When Macy’s department store hosted their first Thanksgiving parade in New York in 1924, no one was sure exactly how the public would respond. The parade, which consisted of whimsically costumed store employees, live musical entertainment, elaborate floats, and actual living animals (graciously lent by Central Park Zoo), was an enormous success, attracting 250,000 spectators to the parade route. Each year since then, except for a short stint during WWII, Macy’s has hosted its Thanksgiving Day Parade. Today, the parade is one of the largest in the world, attracting as many as 3.5 million live spectators, with around 50 million more watching the festivities from their homes across the country.
Less than a week ago, Macy’s revealed several highly-anticipated new characters that will join the line-up of massive parade balloons this year. Additions include the adventurous duo from Dr. Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham, Bikini Bottom ambassadors SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary, Smokey Bear, and Astronaut Snoopy. The parade will also feature a dozen live marching bands; dozens of additional floats; celebrity entertainers; some two thousand dancers, cheerleaders, and clowns; and, of course, the Big Man himself, Old Saint Nick making his pre-delivery rounds to greet the many millions of children eager to send him their Christmas lists.
The 93rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which takes place on Thursday, November 28, will step off from 77th St and Central Park at 9 a.m. and make its way down to Macy’s Herald Square over the course of about three hours. As a guest of Lotte New York Palace, you are ideally located to enjoy parade festivities. The route is just a seven-minute stroll from our hotel.