Macy’s Thanksgiving Parades of the past

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday tradition since 1924. Here are some of the attractions that have delighted paradegoers over the decades. Felix the Cat The first giant balloon ever made for the Macy's parade made its debut in 1927. Appropriately, the honor went to Felix the Cat, the first animated film star, who had been introduced in silent theatrical cartoons only eight years earlier.

A large outdoor float of Captain Nemo makes its way down the street during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City on Nov. 28, 1929. Early balloons like this one were filled with air and carried by string. Starting in 1929 the balloons were released at the parade's end and rewards were offered for their return, but the practice was discontinued after 1932, when a pilot nearly crashed his plane trying to retrieve one.

The first Disney star to be a giant balloon in the Macy's parade was (of course) Mickey Mouse, in 1934. The mammoth mouse was more than 50 feet tall, built by the Goodyear Rubber Company. And look closely at the attendants guiding Mickey down the street: They're all dressed in Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes!

This was the scene in Times Square in New York during the parade on Nov. 23, 1945. It was the first parade since the festivities were suspended in 1941 due to World War II. Here, the Teddy Bear passes a reproduction of the Statue of Liberty.

The Macy's Elf (note the Macy's star logo on his cap) has been a parade tradition since his first appearance here, in 1947. And he's not the only elf to appear in the parade: 2012 marked the debut of the Elf on the Shelf, from the best-selling children's book by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell.

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's the first Macy's parade Superman balloon, which debuted in 1939, the year after the Man of Steel himself first appeared in Action Comics No. 1. That Superman soared for many years; this photo is from the 1950s. A second version was introduced in 1966, followed by a third in 1980.

Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes kicked up their heels on Nov. 27, 1958, when an estimated 1,250,000 people attended Macy's parade. The Rockettes continue to perform in the parade to this day.

This shot of the Macy's Parade from the early 1960s spotlights Popeye, still in his heyday. The spinach-chomping sailor man had made his parade debut a few years earlier, in 1957.

Crowds of children gathered to watch the parade and even perched on phone booths on a chilly Thanksgiving Day in the early 1960s.

Bullwinkle the moose floats above the Macy's parade in the early 1960s, when he costarred in TV cartoons with Rocky the Flying Squirrel.

The pizza-gobbling cartoon cat floats above a marching band on Broadway on Nov. 27, 1986. The Choctawhatchee High School band of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., march behind him.

The Empire State Building can be seen in the background as handlers pull the Betty Boop balloon past Macy's department store (left) in the early 1990s.

The Nov. 25, 1993 Macy's Parade was plagued by freezing temperatures and blustery winds that burst several of the balloons. One casualty was Rex, the tyrannosaurus hero of the children's book "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story."

The Nov. 25, 1999 parade brought the debut of Millennium Snoopy, the fifth version of Charlie Brown's beagle to star in the festivities. In front of Snoopy is Cloe the Clown, a historic Macy's float regarded as the patron spirit of clowns.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani waves from his float during the 75th Macy's parade on Nov. 22, 2001, symbolizing the city's resilience in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 only a couple of months earlier.

The Ronald McDonald balloon makes its way through Times Square during the 76th Macy's parade on Nov. 28, 2002. The fast-food icon was one of 13 giant character balloons in the parade that year.

The Uncle Sam balloon leads off the parade on Nov. 28, 2002. The balloon is a re-creation of a patriotic one that first appeared in 1938 and continued through the 1940s.

Cheerleaders are a much a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition as giant balloons. This group was alive and kicking in front of Macy's flagship store during the 2002 parade.

On Nov. 25, 2004, Chicken Little made his debut as a giant helium balloon. He was the star of an animated Disney version of the classic children's tale that debuted in theaters the following July.

The iconic character from the Pokemon franchise of video games and cartoons precedes a toy soldier, Mr. Potato Head and Garfield down Broadway on Nov. 24, 2005.

Scooby Doo, where are you? The cowardly Great Dane hides safely behind a marching band on Nov. 22, 2007.

Curse you, Red Baron! Flying Ace Snoopy casts a long shadow on Nov. 27, 2008. The sixth version of the beloved Peanuts character had made his parade debut two years earlier.

What's a Thanksgiving without turkey? Tom Turkey, to be precise, has been a staple of the Macy's Parade since 1971, including this appearance on Nov. 26, 2009.

Big and scary though he may be, Shrek doesn't seem to be intimidating too many paradegoers on Nov. 25, 2010. The green guy first joined the parade in 2007.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade continued to delight spectators on Nov. 25, 2010, just as it has every year since it started in 1924.

Cheerleaders wave in formation on Central Park South near the beginning of the Macy's Parade on Nov. 25, 2010.

The web-spinning superhero debuted as a giant helium balloon in 1987, then returned in 2009 and, as shown here, the following year. In 2011, he will also be represented by the cast of the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."

It wouldn't be a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade without marching bands from across the country and around the world. Here the "Pedro Molina" band from Guatemala performs on Nov. 25, 2010.

The Hello Kitty balloon floats down Central Park West during the 87th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York November 28, 2013

Adventure Time balloon during the 88th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 27, 2014 in New York City.