As I waited to get my first view of Duffy in his “pumpkin” Halloween costume this morning, a gentleman who spoke little English approached me and pointed to Duffy’s gazebo with a quizzical expression. “Eleven-thirty”, I responded, which was the time of Duffy’s first appearance. He smiled and joined his wife, and the two of them became the first guests in line to have a photo made with Duffy. Mr. and Mrs. Noriake Sakata were enjoying their very first visit to Epcot today, far away from their home in Osaka, Japan. I took note that Mr. Sakata was sporting a Hong Kong Disneyland hat, a Donald Duck shirt and a tiny Duffy was attached to his camera strap. Disney magic knows no bounds…
Here are a few more ways to make Halloween memories at Disney Parks:
Comments
Eric: Wrong. Duffy was originally known as just “Disney Bear” and was exclusive to WDW approx. around 2002. He didn’t do well, so they sent him over to Tokyo DisneySea, where he got a proper name and a new backstory and after a little effort, he took off like wildfire. at DisneySea, nearly every guest in the park has at least one Duffy they carry around with them. They’re crazy about him in Japan. Disney brought Duffy back to the States and debuted him in Hong Kong last year and he just made his official debut at Disneyland Paris last week.
#2 Benjamin
I believe it’s a ‘he’.
I bought my first Duffy bear back in 2002, or 2004, before he was named “duffy”. He was just an adorably soft bear with a mickey shape for a face and paw pads. He came with a cute story of how mickey’s image was transfered to the bear’s when he hugged him (or something like that) I bought 2 more on my next 2 visits and they became rare bears to own, and impossible to buy anymore. Now Duffy is everywhere!! But I still love him and plan on expanding my collection when I go on my Disney Cruise next year.
Love it! Disney fans from afar = awesome! I will be purchasing a Duffy Bear on my next trip this December!! He will be sporting the France outfit and beret first 😉 . I hope Mr. & Mrs. Sakata have an excellent rest of their vacation!!
Disney magic definitely knows no borders. I visit the U.S. Disney destination regularly – and I’m from Switzerland. Well worth the long flights.
@ Benjamin – Duffy was invented for the Cruise ships, and then caught on like wildfire at the Tokyo parks, but WHY NOT in the US, darn it? They’re still trying. 😉
(Disney does get frustrated at times wondering why tastes change between international parks: Marie from “Aristocats” now seems to be popular after coming over from Paris, but even that was a long hard battle with the public…And at least she had her own movie.)
Who’s Duffy? What’s she from?
Awwww…I think Duffy is adorable!
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