These changes come to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

Viewers at home will see some changes to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, including new balloons. But there will also be fewer performances on Broadway.

The 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade march will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 28.

The parade will have the largest lineup yet with 17 character balloons, 22 floats, 15 traditional and novel balloons, more than 700 clowns, 11 marching bands, including one of University of Massachusetts Amherst — and 10 musical performances.

See all the changes coming to the parade below.

new balloons

Six new character balloons will debut in Thursday’s parade.

The new balloons are “Disney’s Minnie Mouse” from The Walt Disney Company, “Extraordinary Noorah” and “The Elf on the Shelf” from The Lumistella Company, “Gabby” from DreamWorks Animation, “Goku” from Dragon Ball/Toei Animation, ” Marshall” from Nickelodeon and Spin Master and “Spider-Man” from Marvel.

New floats

There will also be six new floats in the parade.

The six new floats are “Candy Cosmos” from Haribo, “Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest” from Nickelodeon and Paramount, “Magic Meets the Seas” from Disney Cruise Line, “Pasta Knight” from Rao’s Homemade, “Wednesday’s Feast” from Netflix and “Wondrous Wildlife World” by the Bronx Zoo.

Changes in who broadcasts the parade

Typically, both NBC and C.B.S. both broadcast the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. However, it will not air on CBS this year.

Instead, while NBC airs the parade from 8 a.m. to noon, CBS will air other shows, including CBS Mornings, Family Feud, Pictionary, Taste of the Holidays and The Price is Right.

Changes to Broadway performances

In previous years, CBS and NBC each broadcast their own Broadway performances during the parade.

In 2023, this included “A Beautiful Noise,” “Aladdin” and “Chicago” on CBS and “& Juliet,” “Back to the Future,” “How to Dance in Ohio,” “Shucked” and Spamalot on NBC, according to to Playbill.com.

Without the parade airing on both stations, Broadway fans will have to make do with the performances shown on NBC.

This year, those performances will include “Death Becomes Her,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “The Outsiders.” Additionally, there will be a performance by the iconic Radio City Rockettes.