A new balloon costs around $190,000 With all the work (and money) that goes into designing, creating, and inflating a new balloon, Macy’s studio charges upwards of $190,000 per new balloon. Since purchasing a new balloon for the parade costs so much money, companies usually invest for several years.
How much does it cost to fill a Macy’s Thanksgiving balloon?
Inflating balloons that can soar up to five or six stories tall is seriously expensive. Each balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade uses 300,000 to 700,000 cubic feet of helium. Filling every balloon costs a minimum of $510,000 .
Here is what we found. companies sponsoring brand-new balloons pay a seriously pricey construction and parade fee, totaling nearly $200,000 at last count. The cost is high, but advertising at the Thanksgiving parade is a huge marketing opportunity — there’s certainly not a shortage of businesses willing to shell out the cash.
How high do macy’s balloons fly?
The character balloons can go as high as 55 feet (16 meters) off the ground and as low as 10 feet (3 meters). The rules requiring them to be grounded in high winds came after a “Cat in the Hat” balloon blew into a lamppost near Central Park in 1997, critically injuring a woman.
While the numbers vary, the average is a whopping 12,000 cubic feet. Finally, the moment of truth: making the balloon. When the Macy’s Parade first began, the balloon was sewn together manually from rubber. This was before the switch to helium (the balloons were originally filled with air ). Today, polyurethane is used.
The balloons’ dimensions vary, but most are about five to six stories high and somewhere around 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. Each balloon needs around 90 handlers. In all, there are around 2,000 to 3,000 balloon handlers [source: Macy’s ].
What is Macy’s Balloonfest?
, macy’s balloon Fest is an annual event that is held on the first Saturday of each November from 9 a., and m. To 12 p. m. The event is organized by the American department store chain , Macy’s. The event features the first public flights of many giant helium balloons that are set to debut in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
How big is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon?
For instance, the Charlie Brown balloon is 53 feet long, 31 feet wide, 46 feet tall. His kite has an 80-foot train [source: Macy’s ]. Some 2,000 to 3,000 volunteers, who must weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health, handle the balloons.
You should be thinking “Are balloons allowed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?”
One frequent answer is, several balloons will be returning for the 2019 parade, including the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald Mc. Donald, The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, Pikachu among others. Balloons are not allowed to fly if the wind gusts are more than 35 mph. The Thanksgiving Day parade balloons were last grounded was in 1971.
A question we ran across in our research was “How are the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons made?”.
Today, in a former Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the river from New York City, the balloons are created by the Macy’s Parade Studio . Depending on what’s being depicted, a figure may be fashioned vertically, horizontally or somewhere in between. It all starts with a pencil sketch.
What is a replica of a balloon made out of?
An exact-scale replica made out of clay and a painted model (also an exact-scale replica) are fashioned before the actual balloon is cut out of fabric. Each balloon has several chambers and includes a zipper, an inflation device and a high-pressure valve.
Balloons are constructed of polyurethane , though they used to be made of rubber. Since the switch from air to helium, the behemoth balloons have coasted along with a big dose of help from volunteer balloon wranglers.