Planning a Trip to Watch the 100th Macy's Parade

A Century of Balloons Over Central Park West

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade turns 100 this year. On the morning of November 26, 2026, the giant balloons will lift off from West 77th Street and Central Park West as they have for years, and the whole procession will wind down to the Macy's flagship store at Herald Square. Macy's began a 100-day countdown on August 18, and the company is treating the milestone as a season-long celebration rather than a single morning.

For a great many families, the parade has been the background music to Thanksgiving for as long as anyone can remember, playing on the television while the turkey goes in the oven. In person it is the cold morning air, the bands heard before they are seen, and a balloon the size of a house passing over the crowd. A hundredth parade is as good an excuse as there will ever be to finally make the trip.

Sharon Otterman, Macy's chief marketing officer, put it this way: "For 100 years, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has brought generations together through moments of wonder, connection and joy."

The Route From West 77th Street to Herald Square

NYC Tourism + Conventions confirmed that the 100th edition will once again begin at its traditional starting point at West 77th Street and Central Park West before making its way through Manhattan to the Herald Square store. Macy's describes the march as 2.5 miles long, ending at the Herald Square flagship, which is at 151 West 34th Street.

The path since 2012 runs south along Central Park West to Columbus Circle, turns east along Central Park South, and then heads south on Sixth Avenue to Herald Square. Macy's has not yet posted a start time or an estimated finish for the street parade.

Old Friends Returning to the Sky

Macy's says the 100th parade will carry a record 100 inflatable elements, and the names released so far lean heavily on nostalgia. Underdog is coming back in a reimagined form for his first flight since 1984. Felix the Cat returns as well; in 1927 Felix became the first-ever character balloon and was carried down the street on sticks, a year before helium balloons arrived. A new Macy's All-Stars float gathers Bullwinkle J. Moose, Olive Oyl, Popeye, Swee'Pea and Sonic the Hedgehog as inflatable and costumed characters spanning a century of parade history.

There is a story attached to one return in particular. After the 1931 parade, Macy's says, every balloon was accounted for except the Blue Hippopotamus, last seen soaring beyond the Empire State Building. The company promises the hippo will make a triumphant return this year, with participation details to be shared in the coming weeks. A new float honoring Tony Sarg, the artist behind the parade's early characters, re-creates his original figures and illustrations along with a puppet likeness of Sarg himself.

Younger grandchildren will have plenty to point at too. Disney's Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey is brand-new for 2026, and the lineup page lists giant balloons including Buzz Lightyear, Spider-Man, SpongeBob SquarePants, Pikachu, Mario, PAC-MAN and the Pillsbury Doughboy. Macy's has also announced two newcomers, Billie Brightpaw and Tom Jr., the son of Tom Turkey. Marching bands confirmed so far range from the University of Alabama's Million Dollar Band to the Nā Koa Ali'i Hawai'i All-State Marching Band, and the clown units run from Keystone Cops to Nutty-Cracker Ballet Clowns, with the lineup page promising more to come.

The Night Before on the Upper West Side

The inflation of the big balloons on Wednesday has become a tradition of its own, and Macy's confirms it is happening again on November 25 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. That is as far as the official word goes for now. The company has not published the hours, the streets, or how the public will be let in, and its page says details on public access will be available at a later date.

For a visitor building a long weekend around the parade, that uncertainty argues for arriving Wednesday with a flexible evening. Watching a balloon rise from a flat sheet on the pavement into a towering character is the closest thing to seeing the parade behind the scenes, and it is a gentler outing than the crush of Thanksgiving morning.

Finding a Spot Along the Sidewalk

There are no tickets. Macy's states that limited seating areas are not available to the general public and that tickets are not for sale. Public viewing is free along designated portions of the route and is managed by the NYPD. Anything advertised online as a parade ticket, as one hotel-booking site puts it, is really a hotel room or a restaurant reservation with a window.

That is exactly why the booking needs to happen now. The sidewalks are open to everyone, and a room or a window table along the route is a private arrangement made with a hotel or a restaurant rather than anything sold by Macy's. Travelers who want a warm seat with a view are competing with everyone else who had the same thought.

Those who plan to stand should expect an early morning. Dressing for a long stretch in late-November cold is simply part of the deal.

Watching From Home and Around Town

Anyone who cannot make the trip, or who wants to warm up afterward, can watch on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo starting at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones on Thursday, November 26. Macy's is also spreading the celebration across the season: select stores will feature window displays with character balloons, historic imagery and fun facts, and the Herald Square flagship has a Countdown Clock ticking off the days until Thanksgiving. A companion book from Weldon Owen, Let's Have a Parade: Celebrating 100 Macy's Parades, is part of the anniversary as well.

A Morning Worth the Cold

A hundred Thanksgivings is a long run for anything, and the parade has lasted because it belongs to the people on the curb as much as to the store that stages it. Grandparents who watched Underdog on a black-and-white set can stand beside grandchildren waiting for Pikachu, and the Blue Hippopotamus, unaccounted for since 1931, is promised a return. Those who intend to be there should book the room and the train or plane now, keep an eye on Macy's pages for the times still to be posted, and pack warmer than seems reasonable. The rest of the morning takes care of itself.

For up-to-date details check the Macy's Website.