MACY’S FAMED GIANT CHARACTER HELIUM BALLOONS TAKE FLIGHT FOR THE 87TH ANNUAL MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE®
New York City, New York – Let them take flight! On Thanksgiving Day, a new cast of balloon characters and some returning favorites will soar in the 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. From a beloved beagle to a fearsome dragon, the Parade’s signature line-up of balloons are set to thrill millions of spectators.Since their first appearance in the 1927 Macy’s Parade, the line-up of balloons has featured a who’s who of the world’s most beloved characters. This year’s cast is no different with two returning favorites taking a new form and two never before seen characters taking flight, the Parade’s storied history of character balloons continues to grow. This year, making their debuts and taking flight in the 87th edition will be pop culture sensations Adventure Time with Finn and Jake; the world-famous beagle Snoopy with his pal Woodstock; the eternal undersea optimist SpongeBob SquarePants; and the loveable night fury dragon Toothless from
“How to Train Your Dragon.”
Starting out as a work of imagination put to paper by the skilled hands of a Macy’s Parade Studio artist, the new balloons each begin an almost year-long transformation. Every Macy’s Parade balloon combines artistic design with aerodynamics and engineering. Under the direction of John Piper, vice-president and lead designer of Macy’s Parade Studio, the Studio’s design team and resident group of “Balloonatics” transform the drawing into a larger-than-life flying wonder. Ballooning experts, the Macy’s team in collaboration with
consultants, Raven Aerostar, together calculate and perfect the balloon’s aerodynamic design. Once a flight-worthy balloon concept has been approved, it moves on to the clay and painted model construction phase. This step helps the team create a physical blueprint from which the balloon will be built. From there, giant reams of polyurethane fabric will be patterned, cut and sealed together, to create multiple chambers which ultimately produce the character’s head, body and limbs. Once the balloon has been created and painted to the exact specifications required of the character, it will undergo many tests including indoor and outdoor flights, inflation and deflation tests, and final touch-ups before its inaugural flight in the Macy’s Parade.
Following is the complete listing of balloons in the
87th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
GIANT CHARACTER BALLOONS…
ADVENTURE TIME WITH FINN AND JAKE
CARTOON NETWORK
Pop culture sensations Finn and Jake of the hit series Adventure Time take to the sky for the first time. Finn has his sword at the ready and Jake is set to roll against any wizards or evil creatures they may encounter on their journey. Measuring 57-feet long, 26-feet wide and 40-feet tall, Finn and Jake are turbo psyched for an awesome adventure as millions of fans celebrate their maiden voyage.
BUZZ LIGHTYEAR
DISNEY PIXAR
DisneyHPixar’s superhero Buzz Lightyear, returns for his sixth trip down the streets of New York. Toy Story’s fearless Inter-galactic Space Ranger measures 67.7-feet long, 39.9-feet wide and 34.3-feet tall. Taking a break from starring in “Toy Story OF TERROR!” with his pals, Buzz will fly from Central Park West to Herald Square…and beyond this Thanksgiving.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID®
AMULET BOOKS, AN IMPRINT OF ABRAMS
