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The 71st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | The 72nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | The 73rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | ![]() |
The 72nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 26th, 1998 in New York City, and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. EST. It was hosted by Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker. Participating celebrities included Judy Collins, Martina McBride, Chicago, Kenny Rogers, 98 Degrees and *NSYNC.
Parade Lineup
Listed below are the various Parade units that appeared in the 1998 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, * indicates a retired Parade unit, and italics indicate an element that was removed from the line of march.
Balloons
Giant Balloons
- Big Bird (Children's Television Workshop) - 11th time
- Babe* (Universal Pictures) - 1st time
- Barney (Lyrick Studios) - 5th time
- Garfield (PAWS, Inc.) - 13th time
- Wild Thing (Bell Atlantic) - 1st time
- Arthur (Little Brown Children's Publishing) - 2nd time
- Peter Rabbit* (Frederick Ward & Co.) - 3rd time
- Spider-Man* (Marvel Comics) - 12th time
- Rugrats (Nickelodeon) - 2nd time
- Dexter (Cartoon Network) - 1st time
- Quik Bunny (Nestlé USA) - 11th time
- Eben Bear* (John Deere) - 4th time
Novelty Balloons
- Cloe the Holiday Clown (Macy's) - 5th time
- White Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 13th time
- ABC Bouncing Balls (Children's Television Workshop) - 11th time
- Pumpkins* (Macy's) - 7th time
- Geometric Ornament* (Macy's) - 9th time
- Ice Cream Cone (Macy's) - 12th time
- White Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 13th time
- Baseball, Basketball and Football (New York Sports Club) - 8th time
- Harold the Fireman (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Ice Stars (Macy's) - 12th time
Floats
- Tom Turkey (Macy's) - 6th time
- Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 1st time
- Cornucopia* (Macy's) - 4th time
- The King & I* (Morgan Creek Productions) - 1st time
- Barney's Gingerbread House* (Lyrick Studios) - 1st time
- The Magical World of Mother Goose* (Macy's) - 8th time
- Mr. Peanut's Circus (Planters Company) - 2nd time
- Rip Van Winkle Wakin' Up (Folgers Coffee) - 1st time
- Soaring Spirit Canoe (Macy's) - 13th time
- Jolly Polly Pirate Ship (Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.) - 5th time
- M&M's Network (M&M's Chocolate Candies) - 1st time
- Westward Ho!* (Macy's) - 3rd time
- P.T. Flea's Circus* (Disney·Pixar) - 1st time
- Heimlich* (Disney·Pixar) - 1st time
- Pep Rally (Mike Miller & Associates) - 3rd time
- Statue of Liberty (GMC) - 6th time
- Big Apple (The New York Daily News) - 16th time
- Party Time!* (Hanes Hosiery) - 3rd time
- Flights of Fancy (Continental Airlines) - 4th time
- Santaland Express (OshKosh B'Gosh) - 14th time
- Snow Family Holiday (Fox/Family Channel) - 3rd time
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (GoodTimes Entertainment) - 1st time
- Annabelle's Wish* (Discover Card) - 2nd time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 21st time
Specialty Units
- New York City Highway Patrol District Motorcycle Brigade - 14th time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner (Macy's) - 18th time
- George Washington on Horseback* (Mount Vernon) - 1st time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner (Macy's) - 18th time
- New York City Police Department Mounted Unit - 72nd time
Toy Floats
- Mother Duck & Ducklings* (Macy's) - 6th time
- Mr. Snail (Macy's) - 31th time
- Mr. Tortoise (Macy's) - 20th time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 40th time
- Rocking Lion (Macy's) - 20th time
- Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 19th time
Marching Bands
- Franklin High School Marching Band (Franklin, TN), performed "76 Trombones"
- Fayetteville High School Marching Bulldog Band (Fayetteville, AR), performed "Give My Regards to Broadway"
- Walton High School Marching Raider Band (Marietta, GA), performed "Rocket Man"
- Banda Escolar de Guayanilla (Guyanilla, Peurto Rico), performed "Chips N' Salsa"
- Kilgore College Band and Rangerettes (Kilgore, TX), performed "Texas Medley"
- West High School Entertainment Unit (Torrance, CA), performed "Hooray for Hollywood"
- United States Merchant Marine Academy Marching Band (Kings Point, NY)
- NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY), performed "42nd Street"
- Brandon Valley High School Marching Lynx (Brandon, SD), performed "West Side Story Medley"
- Arapahoe High School Warrior Marching Band (Littleton, CO), performed "Star Trek Voyage"
- Red Land High School Patriot Marching Band (Lewisberry, PA), performed "NY Traffic Stop"
- Illinois State University Big Red Marching Machine (Normal, IL), performed "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
Guest Stars
- Parade Official Jean McFaddin
- Martina McBride, sang "Happy Girl" (Tom Turkey)
- The Stars of Sesame Street, sang "Sing" (Sesame Street)
- Eric McCormick and Debra Messing (Cornucopia)
- Christiane Noll, sang "Getting to Know You" (The King & I)
- Barney, sang "If All the Raindrops" (Barney's Gingerbread House)
- John McDonough, The All New Captain Kangaroo (The Magical World of Mother Goose)
- 98°, sang "Because Of You" (Mr. Peanut's Circus)
- Rockapella, sang "Wake Up" (Rip Van Winkle Wakin' Up)
- Judy Collins, sang "The Fallow Way" (Soaring Spirit Canoe)
- Cathy Rigby, sang "I Gotta Crow" (Peter Pan's Pirate Ship)
- *NSYNC, sang "Tearin' Up My Heart" (M&M's Network)
- Jo Dee Messina, sang "I'm Alright" (Westward Ho!)
