Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 is almost here, which means you fall into one of only two camps: those that wouldn’t dream of going near the annual parade and those who are already planning how they’re going to get the best view in the house.
Either way, you might want to know the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route so you can plan accordingly. And, oh yeah, there might be one or two (or twenty) street closures you need to know about.
What time does the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 start?
The float-filled festivities kick off at 9:00 a.m. EST sharp on Thursday, November 23. Make sure that if you’re attending the parade and want to get a good spot to watch — of course you do — you’ll need to be there pretty far in advance for prime viewing. Worry not, there are 2.5 miles on the parade route, so you have plenty of opportunity to carve yourself out a sweet spot on the curb.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 lineup
We know what you’re really wondering: which performers will be out during the parade?
Performers
Sabrina Carpenter
Nicky Jam
Lauren Alaina
Bebe Rexha
Angelica Hale
Tom Colicchio
Padma Lakshmi
Leslie Odom Jr.
Miss America Cara Mund
JoJo Siwa
Olivia Holt
Kat Graham
Smokey Robinson
Goo Goo Dolls
Wyclef Jean
Dustin Lynch
Common
Cam
Andra Day
Sara Evans
Andy Grammer
98 Degrees
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons for 2017
They might not be famous pop singers, but they’re an equally adored part of the parade tradition, so which Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons are you going to see drifting down along Central Park? You can expect:
Balloons
Pillsbury Doughboy™
Angry Birds’ Red
Ice Age’s Scrat & His Acorn
Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger
Sinclair’s Dino®
Hello Kitty®
Ronald McDonald®
Trolls (from the animated movie)
SpongeBob SquarePants
Pikachu™
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid®, Greg Heffley
The Elf On The Shelf®
Charlie Brown
Super Wings’ Jett
Paw Patrol’s Chase
The Grinch
Frozen’s Olaf
Novelty Balloons
Charlie, Kit & C.J. Holiday Elves
Harold The Policeman
Harold The Fireman
Macy’s Yellow Star
Blue & White Macy’s Star
Pumpkins
Harold The Baseball Player
Rex The Happy Dragon
Cloe The Clown
Christmas String of Lights
Red & Gold Macy’s Star
Blue Ornament
Candy Cane
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats
But be sure that you’re not just looking to the skies as the parade goes by. We know the giant balloons are quite a sight hovering over the streets of Manhattan, but you’re going to want to catch these floats scheduled for this year’s parade, too:
Floats
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon
1-2-3 Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop
It’s All Rock & Roll, Gibson Brands®
Discover Adventure!, Build-A-Bear
The Colonel’s Road Trip To NYC, Kentucky Fried Chicken
Universal Playground, Sprout®
Tom Turkey, Bravo’s Top Chef
Rocking Lobster, Macy’s
Big City Cheer!, Spirit Of America Productions
Winter Wonderland, Delta Air Lines
Big Apple, NY Daily News
Mount Rushmore’s American Pride, South Dakota Department Of Tourism
On The Roll Again, Homewood Suites By Hilton®
McDonald’s® Big Red Shoe Car®, McDonald’s®
The Cranberry Cooperative, Ocean Spray®
Frozen Fall Fun, Discover®
Stirrin’ Up Sweet Sensations, Domino® Sugar
Snoopy’s Doghouse, Peanuts Worldwide
Santa’s Sleigh, Macy’s
Rocking Horse, Macy’s
Rocking Giraffe, Macy’s
Heartwarming Holiday Countdown, Hallmark Channel
Oh Christmas Tree, Balsam Hill
Building A Better World, Girl Scouts Of The USA
Fun House, Krazy Glue
The Aloha Spirit, King’s Hawaiian®
Shimmer And Shine
Green Giant
Entenmann’s
Sour Patch Kids®
For a full list of other features of the parade, check out Macy’s guide to the event, which includes previews of the floats as well as lists of the marching bands, clowns, balloonicles and performance groups also participating.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 street closures
There might only be a couple hours in which the true Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 takes place, but that doesn’t mean the street closures reflect that. Get ready for street closures and delays starting in the early afternoon the day before the parade. And you may want to avoid the entire area in and around Central Park West and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side beginning as early as 9:30 a.m. for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon inflation.
WEDNESDAY
There are also areas you’re going to want to avoid on Wednesday as preparations are in the works for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 — especially if you’re in a hurry, so make note.
Starting at 1:00 p.m. EST, West 79th Street between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue will be closed.
At 3 p.m. the following areas will be closed:
West 76th Street between Columbus and Central Park West Avenues
West 77th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues
West 78th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues
West 80th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues
West 81st Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues
Note: Avoid these area unless you’re ready for some serious transportation delays. Trucks and other large vehicles will be moving in and out of this area in order to move parade floats and other supplies, so there might be additional closures and delays.
THURSDAY
On Thursday, the following areas will be closed starting at 8 a.m.
Parade Formation
Columbus Avenue between 81st Street and 77th Street
Central Park West between West 77th and 86th streets
77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
71st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
68th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
62nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
West 81st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
West 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
Parade route
Central Park West between 81st Street and East Side of Columbus Circle/59th Street
Broadway between 59th Street and 58th Street
58th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue
59th Street between Columbus Circle and 6th Avenue
6th Avenue between 59th Street and 34th Street
Parade dispersal
33rd Street between 6th Avenue and 10th Avenue
34th Street between 7h Avenue and 8th Avenue
34th Street between 6th Avenue and 5th Avenue
35th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue
36th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
37th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
38th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue
39th Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue
40th Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue
7th Avenue between 33rd Street and 40th Street
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 route
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is thankfully quite reliable year to year, but check out the map below anyway for a refresher on the route and closed areas. You can also use it to plan out where you’re going to watch the floats drift by.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017 MTA info
The MTA will operate on special schedules starting on Wednesday, November 22 through Sunday, November 26. On the day of the parade, “New York City subways will operate on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving Day,” according to the MTA.
In case you want to take the subway as close as possible to the parade, you should plan on riding to the 79th Street stop on the 1 train or the 81th Street stop on the C train. Thankfully, you can also expect extra S shuttle service throughout the day and extra 1 train service early in the morning.
That, of course, is in addition to the planned service changes the MTA already has scheduled on Thursday, November 23.
