2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

[DodgerGirl]

I got to see some of the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and I thought it was really weak and a fine mess and I don't know how in the world Macy's and NBC made this year's parade a fine mess indeed? For one thing the entertainment lineup consisted of R&B singers with the exception of Cher and Chicago but I was surprised to see En Vogue and Bell Biv Devoe featured in it and to me it means that Macy's is attracting a new generation of new fans and want to change the parade's image to suit the generation of today. On the floats it seems that Macy's has run out of ideas for floats and they had one for the upcoming movie Wonka and I couldn't figure out why Wonka would have a float to promote the movie. About the only wonderful float was the DCL Wish float and my mom thought that float was amazing and the characters were amazing on it. The balloons were also weak and focused mainly on movies and cartoons and they even promoted a balloon on the new movie Migration and they even had balloons based on Anime characters and it tells me that these balloons based on cartoons and movies are the new image of the parade. I also found it shocking that the Grogu balloon was supposed to be a new design but it was the same balloon from two years ago. But one thing they improved was Santa Claus's arrival with The Rockettes announcing his arrival. Hopefully next year's parade will be much better
Overall Grade for the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: C

 

[Boopuff]

We watched the parade. I think it's so disappointing. So many ads makes it almost unwatchable. And some really horrible lip-syncing. Cher looked like a joke and the auto-tune on her songs is just horrible. The pacing of the parade is just silly. The best part was the end, with the rockettes and Santa.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Our kids loved it! Family tradition of watching it live while getting ready for Thanksgiving.

They tuned out some of the musical choices just like I did when I was a kid.

I love back to the future but geez that musical looks awful. No issues with any of the balloons, our kids especially loved Snoopy, Bluey, Baby Yoda, Sinclair Dinosaurs and paw patrol. They enjoy the marching bands and the commercials (yes there were ALOT) the only one I thought was really bad was the Paris Olympics one.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My mom didn't even know that the parade was even on until I was watching it and I was actually planning to watch a game show when I turned on the parade and my mom came in to see it with me and she was disappointed with it as much as I was. I think what has ruined Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades now was the pandemic because ever since the 2020 parade went virtual Macy's had been trying to experiment with ideas to gain ratings for NBC and it's no longer the family tradition of Thanksgiving that it once was. I actually perfer the 1990-2019 parades to these new Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades and watch them year-round on Youtube. But what I think caused the parade to go downhill was the death of Jean McFaddin and the retirement of Robin Hall then once Amy Kule replaced Robin Hall as executive producer the parade went downhill. My mom was trying to see Tiptoe the blue reindeer and the Grogu balloon but they never showed them but they were more interested in the Dragon Ball Z Balloon and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles float than the Grogu Balloon and Tiptoe. I also saw a float that was in pink and had a tree in it that had singer Brandy on it but I couldn't tell what it was. Do you know what float that was? But DCL did an amazing job with this year's DCL Wish float and it was awesome with Spider-Man and Black Panther appearing in it and the song chosen was so wonderful and how they made that float was pure genius. But Macy's needs to improve their parade a bit more

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[MamaMermaid]

We loved Tiptoe, the Rockettes, the Treasure float, and Bluey. I could leave the rest…

 

[JLTraveling]

I was surprised to see En Vogue and Bell Biv Devoe featured in it and to me it means that Macy's is attracting a new generation of new fans and want to change the parade's image to suit the generation of today.

En Vogue and Bell Biv Devoe are both 90s groups, so I'm not sure how their presence "changes the parade's image to suit the generation of today"? As for the rest of it, looked like the traditional Macy's parade to me. A collection of classic balloons that have been around forever and new stuff, as has always been the case. Dance numbers from current Broadway shows. Floats of all descriptions. I enjoyed it very much.

 

[disneychrista]

Chicago was the only musical act I was interested in seeing. I did not watch, as I would have had to get up at 530am since that was when it streamed on Peacock. But I might look to see if the Chicago performance is on YouTube

 

[Mommb]

The float Brandy rode on was from Brach’s candy.

I agree that NBC, as the official host of the parade, did a better job of showing all (or almost all) of the floats and balloons than CBS did. In my area, the NBC station showed a rebroadcast of the parade in the afternoon, so I didn’t need to get up early in the morning to watch.

 

[sam_gordon]

In my area, the NBC station showed a rebroadcast of the parade in the afternoon, so I didn’t need to get up early in the morning to watch.

I think that was a network decision. I believe I heard Al Roker promoting the replay during the "live" version.

