Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Viewers Wonder What's Up with Deflated Balloons

Alexandra Schonfeld
·2 min read
13

"This poor deflated float!" one social media user wrote in response to Toys "R" Us mascot Geoffrey's deflated neck

<p>Gotham/GC Images</p> Greg Heffley with a deflated hand

Gotham/GC Images

Greg Heffley with a deflated hand

Some Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade viewers are feeling a bit… deflated.

As the slew of colorful floats and balloons made their way through the streets of New York City Thursday morning, many viewers took to social media to express their puzzlement as to why so many inflatables seemed to have a lack of air.

“Why are so many balloons deflated this year,” X, formerly known as Twitter, user @EmKingg wrote on Thanksgiving morning. 

One of the first balloons that appeared to have inflation issues was Snoopy, which X user @TanookiKuribo pointed out, writing, “Snoopy having some trouble with his hat. Also flying kinda low?”

<p>Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images</p> Snoopy and his semi-deflated green hat.

Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images

Snoopy and his semi-deflated green hat.


Diary of a Wimpy Kid character Greg Heffley was also seen floating along with one of his hands deflated, while a new addition, a Mallard duck named Uncle Dan from the upcoming movie Migration, had a deflated wing.

When it was time for the Toys "R" Us float to have its moment in front of Macy’s on 34th Street, viewers noticed that an inflatable Geoffrey the giraffe had a bit of a limp neck.

“The #MacysParade is the funniest thing on TV all year. This poor deflated float!,” Kelly Krammes wrote on X along with a video of the orange giraffe.

<p>Gotham/GC Images</p> Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell ride along the parade route, with the semi-deflated Uncle Dan ballon just behind them.

Gotham/GC Images

Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell ride along the parade route, with the semi-deflated Uncle Dan ballon just behind them.

Another one of the parade’s newest additions, Monkey D. Luffy from the manga series One Piece, also had an inflation issue with his straw hat. In one video shared to X from earlier in the parade route, the Monkey D. Luffy balloon is seen colliding with a tree, which appears to rip open its hat. By the time it made it to 34th Street, the entire rim was floppy.

A representative from Macy’s did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. 

<p>IGN/X</p>

IGN/X

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Over the years, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has endured an assortment of balloon blunders caused by weather, wide turns and street signs.

One of the more recent fiascos came in 2008 when a Keith Haring balloon took a wide turn and crashed into the broadcast booth where Al Roker, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer were broadcasting live, temporarily taking them off the air.

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