See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (2024)

Table of Contents

Felix the Cat Flies Away in the 1927 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Mighty Mouse Collapses in the 1956 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Popeye's Hat Dumps Water in the 1957 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Kermit the Frog Hits a Tree in the 1985 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Superman Tangles with a Tree in the 1986 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Bugs Bunny Rips in the 1989 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Two Balloons Hit Street Lamps in the 1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Barney Deflates in the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade A Keith Haring Balloon Takes Out the Broadcast Booth in the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Several Balloons Deflate in the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Lifestyle
Holiday
Thanksgiving

Over nearly a century of this New York City tradition, its big bright balloons have had plenty of blowouts

Kate Hogan,

Kate Hogan

Kate Hogan is Director of Digital Specials and Features at PEOPLE, as well as the editor of Stories to Make You Smile. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2008.

People Editorial Guidelines

Alexandra Schonfeld,

Alexandra Schonfeld

Alexandra Schonfeld is a features writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since April 2022. Her work previously appeared in Newsweek.

People Editorial Guidelines

and

James Mercadante

James Mercadante has been a Content Update Editor for PEOPLE since November 2022. After earning his Bachelor's and Master's in English at The College of New Jersey, he's worked for various entertainment and lifestyle publications and has had bylines featured in Entertainment Weekly, TV Insider, Modern Luxury Manhattan, Ocean Drive, Hamptons Magazine and Honeysuckle Magazine. He enjoys reading, obsessing over Beyoncé and Ariana Grande on the internet and quoting lines from Twilight in everyday life.

People Editorial Guidelines

Felix the Cat Flies Away in the 1927 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (5)

Felix the Cat was the parade's first-ever balloon, debuting in 1927. However, there wasn't a plan on how to deflate him after the event, according to TIME, so handlers released him — and he promptly popped.

Why the Macy's Balloons Used to Just Fly Away and More Fun Facts About the Big Parade

02of 10

Mighty Mouse Collapses in the 1956 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (6)

Per TIME, Mighty Mouse "failed to save the day" in 1956, crashing into a street sign and promptly collapsing.

03of 10

Popeye's Hat Dumps Water in the 1957 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (7)

During the rainy 1957 parade, Popeye's iconic hat filled up with water — and on one tight turn, dumped the chilly liquid onto some unpleasantly surprised spectators.

04of 10

Kermit the Frog Hits a Tree in the 1985 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (8)

At the time, the 1985 Thanksgiving parade was one of the rainiest on record, according to The Weather Channel. That was bad news for Kermit the Frog, who careened into a tree and ripped.

05of 10

Superman Tangles with a Tree in the 1986 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (9)

Not so super? In 1986, Superman's arm ripped right off mid-parade after getting tangled in a tree, as captured in this video.

What It Takes to Put on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, by the Numbers

06of 10

Bugs Bunny Rips in the 1989 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (10)

The 1989 parade stepped off in a snowstorm, wreaking havoc on several balloons — including Bugs Bunny — who took a tear to his side, according to The New York Times.

07of 10

Two Balloons Hit Street Lamps in the 1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (11)

The 1993 parade was a tough one for balloons: Rex the Dinosaur and Sonic the Hedgehog both hit street lamps, deflating almost immediately (via The Hollywood Reporter).

08of 10

Barney Deflates in the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (12)

Winds reached 45 miles per hour on the day of the 1997 parade, which made controlling the balloons extra hard for handlers. Poor Barney suffered a tear, deflating dramatically. According to Esquire, the inflatable dinosaur actually had to be removed about 15 blocks before hitting the grandstand.

09of 10

A Keith Haring Balloon Takes Out the Broadcast Booth in the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (13)

Al Roker, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer got quite the unpleasant surprise in 2008 when a Keith Haring balloon took a wide turn and crashed right into their broadcast booth, temporarily taking them off the air.

Thanksgiving Throwback: 14 Iconic Photos of the Macy's Parade

10of 10

Several Balloons Deflate in the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

See the Biggest Balloon Blunders at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: From a Runaway Felix the Cat to the Infamous Barney Disaster (14)

During the 97th annual parade, social media had a field day over several balloons that seemed to be running low on air. Balloons for Diary of a Wimpy Kid's Greg Heffley and Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe were spotted looking slightly limp, while Snoopy and One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy had noticeably droopy hats.