Hundreds watch Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get inflated in NYC: Mind-blowing doesnt really describe it

These New Yorkers are pumped for the Thanksgiving Day Parade.Hundreds of spectators gathered on the Upper West Side Wednesday to watch both classic characters and new additions take flight ahead of Macy’s 98th annual holiday event.Crowds lined the entrance to the inflation at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue in hopes of catching a glimpse of the 17 character helium balloons and 15 novelty inflatables that will join marching bands, floats and other participants Thursday morning.“Dad, look, it’s Dora!” screamed Anna, 6, as she tried to scale the barricade to get a closer look. Anna’s father, Ramon, told The Post they recently moved to the Upper West Side, and never imagined the floats – some as large as two firetrucks – were this big. “I would watch it on TV all the time but never imagined it was this big in person,” Ramon said. “Mind blowing doesn’t really describe it.” Alongside fan favorites like Snoopy, Dora the Explorer and Pikachu, 2024’s six new additions to the parade include Minnie Mouse, Extraordinary Noorah & The Elf on the Shelf, Goku from Dragon Ball Z, Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse and Paw Patrol’s Marshall, as well as a revamped Spider-Man inflatable.“We have six new giant character balloons starting the parade off with Minnie Mouse, which is just so exciting,” Kathleen Wright, director of production operations at Macy’s Parade Studio, told The Post.“Spiderman has been in the parade before, but I think people are going to be really excited to see him back again,” she added.

“Same with Goku.He’s been in the parade, but back again this year in a new iteration of that balloon.”The freshman class of inflatables join more than a half-dozen floats slated to debut Thursday, including characters from “The Addams family” Netflix series “Wednesday,” Nickelodeon’s “Dara’s Fantastical Rainforest” and Mickey Mouse on a “Magic Meets the Seas” display from Disney Cruise Line.“Every year we tr...