- Flik & Atta and The Cast of A Bug's Life, performed "The Flik Machine" (P.T. Flea's Circus)
- Kenny Rogers, sang "Heroes" (Statue of Liberty)
- The Toms River, NJ Little League '98 World Champions (Statue of Liberty)
- Joe Torre, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Graeme Llyod (Big Apple)
- Monica, sang "Angel of Mine" (Party Time!)
- Taikoza Taiko Drummers and the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York (Flights of Fancy)
- Chicago, sang "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Santaland Express)
- The Cast of The New Addams Family, sang "Ring-A-Ding-Ding" (Snow Family Holiday)
- The Pointer Sisters, performed "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
- Kevin Sharp, performed "If You Believe" (Annabelle's Wish)
- Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)
Celebrity Characters
- Muffy VanderBear and Poca Hoppy
- Wompkee
- Spider-Man and Wolverine
- Daren
- Fremont and Purscilla
- Dee Dee
- Toxie
- Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Betacarotine, Lycopene and Lupein
Performance Groups
- Funny Factory Clown Band (Colts Neck, NJ)
- Field Musick of the American Revolution (Nationwide), performed "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
- Black Cowboys Association of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY)
- Universal Cheer & Dance Association (Nationwide)
- Mike Miller Dance Team (Nationwide), performed "Salute to the Millennium"
Pre-Parade Acts
- America Sings!, performed "Big City Beat"
- Footloose, performed "Footloose"
- Cabaret, performed "Cabaret"
- The Scarlett Pimpernel, performed "Into the Fire"
- The Radio City Rockettes
- Annie Get Your Gun, performed "There's No Business Like Show Business"
Clowns
- Skating Clowns - 30th time
- Countdown Clowns - 5th time
- Alphabet Block Clowns - 6th time
- Funny Farm Truck Clowns - 5th time
- American Gothic Clowns - 5th time
- Rain Ballet Clowns - 5th time
- Holiday Clowns #1 - 4th time
- Birthday Clowns* - 6th time
- Banana Split Clowns - 3rd time
- Elephant Clowns - 5th time
- Hula Hoop Clowns - 7th time
- Baby Clowns - 17th time
- Holiday Lanes Bowling League - 6th time
- Bells Jogging Wheel Clowns - 5th time
- Caribbean Clowns* - 2nd time
- Tropical Fruit Clowns - 4th time
- Wave Clowns* - 2nd time
- Keystone Kops - 3rd time
- Cactus & Cowboys Clowns - 7th time
- Jester Clowns - 2nd time
- Baseball Clowns* - 2nd time
- Patriotic Clowns - 3rd time
- Holiday Clowns #2* - 4th time
- Funny Firefighter Brigade* - 12th time
- Peppy-Roni Pizza Clowns - 6th time
- Funny Bone Medical Team - 5th time
- Uptown Doggie Walkers - 5th time
- Klassical Clowns - 3rd time
- Glitz Jogging Wheel Clowns - 5th time
- Holiday Clowns #3 - 5th time
- Open Jogging Wheel Clowns - 5th time
Clown Vehicles
- Funny Farm Produce Truck - 5th time
- Banana Split Vehicle - 3rd time
- Paddy Wagon - 19th time
- Fire Truck, Fire Engine and Smoking Outhouse - 19th time
- Clown Ambulance - 16th time
- Dog Catcher Vehicle - 5th time
Incidents
- The Blue Geometric Ornament balloon was punctured by an unknown obstacle the night before the Parade and was removed.
- A chamber inside burst on the Garfield balloon at 77th Street. Due to the damages, the balloon was taken out of the parade lineup.
- Spider-Man's stomach tore open and
- A lack of handlers on the Quik Bunny balloon caused it to go out of control, eventually being punctured and deflated by a tree.
- A gust of wind pushed Wild Thing into a lamppost on 77th Street, tearing a 10-foot long gash in its left side. The damage was deemed to extensive and the balloon was removed from the lineup.
- Dexter's right rocket was deflated during his debut march.