The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1978)

The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1977)

The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1978)

The 53rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1979)

The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Lineup advertisement for the 1978 Macy's Parade.
Date	November 23, 1978
Parade #	52
New Floats	The Loch Ness Monster by Busch Gardens The Wilderness Family: Part 2 by Pacific International Enterprises The Lord of the Rings by United Media Ice Castles by Columbia Pictures The Wiz by Universal Pictures Santa's Sleigh by Macy's

The 52^nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 23, 1978 in New York City, and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to noon. It was hosted by Ed McMahon and Bryant Gumbel. The lineup featured nine giant helium balloons, 29 floats, 12 marching bands, thousands of marchers, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

Parade Lineup

Listed below are the various Parade units that appeared in the 1978 line of march. Each unit is listed in several categories and sub-categories, in addition to the unit's sponsor.

Bold indicates a new Parade unit, underline indicates a unit that was brought back after an absence, strikethrough indicates a removed Parade unit, and * indicates a retired Parade unit.

Balloons

• Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 15th time
• Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 8th time
• Smokey Bear (Macy's) - 13th time
• Weeble* (Hasbro) - 4th time
• Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 18th time
• Snoopy the Aviator (United Media) - 11th time
• Kermit the Frog (Henson Associates) - 2nd time
• Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 18th time
• Underdog (Macy's) - 14th time

Floats

• Turkey (Macy's) - 6th time
• The Loch Ness Monster (Busch Gardens) - 1st time
• Disney Castle (Walt Disney Productions) - 8th time
• Cootie (Schaper Toys) - 4th time
• Giant Jukebox* (FM 99 WXLO) - 3rd time
• The Wilderness Family: Part 2* (Pacific International Enterprises) - 1st time
• Showboat (Macy's) - 10th time
• The Lord of the Rings* (United Media) - 1st time
• Ice Castles* (Columbia Pictures) - 1st time
• Mother Goose (Macy's) - 5th time
• Sesame Street* (Children's Television Workshop) - 5th time
• Watership Down* (Nepenthe Productions) - 2nd time
• Big Apple (The New York Daily News) - 2nd time
• The Wiz* (Universal Pictures & MCA) - 1st time
• McDonald's Gazebo (McDonald's) - 2nd time
• Pirate Ship (Macy's) - 10th time
• Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 1st time

Specialty Units

• NYPD Mounted Police - 52nd time
• "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner (Macy's) - 15th time
• Circus Wagon (Macy's) - 14th time
• "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner (Macy's) - 15th time
• Excalibur Car (Macy's) - 4th time

Push Floats

• Pilgrim Man & Woman (Macy's) - 4th time
• Bear Bee (Macy's) - 8th time
• Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 21st time
• Rocking Giraffe* (Macy's) - 9th time
• Snail (Macy's) - 10th time
• Airplane (Macy's) - 12th time
• George Washington & Ben Franklin (Macy's) - 4th time

Marching Bands

• Concord High School Marching Minutemen Band (Elkhart, IN)
• Kearny Caledonian Pipe Band (Kearny, NJ)
• Glasgow Scottie Band (Glasgow, KY)
• Lancaster High School Marching Band of Gold (Lancaster, OH)
• Wheeling High School Wildcat Marching Band (Wheeling, IL)
• Independence High School 76^th Cavalry Band (San Jose, CA)
• Falls Church High School Band (Falls Church, VA)
• Homewood Patriot Band (Homewood, AL)
• United States Merchant Marine Academy Regimental Band (Kings Point, NY)
• Cary High School Marching Band (Cary, NC)
• McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide)
• Long Prairie High School Marching Band (Long Prairie, MN)

Guest Stars

• Parade Official Jean McFaddin
• The Oak Ridge Boys, sang "You're the One (in a Million)" (Turkey)
• Shields and Yarnell (Disney Castle)
• Village People, sang "Y.M.C.A." (Giant Jukebox)
• Melba Moore, Bruce Jenner, Peter Ustinov, Paula Ustinov, Kabir Bedi, and Marina Vlady (Showboat)
• Wally Amos (Showboat)
• Ricardo Montalban (Horse and Carriage)
• Burl Ives and Katy Kurtzman (Excalibur Car)
• Imogene Coca
• Margo Smith, sang "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" (Rocking Giraffe)
• Lynn-Holly Johnson (Ice Castles)
• The Smothers Brothers (Excalibur Car)
• The Cast of Sesame Street (Sesame Street)
• Bucky Dent (Big Apple)
• Paul Lavalle (McDonald's Gazebo)
• Brass Construction (Pirate Ship)
• The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes
• Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)

Costumed Characters

• Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
• Pinocchio, Honest John and Gideon (Disney Castle)
• The Lone Ranger and Tonto
• Weebles
• Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble
• Yogi Bear
• Mr. Chuck (Circus Wagon)

Pre-Parade Acts

• The King and I, performed "Getting to Know You"

Clowns

• Skating Clowns - 11th time

Incident & Defects

Incident

• Happy Dragon's head was punctured by a tree branch in Columbus Circle and the balloon collapsed to the pavement, resulting in its removal.

Defects

• Linus the Lionhearted's muzzle was slightly deflated.
• Mickey Mouse's left ear was slightly deflated
• One of Underdog's left fingers were deflated.

See also

• The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1978)/Gallery
• The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Marching Order