.992055.html
Don in Albuquerque
That looks like a lot of fun, but I’m not sure how stable or safe it would be. Hopefully it won’t end up like this guy. The press are going in the carrier, so it must be pretty safe. An accident wouldn’t be a good way to promote the movie. 
Is anyone thinking of attending this event in their city to watch? I bet a lot of Pixarians would be at the San Francisco event. 
Too bad I have class the day it comes to Minneapolis. 
Although, they seem to be doing it early in the day (assembly starts at 2am!) and I don’t have class until 1. Hmmm… I have my last day of 3D Modeling that day. I think it would be a great end of the year field trip!
I can assure you this system is very safe. Please do not confuse the people who designed, built and manage this system with the few idiots who made the news with “stunts”.
I have been a balloon pilot for 20 years and was part the crew for the first test flights of the system last week in Albuquerque. After the initial tests with experienced gas balloon and cluster balloon pilots in the seat, we had others strap in and go up including people who had never flown in a balloon before much less being a pilot. This was to prove that the media people would be safe and secure. Unfortunately, I weigh too much for the test system to lift me so I did not get to fly in it. I would have in a heartbeat.
The system is overbuilt with safety in mind. It is also tethered to anchor points on the ground by several ropes. It will only go up about 30 feet under very tight control.
Additionally, this is a sanctioned tour by Disney/Pixar. Do you really think they would put anyone at risk while on live local and national TV?
I will be at the Phoenix and San Diego events to join the crew.
Don in Albuquerque
AirRageous, I was only joking, but thanks for the safety assurances anyway. Hope all goes well with the balloon tour.
I’m volunteering for that when it comes to Dallas, and I am super excited.
Welcome AirRageous! Wow, that looks like a fun ride! I like the picture at the bottom of the page where you see the guy’s legs dangling from the chair thousands of feet in the sky with the ground spread out below him. Must be scary and beautiful at the same time!
I heard the ‘Danny Deckchair’ myth before Rachel, but I didn’t know it actually happened! And that guy had no control over the situation! 
At least he can tell folks that he lived his dream of flying, in an accidental sort of way.
“I heard the ‘Danny Deckchair’ myth before Rachel, but I didn’t know it actually happened!”
“Armchair Larry” was lucky to survive back then. Cluster ballooning is now an acccepted form of gas ballooning. But there are still just a few who do it. It is very expensive. Just the helium gas to fill the balloons cost $1000 to $2000 for just one flight. There is no practical way to reclaim the gas for another flight and the inflated balloons are too big to carry around or store.
Another guy who does a lot of cluster ballooning is John Ninomiya. His website is http://www.clusterballoon.org
I had the previlige to fly my hot air balloon alongside John at an event in Roswell, NM a few years ago.
thewisecookiesheet, I hope you have a great time in Dallas.
BTW, here is my big toy that I fly:
AirRageous: Thanks.
And that is one awesome toy. It’s very awesome.
Haha, that’s so cool! I was wondering if anyone was going to do something like this! 
Thanks for the information, AirRageous. And I love your hot air balloon! I dream of going in one of those one day. Welcome to the boards!
There are some great pics posted for the Miami event. The Florida Marlins mascot even got to go “UP”! What a lucky fish!
[url]http://www.clusterballoon.com/UP/East_Coast_Tour/Miami/[/url]
I just volunteered to help out when it is in Minneapolis next week! Hopefully I’ll get a call back from them!
By the way, nice air balloon, AirRageous!
Edit: It’s official! I’m helping out! May even get to ride it myself if there is time!
Pics of the Atlanta event are posted here:
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannisuskin/sets/72157617314511131/[/url]
Hannahmation, Have fun and we expect a full report from Minneapolis with pics. I hope you get to fly. And tell Beth “Hi” from Don.
Jeff Snyder who is a commercial balloonist in Vermont http://www.BalloonVermont.com
has posted a video of his mother flying on board the “UP” Cluster Balloon in Miami, Florida. Enjoy!
[url]"UP" movie promotion in Miami with my Mom in a Cluster Balloon - YouTube
Please note the tether rope system and the attentive crew. Most of the crew are experienced balloon pilots themselves.
Thanks for sharing those links, AirRageous! I most definitely will give you guys a full report with pictures! And I’ll be sure to tell her ‘hi’ for you. 
Wow! That looks like fun! Well, I guess it’s time to stop procrastinating and (while it wouldn’t be as fun as cluster ballooning) and get on a hot air balloon.
I’d love to see the reactions of those who went “Up”. Oh, the puns.
There are some good reactions in these pics from Cincinnati, Ohio.
[url]http://www.clusterballoon.com/UP/East_Coast_Tour/Cincinnati/index.asp[/url]
“Service Unavailable”. D=
Have fun at the Minneapolis Up tour event, Hannahmation!
Yeah, Up would have to be Pixar’s pun-niest film yet.
Pics from Atlanta are now UP.
[url]http://www.clusterballoon.com/UP/East_Coast_Tour/Atlanta/index.asp[/url]
I have been in email contact with the West Coast Tour group and they “promise” to get their pics posted soon. Their tour is going great.
And they also mentioned “students that showed up from a computer animation college department” at the Chicago event. Anyone on this forum among those students?
Those photos are so cool! It looks like so much fun! Thanks for the link, AirRageous. This event is perfect to advertise Up.