 

[fla4fun]

I enjoyed the parade, but it seemed rushed this year, almost as if they had a few too many acts and couldn’t squeeze them all in.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

My biggest LOL moment was when Bell Biv DeVoe starting lip synching Poison. It's bad enough when performers lip synch more current music (which has been the norm for many decades), but they were using the 1990 recording in 2023. There is no way they sound like that anymore. That's not to say they can't still sing, but the voice changes with age...and that's 33 years of aging. Although, I guess it's not much better than the years when they have Mariah Carey close things with her 1994 recording of All I Want for Christmas is You...yet somehow that's less questionable since it's played non-stop every holiday season.

 

[Nora03]

As Canadians we always enjoy watching the parade. We record it and watch it leisurely during the day. We like seeing the Broadway productions and I know children love the big balloons. We love New York City. We watch a YouTuber The NYC Walking Show and he showed the balloons being inflated the day before. If you love NYC you would love his videos. Right now he is showing all the holiday decorations throughout the city. It’s beautiful!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Considering the parade costs millions upon millions to produce, I doubt Macy's could do it on such a large scale without the sponsors peddling their movies, TV shows and brand names. Each float is basically a commercial with a musical act or other "famous" person tossed in for good measure. That said, I enjoy watching it and it's become a tradition for our family to watch it together.

Last year, we were in NYC and got to see the parade live, in-person. I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. We got up at 4:30 a.m., were on the subway by 5:00 and staked out a spot in front of Central Park by 5:30. The parade didn't start until 9:00, so we spent hours standing/sitting/falling asleep on the cold pavement. Being from out of town, we didn't have a bunch of blankets or cushions to make the experience more comfortable. We had to stand for the last hour to defend our front row space from encroachers who just showed up and tried to push forward. The parade itself looked a bit "rinky-dink" in person. The balloons have been downsized over the past few years for safety, so they don't look as big and impressive in-person. What they don't show on TV are the large groups of Macy's employees between floats, mostly dressed as clowns or food, who run up and toss confetti in your face. There was so much confetti on the ground when it was over. I'm glad I had the experience of doing it once. Next time we go to NYC, I'll stay at the hotel and watch from my warm bed with a cup of coffee.

 

[JLTraveling]

Considering the parade costs millions upon millions to produce, I doubt Macy's could do it on such a large scale without the sponsors peddling their movies, TV shows and brand names. Each float is basically a commercial with a musical act or other "famous" person tossed in for good measure. That said, I enjoy watching it and it's become a tradition for our family to watch it together.

Last year, we were in NYC and got to see the parade live, in-person. I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. We got up at 4:30 a.m., were on the subway by 5:00 and staked out a spot in front of Central Park by 5:30. The parade didn't start until 9:00, so we spent hours standing/sitting/falling asleep on the cold pavement. Being from out of town, we didn't have a bunch of blankets or cushions to make the experience more comfortable. We had to stand for the last hour to defend our front row space from encroachers who just showed up and tried to push forward. The parade itself looked a bit "rinky-dink" in person. The balloons have been downsized over the past few years for safety, so they don't look as big and impressive in-person. What they don't show on TV are the large groups of Macy's employees between floats, mostly dressed as clowns or food, who run up and toss confetti in your face. There was so much confetti on the ground when it was over. I'm glad I had the experience of doing it once. Next time we go to NYC, I'll stay at the hotel and watch from my warm bed with a cup of coffee.

I would love to see it in person, but not badly enough to get up at 4:30 in the morning. I like Universal's version just fine, where I can walk up 15 minutes before it starts and still get close enough to admire the balloons and the precision handling lol.

 

[rlk]

We live in Manhattan, so have taken our children a couple of times when they were in elementary school. One year we had grandstand seats at the start of the parade. It was a fun experience, but it was a nightmare to get in. Also, the crowd is insane to watch the balloons get inflated the night before Thanksgiving. In m opinion, it is a cool experience, but so much nicer to watch from the comfort of your home!

 

[DodgerGirl]

Chicago was the only musical act I was interested in seeing. I did not watch, as I would have had to get up at 530am since that was when it streamed on Peacock. But I might look to see if the Chicago performance is on YouTube

When you're on Youtube search Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Chicago and you might find it there but you may find clips of Chicago's other appearences or just search Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Wonder Bread Float 2023. Did you also like the DCL float too Disneychrista?
Dodger

 

[dvcgirl67]

It's been so bad for many years....unwatchable.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[disneychrista]

When you're on Youtube search Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Chicago and you might find it there but you may find clips of Chicago's other appearences or just search Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Wonder Bread Float 2023. Did you also like the DCL float too Disneychrista?
Dodger

I haven't seen the DCL float. Haven't attempted to look up the clip of Chicago yet.