Duffy the Disney Bear
Encyclopedia
Duffy the Disney Bear is a Disney character that can be found at Tokyo Disney Resort
, Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, Hong Kong Disneyland
and Disneyland Paris. As the story goes, Minnie Mouse created Duffy for Mickey as he was packing for a long voyage at sea. Duffy is available for purchase and at "meet and greets."
Although originally created for and briefly sold at the Disney World Once Upon a Toy shop in Orlando in 2002, Duffy only became popular after Oriental Land executives adopted the character, gave it a name and a backstory, and aggressively marketed it in the Tokyo DisneySea park. Japanese fans took to it and some of them started to carry around multiple Duffy plush bears during their visits to the park. The My Friend Duffy show replaced a Donald Duck-themed show at the American Waterfront Cape Cod Cook-Off hamburger restaurant in 2010.
Duffy was previously known as "The Disney Bear" with an entirely different backstory. The original story found on the tag of the first released bear's ear said that Mickey brought his favorite bear to the Magic Kingdom. Mickey sat in front of the castle wishing that he had a friend with him to share the excitement and magic of the park. Tinker-bell appears and sprinkles pixie dust on Mickey's bear, bringing it to life. Mickey then hugs the bear and a Mickey-shape appears on the bear's face, forever bonding Mickey and his new friend.
Duffy the Disney Bear joined American Disney parks on October 14, 2010. He was welcomed at Epcot
in Walt Disney World and Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort
. He then joined Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
on November 19, 2010. He was welcomed at Main Street, U.S.A.
in Hong Kong Disneyland Park
. He joined Disneyland Paris on June
, 2011. He will make his official debut in Disneyland Paris at the Disneyland Park on November 7, 2011 for their Christmas season. He will have his own Meet-and-Greet area and photolocation in Town Square. He will also have a Meet-and-Greet location at the Disneyland Hotel
and at the Disney's Newport Bay Club
Hotel. He will participate in the daily daytime Parade "Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade
" in the Christmas unit "Dreams of Christmas". He will also be at the daily nightime Show "Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony".
Duffy is also featured in the video game Kinect Disneyland Adventures
where the players can interact with him although he doesn't speak.
Duffy is unique among Disney characters in that he was not first featured in a Disney movie or television show.
Tokyo Disney Resort
is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. It is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company with a license from The Walt Disney Company. The resort opened on April 15, 1983, as a single theme park , but developed into a resort with two theme...
, Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The park opened to visitors on 12 September 2005...
and Disneyland Paris. As the story goes, Minnie Mouse created Duffy for Mickey as he was packing for a long voyage at sea. Duffy is available for purchase and at "meet and greets."
Although originally created for and briefly sold at the Disney World Once Upon a Toy shop in Orlando in 2002, Duffy only became popular after Oriental Land executives adopted the character, gave it a name and a backstory, and aggressively marketed it in the Tokyo DisneySea park. Japanese fans took to it and some of them started to carry around multiple Duffy plush bears during their visits to the park. The My Friend Duffy show replaced a Donald Duck-themed show at the American Waterfront Cape Cod Cook-Off hamburger restaurant in 2010.
Duffy was previously known as "The Disney Bear" with an entirely different backstory. The original story found on the tag of the first released bear's ear said that Mickey brought his favorite bear to the Magic Kingdom. Mickey sat in front of the castle wishing that he had a friend with him to share the excitement and magic of the park. Tinker-bell appears and sprinkles pixie dust on Mickey's bear, bringing it to life. Mickey then hugs the bear and a Mickey-shape appears on the bear's face, forever bonding Mickey and his new friend.
Duffy the Disney Bear joined American Disney parks on October 14, 2010. He was welcomed at Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
in Walt Disney World and Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
. He then joined Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is a resort built by the Government of Hong Kong and The Walt Disney Company in Hong Kong on reclaimed land beside Penny's Bay, at the northeastern tip of Lantau Island, approximately two kilometres from Discovery Bay...
on November 19, 2010. He was welcomed at Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many 'Magic Kingdom'-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world....
in Hong Kong Disneyland Park
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The park opened to visitors on 12 September 2005...
. He joined Disneyland Paris on June
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti...
, 2011. He will make his official debut in Disneyland Paris at the Disneyland Park on November 7, 2011 for their Christmas season. He will have his own Meet-and-Greet area and photolocation in Town Square. He will also have a Meet-and-Greet location at the Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Hotel may refer to any of the following properties and/or licensees of The Walt Disney Company:* Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California, USA, the original property to bear the moniker....
and at the Disney's Newport Bay Club
Disney's Newport Bay Club
Disney's Newport Bay Club is a hotel situated at the Disneyland Paris. It was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and styled after archetypal New England architecture with its white clapboard exterior, porches, woodwork and nautical memorabilia. Its name was derived from the town of Newport,...
Hotel. He will participate in the daily daytime Parade "Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade
Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade
Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade is a daily parade at Disneyland Park, that premiered on March 31, 2007 for the resort-wide 15th Anniversary Celebration....
" in the Christmas unit "Dreams of Christmas". He will also be at the daily nightime Show "Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony".
Duffy is also featured in the video game Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Kinect Disneyland Adventures is a video game developed by Frontier Developments and published by Microsoft Studios on Kinect for Xbox 360, that has recreated a large amount of the Disneyland theme park, with themed games in place of many of the rides....
where the players can interact with him although he doesn't speak.
Duffy is unique among Disney characters in that he was not first featured in a Disney movie or television show.