These New Yorkers are elated when the balloons are inflated.
Hundreds of young spectators and their parents lined the Upper West Side Wednesday to watch beloved character balloons fill with helium ahead of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Kids chanted “Derpy, Derpy, Derpy” as the character balloon from Netflix’s “K Pop Demon Hunters” was filled ahead of its parade debut.
“This is my favorite movie ever,” 10-year-old Marisa said without taking her eyes off Derpy, a supernatural tiger character from the hit movie musical.
Other new additions to the parade this year include Buzz Lightyear, Pac-Man, Super Mario and Shrek.
2025’s new floats include The Land of Glaciers, Wildlife & Wonder by Holland America Line, The Counting Sheep’s Dream Generator by Serta; Master Chocolatier by Lindt; Upside Down Invasion: Stranger Things by Netflix and The Littlest Float from Goldfish, as well as Labubu makers’ Friends-giving in PopCity by Pop Mart and Brick-tastic Winter Mountain by the LEGO Group.
In total, the parade will feature 27 floats and 36 giant balloons, plus performances from Cynthia Erivo, Conan Gray, Lady Wilson and K Pop Demon Hunters.
The Netflix stars will be making their live performance debut at the parade, organizers said.
“The parade floats and balloons are in our DNA: we’ve worked through a variety of challenges,” said Will Coss, executive producer of the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“Each and every year we endeavor to push ourselves a little further, and we explore new technology, new opportunities for animation.”
This year’s Minions balloon, for example, features multiple little mini minions painting a new pattern on the balloon itself, he said, “so we find new ways to push and continue to evolve the technology.“
Thursday’s parade forecast is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 40s, but gusty winds between 20 and 30 mph may ground or force some of the iconic balloons to fly lower than usual, AccuWeather reported.
Balloons are grounded if sustained winds exceed 23 mph or gusts are higher than 34 mph.
The parade route will begin on 72nd Street and Central Park West and travel down to 34th Street and Avenue of the Americas.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will step off Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST and viewers at home can tune in on NBC and Peacock.
