Hogwarts is coming to Sixth Avenue. Macy's and HBO Max have unveiled a new float inspired by the Great Hall of Hogwarts, marking the first time Harry Potter has ever appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it's set to roll through Manhattan when the 100th edition of the parade steps off on November 26.
The float draws its look directly from HBO Max's upcoming series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, according to Time Out New York. The design leans on the castle's Great Hall as its centerpiece, complete with oversized house banners, stained-glass-inspired details, sculpted topiaries and house animal imagery representing Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. A giant Sorting Hat also makes an appearance on the float, tying the design back to the boarding-school sorting ritual familiar to generations of fans.
Before it rolls down the parade route, the float will make its official public debut at a Macy's studio preview event on November 17, giving fans an early look weeks ahead of the holiday march itself.
A New Cast Steps Into the Wizarding World
The float's timing lines up with HBO Max's reboot of the franchise, which is scheduled to premiere on Christmas Day, just a month after the parade, per Rotten Tomatoes. The new series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, with Francesca Gardiner serving as showrunner and Mark Mylod directing, according to the same outlet's reporting on the project.
That release date helps explain why Warner Bros. Discovery would want a presence on one of television's biggest remaining live stages. The 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November 2025 drew a record 34.3 million combined viewers across NBC and Peacock, per TheWrap, giving any studio partner access to one of the largest live television audiences in the country. NBCUniversal and Macy's extended their broadcast partnership in November 2025 with a new 10-year rights deal for the Thanksgiving parade and July Fourth special, reported by Fast Company to be worth roughly $60 million annually.
Built in New Jersey, Squeezed Through the Lincoln Tunnel
Every Macy's float, including this one, takes shape at the 72,000-square-foot Macy's Parade Studio in Moonachie, New Jersey, where a team of 30 to 50 artists and artisans work year-round, according to New Jersey Monthly. Getting a multi-story creation like the Great Hall float into Manhattan is its own engineering puzzle: floats must collapse down to a maximum width of 8.5 feet and height of 12.5 feet to clear the Lincoln Tunnel before crews reassemble them overnight on the Upper West Side, as reported by Untapped New York. Building a new float typically runs between $30,000 and $100,000, per BizBash, roughly the cost of a 30-second network commercial.
The Great Hall float will travel the parade's 2.5-mile route from the Upper West Side to Macy's Herald Square, the same course the parade has followed since its earliest days. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 and was suspended from 1942 through 1944 during World War II, a history the retailer is leaning into for this year's milestone.
A Centennial Lineup Packed With Firsts and Throwbacks
Harry Potter's debut is one piece of a much larger anniversary push. Macy's kicked off a 100-day countdown to the centennial parade on August 18, announcing that this year's march will feature a record lineup of 100 inflatable elements. Among the other additions are a float honoring Tony Sarg, the puppeteer whose creations helped shape the parade's aesthetic, a new Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey balloon, and the return of Underdog to the balloon lineup.
Macy's is also reviving a piece of parade lore for the occasion: the retailer announced the return of the legendary Blue Hippopotamus balloon, which flew away after the 1931 parade and was never recovered, according to Secret NYC. The gesture fits the centennial's dual focus on breaking new records while resurrecting pieces of the parade's earliest history.
Harry Potter's Growing Ties to Macy's Holiday Brand
This isn't the first time Macy's and the wizarding world have crossed paths during the holidays. Outside the New York parade, Universal Orlando Resort hosts the annual Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's, which pairs authentic Macy's parade elements with Wizarding World of Harry Potter holiday festivities, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of Universal's holiday season lineup. That existing partnership makes the new Hogwarts float feel less like an isolated stunt and more like an expansion of ties that were already in place between the two brands.
For now, New Yorkers and parade-watchers nationwide will have their first real look at the float on November 17, when it debuts publicly at the Macy's studio preview event, well ahead of its walk down the parade route on November 26.
