The Popeye balloon was inflated at Macy's Herald Square, where it watched the Parade in honor of the balloon's retirement. To date, this remains one of only two instances where a balloon received its own retirement party, with the other being Dino the Dinosaur's 1977 retirement party.
1968 marked the first appearance of Snoopy as a giant balloon. The character would go on to become the longest-running single character to be represented by a balloon in Parade history, with nine different designs over eight balloons.