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Closed-toe shoes? Check. Bags on the ground? Check. Phone in airplane mode? Check. Why all this prep? I took a ride on the Goodyear Blimp, y’all, and hung out with a pilot who dressed like one.
On Wednesday, Goodyear and Spirit Halloween dropped a new collaboration for 2026: the Goodyear Blimp is officially a costume option this season. While you could make a DIY version if you want (we love cosplayers over here), you should pop up at a party in this inflatable that has Goodyear’s stamp of approval. No papier-mache, metallic tape, glue gun or sewing machine needed.
I had a chance to preview the new costume a few weeks ahead of launch, and along with that, climbed aboard the actual blimp when it stopped in Atlanta. I joined a few other members of the media who were invited to float in the clouds to celebrate the rollout, because for the first time ever, the famous airship is now a retail-ready Halloween costume. Designed with a battery pack and cooling fan, it comes with a cap and a one-piece, one-size-fits-all ensemble for adults.
Tethered to the ground at a local airport, the Goodyear Blimp looked massive up close, where a crew held the levitating ladder for us as we climbed inside one by one. Two pilots, Jeff Capek and Fayth Rascon-Ryn, were seated at the controls, ready to fly us around the outskirts of the city. Like on an airplane flight, we were instructed to buckle our seat belts for takeoff. Slowly and steadily, the airship ascended upward, and then we began our ride, hitting a maximum speed of around 35 miles per hour. Outfitted with windows all around, the gondola allowed for some great shots of the skyline, local scenery below and even the little propellers on the blimp.
Our guide and crew member, Jensen Kervern (who’s also a pilot), hit the runway — on the tarmac and inside the ship’s gondola — to model the costume while sharing history and facts about the ubiquitous blimp with us passengers. What you may recognize as the helium-filled “big part” of the blimp is called the envelope, and its pressure is maintained by two ballonets that also keep the ship level and upright. If you’re curious about helium refills, she shared that it’s replenished over time and filtered when grounded at home base.
“When we’re at home, we’ll hook it up to a big machine — a purifier — that operates a lot like a dialysis machine. It’ll pull out all the impurities and put the helium back inside. We try to reuse it; it’s a finite resource that’s very expensive,” said Kervern. She also graciously snapped a few photos with us.
As you may imagine, your Spirit Halloween costume won’t come equipped with any helium for added drifting effect, but I hope the visuals and details I’ve shared from my experience can lend a little razzle-dazzle to your creative Halloween aspirations. And yeah, it really does feel like you’re floating on air.
Check out the Goodyear Blimp costume on Spirithalloween.com.
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