Did hot air balloons ever really fit with the Sawyer/Finn theme? I don't remember.
Yes, they did fit in with the theme, but the ride was inspired by "Tom Sawyer Abroad," which is a later book of Twain's that isn't as well-known to the general populace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sawyer_AbroadI only know the connection because I grew up watching the 1985 "Adventures of Mark Twain" claymation movie, and they used "Tom Sawyer Abroad" as the framing story for the movie. And I finally got around to reading the book a couple years ago; if you liked Tom and Huck's "Adventures of" books, you'd enjoy this one as a bit of a palate-cleanser; it's rather more light-hearted than, say, "Adventures of Huck Finn."
Granted, however, the balloon was actually more like a "steampunk" Zeppelin than a hot air balloon as seen on the ride at SDC...
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f201/masterdaz22/Comet_Quest.jpg(apparently "Comet Quest" was the UK name for the movie, according to IMDb)
If they don't bring back the Balloon Chase, maybe later they could base a ride on the way the balloon was actually described in the book? (with flaps and wings and what-not; really, the design in the movie was fairly spot on) I think that'd be pretty cool.
Joy