Concept art for a scrapped Bob the Builder balloon. (Illustration by Joel F. Naprstek)
Throughout the years, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has housed over 200 over-sized balloon versions of popular fictional characters, many floats of famous franchises and brands, and more. However, not every idea for a unit has made it past the planning stage. Below, you will find a list of all of the balloons, floats, and other units in the parade which were scrapped for one reason or another, as well as balloons that were originally scrapped by Goodyear and would later be picked up by another company.
Scrapped Balloons[]
Wasp (1930s)[]
A Wasp balloon was originally planned for a 1930s Parade, but the idea never made it past the design phase.
Snowman (1950)[]
There was going to be a Snowman balloon planned for the 1950 Parade, but the idea was scrapped and it was turned into a float.
Charlie Brown (1960s, United Media)[]
Charlie Brown, was planned to have a balloon in the Parade, but was scrapped for unknown reasons. This idea was revived in 2002.
Mr. Peanut (1960s, Planters)[]
Like Woody Woodpecker, Mr. Peanut was outed from the Parade as a balloon due to the lack of aerodynamics.
Woody Woodpecker (1960s, Walter Lantz Productions)[]
A Woody Woodpecker balloon was suggested by Walter Lantz himself in the 1960s, but a fear of lack of aerodynamics stopped the project. Despite this, Woody would later be recreated by Kemp Balloons in 1982.
Rocky the Flying Squirrel (1961, The Kalmus Company)[]
Rocky was originally going to debut alongside his best moose buddy, Bullwinkle in 1961. However, the balloon never made it past the concept stage as Goodyear feared the balloon would be disproportionate. Rocky was later 'balloon-ified' in 1996, with the second Bullwinkle balloon.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie (1962, Walt Disney Productions)[]
Akin to Rocky, Disney suggested to Goodyear to make three small balloons of Donald's nephews to debut alongside the Donald Duck balloon, but Goodyear declined. This was because they calculated that the triplets would have to be disproportionate to the 60-foot Donald balloon.
Mr. Magoo (1964/1976, UPA)[]
As a means of celebration of his 25th birthday and the promotion for the 1964 series, The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, UPA asked Goodyear to produce a Mr. Magoo balloon for the parade but it was scrapped. Over a decade later in 1976, UPA once again commissioned a Mr. Magoo balloon, with plans to stylize the character in a patriotic Uncle Sam outfit to celebrate the nation's bicentennial. This project was also scrapped before the balloon reached fabrication.
Casper the Friendly Ghost (1968, Harvey Toons)[]
A balloon version of Casper the Friendly Ghost was initially planned to debut in the 1968 Parade, alongside Snoopy. The project was scrapped by Goodyear, due to fears that a completely white balloon would be extremely difficult to maintain.
Big Bird (1970s, Children's Television Workshop)[]
Because of the massive success of Sesame Street, CTW commissioned a Big Bird balloon to debut in the 1970s. However, like Woody and Mr. Peanut, Goodyear rejected this idea due to the "lack of aerodynamics". The idea was revived by Raven Aerostar in 1988.
The Big Apple (1975, Daily News)[]
Originally planned to debut with Weeble, the idea never saw the light of day and was replaced by a Big Apple float two years later in 1977.
Bugs Bunny (1978, Warner Bros.)[]
When a Bugs Bunny balloon was first commissioned to Goodyear, it was rejected at the time due to the skinny body of the character. The idea wouldn't come into fruition until Raven Aerostar accepted the idea in 1989, despite plans to revive it before then.
B. Kliban's Cat (1980)[]
A balloon based on the character was initially planned to debut alongside the third Superman in the 1980 Parade to celebrate the 5th anniversary of B. Kliban's 1975 book, Cat. However, he never made it past the drawing board, and was booted due to licensing issues.
Betty Boop's Stars (1985, King Features)[]
Originally, the Betty Boop balloon was supposed to be accompanied by two novelty balloons of stars with cartoon-esque faces on the front. The duo of balloons never appeared in real-life form.
Snoopy and Woodstock (1987, United Media)[]
A proposed concept for the 1987 Snoopy balloon was for it to depict Woodstock clinging onto Snoopy's hat as he skates down the route. For unknown reasons, this idea was scrapped pretty late into development. The design was used for the balloon's handler costumes, while it may have inspired the creation of the Snoopy & Woodstock balloons the following year.
