Duffy the Disney Bear - appearing starting 10/14/10

[Melanie]

I've been reading that Duffy, Mickey's stuffed bear, will be making appearances at Epcot in the near future. Duffy previously appeared at WDW as Disney Bear.

Duffy is HUGE in Japan. I've seen first hand how crazy some folks are over there are about him. There's an entire store at DisneySea dedicated to Duffy, and I'd estimate 1 out of 10 parkgoers are carrying around a Duffy bear of some sort.

Notice the outline of his face.

[PirateLover]

My friend just spent close to 2 weeks in Japan, and got to visit DisneySea. She was totally amazed by all the Duffy love. The bears are so cute.

[Melanie]

My friend just spent close to 2 weeks in Japan, and got to visit DisneySea. She was totally amazed by all the Duffy love. The bears are so cute.

Your lucky friend! Honestly, when they love something over there, they REALLY love it! It's insane.

I'm going to try and get to the passholder event for Duffy. Trying to access the passholder website, but having problems getting in this morning.

[BrerGnat]

I think Duffy is going to be a major focus for 2011...that's what I've heard anyway.

I love how soft and furry the stuffed bears are, but I sort of think it's creepy looking. It's the Mickey face. It looks weird to me...

[Mammabruski]

I think this is GREAT! I know it's "Duffy", not the "original" Disney Bear, but my DD (3yo) is soooo excited to meet her lovey in person. She's had a Disney Bear since birth, and its her Baby. Can't wait to see her face light up when we're in WDW in March and she sees Disney Bear in person!

[Kathy Jetson]

When is he supposed to be out? We will be there in Oct. I hope we get to see him!

[Mufasa]

Duffy is a very interesting phenomenon at Tokyo DisneySea and so I'll be interested to see how they handle introducing him to the parks here.

In one form or another Disney bears have actually been around since the 1960s- although the modern era Disney bear that was adapted to be Duffy came about I believe around 2002.

In Tokyo, the Oriental Land Company actually introduced the Disney bear in 2004- it wasn't until the holiday season of 2005 that they actually re-launched the bear with the entire Duffy back story and making it a DisneySea exclusive.

So what is Duffy's back story? Mickey was preparing for a long journey and so Minnie wanted to create a companion for Mickey on his journey. So on the pier in the Cape Cod area of the American Waterfront (by the lighthouse), she presented him a handmade teddy bear to keep him company on his journey. Mickey loved it and put it in his duffel bag, hence the name Duffy.

Duffy had a message from Minnie in a bottle that was tied around his neck, and one night in a dream, Mickey saw Duffy in a sailor outfit and the message from Minnie was revealed that wherever Mickey would go, Duffy would bring good luck and when Mickey awoke from his dream he saw the note in his hand, and Duffy in his sailor outfit.

When Mickey returned, soon everyone wanted a handmade Duffy of their own so they can have something to share their experiences with.

See- the key to Duffy's success was crafting a detailed backstory along with promotions and things like limited time special outfits you can purchase for your Duffy.

It reminds me a lot of say the Build a bear experience where they get you on all the accessories and options to customize your bear so we'll have to see whether Duffy will catch on here (the demographics in Japan are different though, as Duffy is especially popular with "office ladies"- where it's almost more of a fashion statement in the parks to have your Duffy customized with a particular outfit and bring it along with you everywhere in the parks as opposed to it being directed towards children).

Duffy fits into Epcot's World Showcase and the idea of exploration and I could see the launch of some additional experiences with Duffy taking place throughout World Showcase. Wonder if they'll also bring along Duffy's girlfriend Shellie May?

[Melanie]

Shellie May?

That still cracks me up!

Grr. I still can't get on the passholder website. Not sure if I'm going to be able to get registered for this.

[Melanie]

Got my reservations for the Duffy introduction on the 18th. I'll be at the 11am presentation.

I did see some Duffy merchandise the other day at Island Mercantile in AK, so I guess they rolled it out a little early.

[jpH/keD]

Looking forward to some pix!

[Wall-e]

I met Duffy this weekend at Disneyland. I saw a group of 3 people come out of the little shop next to the meet and greet and they each had huge garbage bags fully of Duffy's. They focused on only two styles: one wearing a holiday outfit and the other in light blue PJ's. Not sure what they were going to to with all of them, but I am sure they had over a 100 between them.

[Disney4us2]

We were at Disneyland but not at DCA where Duffy is exclusive. Will have to make a trip there on Saturday. I will take pics