2016 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – Time, Live Stream, Route & More

It’s not Thanksgiving without turkey… and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

This year marks the 90th year the parade will make it’s way through the streets of Manhattan, and in addition to some new floats and balloons, viewers will also have a new way to watch thanks to free live streaming for the first time.

For those planning to watch, both from home and in-person, here is everything you need to know, from the time and free live streaming options to the parade route and best viewing spots.

Time & Channel: The parade airs live at 9 A.M. EST on NBC. It will be hosted once again by the Today Shows Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, and Al Roker.

Free Live Stream: For the first time ever, free live streaming will be available through NBC and Verizon’s YouTube page.

You can access the parade via NBC’s website, or their app for Android and iOS; streaming is free but you need to sign in using a participating cable provider.

For those without cable, you can live stream the parade for free using Verizon’s YouTube page. It will be hosted online by Marlon Wayans and Olivia Culpo and they will use 5 cameras for a 360 degree view.

Parade Route/ Best Views: The parade starts on 77th street and Central Park West, and heads south on Central Park West until Columbus Circle. At Columbus Circle the parade turns east onto Central Park South and marches along to Macy’s on 34th street.

You can view a map below.

You can view the parade anywhere along the route, but these are the 3 best spots:

Sixth Avenue, from 59th to 38th streets: Get there around 7 A.M. to have a good view.

Columbus Circle: The Columbus Circle mall opens at 9 A.M. EST, and you can see an elevated view from the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Central Park West and 75th street: This area is 2 blocks before the starting point and open only on the West side. Get there by 6 A.M. EST to get a good view.

Balloons/Performers: This year there are new balloons, among them, Poppy and Branch from Trolls and Trixie the Dog.

Performers include Broadway’s Holiday Inn, Waitress, Paramour, Cats and a preview of NBC’s Hairspray Live!

How do you plan to be watching the 2016 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?

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