where do they inflate the thanksgiving day balloons

The giant balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are inflated on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, in the streets around the American Museum of Natural History, typically between West 77th and West 81st Streets along Central Park West.

Main location

• The balloon inflation happens outdoors in a secured “inflation zone” set up on the Upper West Side of New York City.

• This zone runs around the American Museum of Natural History, mainly along Central Park West between about 77th Street and 81st Street.

When they inflate them

• The event usually takes place on Thanksgiving Eve (the afternoon and evening before the parade).

• It doubles as a public viewing event, where visitors can walk a loop past the inflating balloons during set hours (often early-to-late afternoon).

How the process works

• Macy’s crews fill the balloons with helium and secure them with nets, sandbags, and tethers so they can stay in place overnight before the parade.

• Each giant character balloon can take around 90 minutes to fully inflate, and some reach heights of several stories when finished.

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