BeachBall/Water Polo Ball (1991, Macy's)[]
Macy's was originally going to make a Novelty Balloon Based on swimming, but they scrapped it, Matt Lauer mentioned this ideas During the Baseball, Basketball and Football's 1998 NBC Telecast.
Pets.com Sock Puppet (1999, Pets.com)[]
The Pets.com Sock Puppet was originally going to appear in the 1999 Parade as a giant helium character balloon. However, the company had only decided to participate in the Parade just a few weeks beforehand. The decision would later be finalized by instead transforming the Pets.com Sock Puppet into a Falloon, as then-Parade director Jean McFadden stated that the shape of the character would not work as a balloon.
Kidrobot (2005, Kidrobot)[]
In June 2005, Kidrobot approached Macy's about having a balloon of their mascot for the 2005 Parade. However, the deal was never finalized and the balloon was scrapped.
Bob the Builder (2006, HIT Entertainment)[]
A Bob the Builder balloon (designed by Joel Naprstek) was originally going to debut in the 2006 Parade, replacing the company's previous "Strike Up the Band" Barney balloon. The balloon never made it past the planning stages and was eventually dropped due to licensing issues.
Manhattan Manny (Macy's)[]
An original Macy's character, named Manhattan Manny the Groundhog, was initially meant to be created for a special Groundhog's Day event in New York City. A model for the balloon was created, however it was never built due to the expenses of permits to introduce him in the proper grounds of presentation in the Big Apple.
Other Balloons[]
Other balloons that have been outed from the Parade over the years include Tony the Tiger, a second Mighty Mouse, Fred Flintstone, a second Popeye, Serendipity, and Batman.
Scrapped Floats[]
Sleeper Train (1960s)[]
There was originally going to be a Train float in the 1960s called the Sleeper Train, but was scrapped for unknown reasons.
The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966)[]
To promote the film, Childhood Productions Inc. partnered with Macy's to have a float based on The Christmas That Almost Wasn't for the 1966 Parade, but the idea never came to fruition for unknown reasons.
Oliver! (1968)[]
A float based on the movie Oliver! Was planned to make its debut in the 1968 Parade, but was scrapped for unknown reasons.
King Kong (1993)[]
A float based on the golden age Hollywood film was meant to debut in the 1993 Parade to coincide the movie's 60th anniversary, but the concept never made it past to completion for unknown Reasons. The design would have featured the famous scene of Kong climbing the Empire State Building.
The Pagemaster (1994)[]
To promote the Movie, a float based on the film The Pagemaster was scheduled to debut in the 1994 Parade, but never made it past the concept stage for unknown Reasons.
Carters Clothes (1999)[]
A float based on Carters Clothes was supposed to be in the 1999 Parade, but never made it past the concept stage for unknown reasons.
Intel (1990's)[]
A float sponsored by Intel was planned for the parade around the 1990s at one point, but never made it past the concept stage for unknown reasons.
Robot Adventure[]
TBA
Monsters (2007, M&M's)[]
The M&M's Chocolate Candies on Broadway float was going to have a Halloween theme, with Orange as a mummy, Blue as a phantom, Yellow as Frankenstein, and Green as the Bride. The concept was scrapped for unknown reasons, probably due to Halloween being before Thanksgiving, and the theme was changed to a Broadway theme.
A World Where Kids Rule (2009)[]
Coming soon!
Dickens' Christmas (2009)[]
A new float based on A Christmas Carol was planned to make its debut in the 2009 Parade. However, the float was scrapped for unknown reasons.
Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall and The Fix-It Flyer (2016, Krazy Glue)[]
These were the proposed concepts for a potential Krazy Glue float for the 90th Macy's Parade, but they ended up scrapped, with the former most likely due to the animatronic-like Humpty Dumpty being too hard to build properly and the latter due to unknown circumstances, and were replaced by the Fun House design that would be its finalized look.
Scrapped Balloonicles[]
Pendleton the Penguin (2004, Playskool)[]
Pendleton the Penguin was originally going to be one of the three Weebles balloonicles to debut in 2004 as seen in the concept art, but was scrapped and replaced with Tooey the Turtle later on. It is unknown why the Parade studio made this choice.