how long is the thanksgiving day parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City runs for about three hours total , from roughly 8:30 a.m. to noon Eastern Time.

Basic timing

• The official parade is scheduled as a three‑hour event televised from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

• If you are watching on TV, you will see about three continuous hours of floats, balloons, bands, and performances.

How long it feels in person

• Along the start of the route (around Central Park West near 77th Street), the parade typically passes by a given spot in about 1.5 hours once it reaches you.

• Closer to Macy’s Herald Square near the end of the route, the procession can take close to the full three hours to go by, because of TV performances and pacing.

Route and distance

• The parade route is about 2.5 miles, from West 77th Street & Central Park West down to Macy’s Herald Square at 34th Street.

• Because of that distance, different sections of the crowd experience the parade at slightly different times and durations, even though the official event window is three hours.

Quick takeaway

• Official length: about three hours (8:30 a.m.–noon ET).

• Time it takes to pass one viewing spot: roughly 1.5–3 hours depending on where you stand along the route.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.