Loop 034 printable

Volume 2, No. 10. June 14, 2002

Air forth
The Philadelphia Zoo was looking for a way to give guests a different perspective of the zoo.

How about straight down from above?

This weekend the zoo will launch, literally, balloon rides. It will be the first zoo in the world to feature a Lindstrand HiFlyer, a 126-foot-high (38-meter) balloon filled with 200,000 cubic feet of helium. Only three such balloons, manufactured in Oswestry, England, are operating in the United States. Moored to 40 anchor points, the balloon, bearing a painting of a giraffe and orangutans peering over the treetops, will rise to 400 feet (121 meters) while a tour guide points out zoo and Philadelphia landmarks.

“When you go up you have a wonderful view of the zoo and its inhabitants,” said Antoinette Maciolek, the zoo’s director of public relations. “You also get a wonderful view of historical things in Philadelphia. We think that’s an educational opportunity with the balloon. I read the script recently and there were things I didn’t know.”

The desire for a new revenue-generating transportation system grew after the zoo took down its monorail in 1998. COO Joseph Moore struck on the idea for the balloon about 18 months ago, Maciolek said, but bringing the vision to fruition has not been smooth sailing. “We had a number of approvals to go through, internally and externally,” she said. “Would it be feasible to have something like this at a zoo? We had to make sure we had the space. We wanted to make sure the balloon was going to be tethered in the right areas.”

The balloon, launching from a plaza measuring one acre, can carry up to 30 people. Rides are available even to people not visiting the zoo at a charge of $15.95 for adults and $12.95 for children 2-11. Tickets that include zoo admission are $22.90 and $19.90. The rides last 15 minutes.