These changes are coming to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

On By Littum

Viewers at home will see a few changes to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, including new balloons. But there will also be fewer Broadway performances.

The 98th March of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, November 28.

The parade will have the largest lineup yet with 17 character balloons, 22 floats, 15 heritage and novelty balloons, more than 700 clowns, 11 marching bands — including one from UMass Amherst — and 10 musical acts.

See below for all the changes coming to the parade.

New balloons

Six new character balloons will debut at the parade on Thursday.

The new balloons are “Disney’s Minnie Mouse” by The Walt Disney Company, “Extraordinary Noorah” & “The Elf on the Shelf” by The Lumistella Company, “Gabby” by DreamWorks Animation, “Goku” by Dragon Ball/Toei Animation, ” Marshall” by Nickelodeon and Spin Master and “Spider-Man” by Marvel.

New floats

There will also be six new floats at the parade.

The six new floats are “Candy Cosmos” by Haribo, “Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest” by Nickelodeon and Paramount, “Magic Meets the Seas” by Disney Cruise Line, “Pasta Knight” by Rao’s Homemade, “Wednesday’s Feast” by Netflix and “Wondrous “World of Wildlife” by the Bronx Zoo.

Changes to who sends the parade

Typically both NBC and CBS both broadcast the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. However, it will not be shown on CBS this year.

Instead, while NBC airs the parade from 8 a.m. to noon, CBS will air other shows, including CBS Mornings, Family Feud, Pictionary, Taste of the Holidays and The Price is Right.

Alterations for Broadway performances

In previous years, CBS and NBC had each aired their own Broadway shows during the parade.

In 2023, this included “A Beautiful Noise,” “Aladdin” and “Chicago” on CBS and “& Juliet,” “Back to the Future,” “How to Dance in Ohio,” “Shucked” and Spamalot on NBC, according to Playbill.com.

Without the parade airing on both stations, Broadway fans will have to make do with the performances shown on NBC.

This year, those performances will include “Death Becomes Her,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “The Outsiders.” Additionally, there will be a performance by the iconic Radio City Rockettes.