Snoopy has appeared 42 times across nine balloons, as pictured above.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade consistently introduces new balloons to the lineup, be it an all-new character or a new design of a character that has appeared several times before. Several balloon are also retired every year, in order to keep the Parade fresh and unrepetitive. Despite this, several characters have stood the test of time and appeared several dozen times through balloon variations.
Below is a list of the longest-running giant balloons in the Parade, whose base character has been featured through more than one design.
Rules[]
- The character must have participated in at least 15 Parades throughout all of their variations.
- Deflations and removals count, as they still would have appeared in the Parade.
- Unless they have more than one variant, singular character balloons that have made 15 or more appearances (ex. Woody Woodpecker, Linus the Lionhearted, and Underdog) are not counted.
- Novelty balloons (such as Harold the Fireman and the Red Candy Cane) aren't allowed.
List of Balloons[]
1. Snoopy - 43 Parades[]
- Snoopy (1968-1982, 1985) - 16 Parades
- Skater Snoopy (1987) - 1 Parade
- Snoopy and Woodstock (1988-1995) - 8 Parades
- Millennium Snoopy (1999-2001) - 3 Parades
- Snoopy as the Flying Ace (2006-2011) - 6 Parades
- Snoopy & Woodstock (2013-2015) - 3 Parades
- Astronaut Snoopy (2019-2022) - 4 Parades
- Beagle Scout Snoopy (2023-present) - 2 Parades so far
2. Ronald McDonald - 31 Parades[]
- Ronald McDonald (1987-1990, 1993-1994) - 6 Parades
- Ronald McDonald (2000-2008) - 9 Parades
- Ronald McDonald (2009-2014) - 6 Parades
- Ronald McDonald (2015-2020) - 6 Parades
- Ronald McDonald (2021-present) - 4 Parades so far
3. Rocky and Bullwinkle - 26 Parades[]
- Bullwinkle (1961-1983) - 23 Parades
- Rocky and Bullwinkle (1996, 1999-2000) - 3 Parades
4. Pikachu - 24 Parades[]
- Pikachu (2001-2005) - 5 Parades
- Pikachu with PokéBall (2006-2013) - 8 Parades
- Pikachu with Snowman (2014-2020) - 7 Parades
- Pikachu & Eevee (2021-present) - 4 Parades so far
5. Sinclair's DINO - 24 Parades[]
- Dino the Dinosaur (1963-1976) - 14 Parades
- DINO (2015-2021) - 7 Parades
- DINO with Baby DINO (2022-present) - 3 Parades so far
6. Smokey Bear - 23 Parades[]
- Giant Balloon (1966-1981, 1993) - 17 Parades
- Heritage Balloon (2019-present) - 6 Parades so far
7. Kermit the Frog - 22 Parades[]
- Kermit the Frog (1977-1987, 1990-1991) - 13 Parades
- Kermit the Frog (2002-2004, 2007-2012) - 9 Parades
8. Mickey Mouse - 20 Parades[]
- Mickey Mouse (1934-1935) - 2 Parades
- Mickey Mouse (1971-1983) - 13 Parades
- Bandleader Mickey Mouse (2000) - 1 Parade
- Sailor Mickey Mouse (2009-2012) - 4 Parades
9. SpongeBob SquarePants - 20 Parades[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants (2004-2006, 2008-2012) - 8 Parades
- SpongeBob SquarePants (2013-2018) - 6 Parades
- SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary (2019-present) - 6 Parades so far
10. Big Bird - 19 Parades[]
- Big Bird (1988-2000) - 13 Parades
- Big Bird (2001-2006) - 6 Parades
11. Spider-Man - 19 Parades[]
- Spider-Man (1987-1998) - 12 Parades
- Spider-Man (2009-2014) - 6 Parades
- Spider-Man (2024-Present) - 1 Parade so far
12. Garfield - 18 Parades[]
- Garfield (1984-1989, 1992-1999) - 14 Parades
- Garfield (2003-2006) - 4 Parades
13. Pillsbury Doughboy - 16 Parades[]
- Pillsbury Doughboy (2009-2013, 2014-2022) - 14 Parades[1]
- The Pillsbury Doughboy (2023-present) - 2 Parades so far
14. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - 15 Parades[]
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010-2015) - 6 Parades
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2016-2021) - 6 Parades
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2022-present) - 3 Parades so far
Notes & References[]
- ↑ From 2014 - 2022, a new balloon was flown in place of the 2009 original, meaning the 2009 balloon appeared in five parades, while the 2014 balloon appeared in nine.