Tokyo DisneySea's Duffy coming to EPCOT soon

[TDLFAN]

I am sure many of you have heard of this already but no one has posted here about it. Tokyo DisneySEA's most famous resident, Duffy, Mickey's bear doll, will be making it's debut at EPCOT later this year, beginning with a special introduction to APers in mid september.

Some people here may be familiar with the Disney Bear that still sells at WDW in small quantities.. It was released a few years ago but quickly sat on the shelves and did not sell, except for those that were reduced in price and sold at the outlet mall Disney shops. Some can still be fouind around WDW property... However, Oriental land Co, owners of Tokyo Disney Resort, adopted the bear, gave it a new backstory (a giift from Minnie to Mickey, to be a traveling companion, etc) and based him at TDS' Cape Cod. The bear plush took off and became the best selling item in the park, not to mention, the most popular walkaround character. Duffy singlehandedly evicted Donald from his Cape Cod theater and took residence where his show packs audiences day after day. Every time there is a new Duffy related doll or costume release, guests in Japan wait for hours to get their new bear and costume. It's absolutely crazy.

WDC is trying to replicate the same Duffy fever here at EPCOT and DCA in CA by re-launching the old Disney Bear as Duffy the Bear. Whether the US fans will embrace Duffy with the same feverish delight as the japanese do, remains to be seen...

Anyone (besides Kevin Yee) planning to attend the APer Duffy event in mid sept??

[Disney Romantic]

Wish I could attend, but won't be moved down there until the end of December. Epcot does seem like the perfect place for the bear, since they can have unique costumes and accessories for him from each of the World Showcase countries. Still not sure you can replicate such an odd success story that may be culturally driven more than anything.

[Disney Magic]

It was only a matter of time before Duffy made Disney take notice...(Merged)

Duffy the Bear


http://micechat.com/forums/al-lutz-c...ighlight=duffy

[flotsam_mike]

I'm not exactly sure what this adds to the park other than more stuff to sell.

[TDLFAN]

I'm not exactly sure what this adds to the park other than more stuff to sell.

EXACTLY!!!! Just because this plush toy comes from TDR does not mean I am going to be endorsing it. Personally, I don't think it will be a success here since americans don't possess he same sick abandon for "cute" things like the japanese do. Mind you, the Duffy merchandise in Tokyo is very high quality and many refer to the Disney bears they sell at WDW as "Duffy's ghetto cousins" for their lower than nice craftmanship and quality. I wonder if WDW will replicate the same level with their merchandise... But as of now.. my bet goes to Duffy at EPCOT to be a failure, just like that horrible Vinylmation merchandise not one is buying, but they keep puhing on the shelves.
Whether Duffy will or will not be a hit depends on how well he is marketed here and whether doll/plush lovers like what they see and are willing to spend on it. TDS for example markets Duffy, and his female companion Shelley Mae throughout the year and often times for the seasonal events at the park. Not sure a Wine fest Duffy or Flower fest Duffy sound too appealing to me...
But as always, Its all about the money.

[DisneyWed]

I have owned some of the other Disney Teddies - like the pirate one and the baby one, as well as a grey one and brown one. I think they are cute, and thought the backstory was pretty cute. But I had no idea that this bear - now Duffy had such a following! Don't know that the costumes will do as well here, as generally it's frowned upon to wear a "fur" costume. But I'm sure that there are plenty of Asian guests visiting Epcot to make it worth Disney's while.
I don't believe in Vinylmation either - I can't image what to do with those things even if I wanted to. And they are way overpriced.

[BANANAZ]

And another unique aspect of one of the other parks just goes right down the drain...

[gurgi]

I have owned some of the other Disney Teddies - like the pirate one and the baby one, as well as a grey one and brown one. I think they are cute, and thought the backstory was pretty cute. But I had no idea that this bear - now Duffy had such a following! Don't know that the costumes will do as well here, as generally it's frowned upon to wear a "fur" costume. But I'm sure that there are plenty of Asian guests visiting Epcot to make it worth Disney's while.
I don't believe in Vinylmation either - I can't image what to do with those things even if I wanted to. And they are way overpriced.

Wait...no, not costumes for the guests to wear, costumes for DUFFY! Think "Build-a-Bear" here, not furries...god no, not furries...

[Disney Magic]

And another unique aspect of one of the other parks just goes right down the drain...

Actually it was not unique to TDR, they took the concept started in the USA with the Disney Bear, and gave him a proper name (Duffy) and elaborated on his back story. Though I think the two stories are similar. The bear was embrassed overseas more largely due to the fact the Japanese go crazy over stuff like that (example: Hello Kitty, Pokemon etc..)

However I have to say the notion that the Japanese counter part of the plush bear being so superior to the Disney Bear or whatever the new DCA & Epcot Duffy bear is such a crock of.... just because it is it TDR. Without first hand knowledge I'd pretty much say it is a sure thing the US bear is made in a sweatshop factory in China along with the Japanese verison. But I'll judge that for myself in early November after gaining first hand knowledge of TDR's bear before seeing his "ghetto cousin" at WDW at the end of the month.

[geomorph]

Why is this thing coming to EPCOT specifically?

[malice]

And another unique aspect of one of the other parks just goes right down the drain...

this.

[BANANAZ]

Actually it was not unique to TDR, they took the concept started in the USA with the Disney Bear, and gave him a proper name (Duffy) and elaborated on his back story. Though I think the two stories are similar. The bear was embrassed overseas more largely due to the fact the Japanese go crazy over stuff like that (example: Hello Kitty, Pokemon etc..)

However I have to say the notion that the Japanese counter part of the plush bear being so superior to the Disney Bear or whatever the new DCA & Epcot Duffy bear is such a crock of.... just because it is it TDR. Without first hand knowledge I'd pretty much say it is a sure thing the US bear is made in a sweatshop factory in China along with the Japanese verison. But I'll judge that for myself in early November after gaining first hand knowledge of TDR's bear before seeing his "ghetto cousin" at WDW at the end of the month.

To be fair, yes, Duffy did start out in the States, from what I can tell, but he's become popular over there, and also is somewhat of a symbol of that park. That's almost like having Loony Toons in a Disney park. Or Marvel characters in a Disney... oh... wait....

[TDLFAN]

However I have to say the notion that the Japanese counter part of the plush bear being so superior to the Disney Bear or whatever the new DCA & Epcot Duffy bear is such a crock of.... just because it is it TDR.

Why don't we allow those who have a TDS Duffy at home (like Gurgi or TravisMT81) answer your claim about the quality of TDS' Duffy over the ones they have been selling at WDW for quite some time. Mind you and for the record, I don't go gaga over Duffy in Tokyo or the ones sold in the USA..so will not answer to this, but I will say this much.. TDR's merchandise is usually of higher caliber over the K-B Toys quality WDW puts on their shelves as of late.

Also, costumes to the Disney bears is nothing new.. Go into Once upon a Toy and see the selection of tees they sell for the Disney bears.

[flotsam_mike]

Part of what I don't like about this is that there are some places where a great teddy bear would fit in epcot. England as home to both Winnie the pooh and paddington bear. Germany as part of the steiff legacy. The US as home to the official "teddy" bear. But this just seems so generic.

[TDLFAN]

GENERIC is the reason why the less superior Disney bears did not sell the first time around. It took OLC to re-manufacture Duffy into one cute high quality item (with strong park connection and storyline) to sell them. That is the difference here.

Mind you, I am not a Duffy fan at TDS and won't be a fan of WDW's regardless of how comparable in quality they may turn out to be.