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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017: Route, street closures, MTA info – Metro US

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017: Route, street closures, MTA info

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2017

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 2017 santa float

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 Harold Balloon

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.