Do you plan to visit New York around Thanksgiving? Do you want to see the floats up close before the Macy’s parade? There is an opportunity to do that.
In the afternoon and evening on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving you can go to between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue between 74th and 82nd street and see the floats blown up and waiting to be used. The actual streets the balloons are on are around the Museum of Natural History. This year the winds are supposed to be bad the day of the parade, so they may not use the floats.
It would be hard to get a cab to this location. They close down Central Park West near it and several streets running into it. You can access it via subway/underground. A lot of walking is involved, so if you have issues walking, I do not recommend this. You walk a couple of blocks slowly at night with a large crowd until you arrive at the bag check. After that you walk another block or so to see the floats. I have been able to do this previously in the early afternoon. I highly recommend going then instead of at night. There are less crowds in the afternoon.
If you think you may not pick the best spot to view the parade, this is an option to add to your itinerary. It is a New York City pre-Thanksgiving tradition.
For more information: https://www.visitmacysusa.com/article/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-balloon-inflation
Sharon's Iconic Travel Photography Blog 
Sitting at home with my beagle Bentley on my lap is just fine. No crowds and snacks when needed. 🙂 Hope the winds aren’t as bad as forecast and all the parade-goers are treated to the show. Kinda breezy right now at 3:45 a.m. in WMass.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some would rather watch it on TV. It depends on which location on the route you try to get to. Forget Columbus Circle and north. Don’t go near Macy’s either. In between it’s not so bad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I was a kid (I grew up in New York), we used to watch the parade on TV. I thought it was the Macy’s Day parade.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it is. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They still organize it and the parade ends in front of Macy’s on 34th.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, it is but not quite. I hadn’t taken in the Thanksgiving part of it. The parade was a big enough deal in my mind that I thought Macy’s got a day all of its own on account of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The cool thing is Macy’s employees are asked if they would like to work at the parade. Some hold the ropes for the floats. I got that info from a Macy’s employee.
LikeLiked by 1 person