Mask or Duffy @ Epcot Kidcot?

[pinkerbell]

On our last Epcot day of vacation, the masks the kids usually get at the kidcot stations were bears with the name Duffy. Was this just temporary? What's the story behind Duffy and have/will the masks come back?

 

[TDC Nala]

No more masks, it's all Duffy now.

Duffy is Mickey's teddy bear that Minnie gave him to travel with. You can purchase clothing for him, including special outfits designed after the Epcot pavilion countries. He is extremely popular at Tokyo Disneyland, reportedly eclipsing Mickey himself. Disney is hoping at least some of this popularity will carry over to the U.S. You can even meet a full-size costume character Duffy and get his autograph in Epcot. I would expect the Kidcot coloring form to be Duffy until Disney decides he won't sell in the US (which may or may not happen; he seems reasonably popular at this time)

A similar bear called the Disney Bear was sold a few years ago with a different backstory.

 

[SmithFamily2003]

From what I have read elsewhere on the boards, it looks like the Duffy bear is going to be at the Kidcot stations long term.

 

[stephie1012]

can anyone share a pic please??

 

[TDC Nala]

Duffy (naked, with detail of the Mickey head patch on his rear)

Duffy at his meet/greet area in Epcot

Duffy costumes for sale

From an Orlando Sentinel article reprinted here: http://www.wdwfacts.com/2010/11/10/who-is-duffy-the-disney-bear/ (this site will also give you the full Duffy backstory)

Disney is producing a two-and-half-minute Duffy cartoon that will be looped on a TV channel carried in all of Disney World’s 25,000 hotel rooms and time-share suites.

 

[stephie1012]

thanks so does this mean there are no more free masks in the kidcot stops? Is there anything for the kids to do now besides buying duffy and outfits at every stop?

 

[bits-n-pieces]

Our kids got a "duffy on a stick" instead of the mask this time and they liked the change. It's the same concept as the mask...gathering stamps from the countries.

 

[budbeerlady]

Duffy on a stick was not a good idea for 4 kids ages 7-10.
#1 they didnt really like Duffy, wanted a mask
#2 Duffy made a great item to battle other Duffys
#3 threw away Duffy in France because didnt want to be seen holding a bear

I wish they would bring back the masks, Dd would spend all day doing her mask at Kidcot! Ultimately Disney lost money by making us take Duffy 2 weeks ago. The kids had nothing to do, drove us nuts and we bailed on the world showcase. No Rosa Regale in Italy, no chocolates purchase, no prefume purchase. Not a normal trip!!!!!

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

I preferred the mask myself. DS8 took his first Duffy on a sticky and turned him into scary Duffy! Red eyes and the whole bit. It was funny and slightly disturbing as well. He also liked to use it swat my husband if he wasn't looking. That was funny!

 

[TDC Nala]

thanks so does this mean there are no more free masks in the kidcot stops? Is there anything for the kids to do now besides buying duffy and outfits at every stop?

That's right, no more free masks. If you or kids want to color at Kidcot, you will need to color a Duffy on a stick. (still free though). No more paper charms either, but you can get your Duffy stamped in each country. Generally they stamp the stick.

I have a Duffy on a stick myself because somebody abandoned one in Germany. When I got through with him he was wearing a Drink Around the World tee shirt. So it's possible to be just as creative with him as the masks...One day I will get another one and have him stamped for each drink around the world.

As for the bear himself, if Disney has its way YOU WILL BUY a bear plus a few outfits for him. Heck, Duffy just appeared in the Disney Parks Christmas Parade and soon they plan on having Duffy cartoons in all the resorts.

 

[RandFamily]

My whole family is VERY disappointed with the Duffy Bears to color in EPCOT. The bear itself is cute and I'm sure will sell well, but they just don't work well for coloring - there's a pattern already printed on the bear so there's very little room for creativity compared to the old masks. We have many dozens of the old masks - a highlight of our trips. But with Duffy Bear, after the second country we gave up and threw them out. TOO BORING!

I hope they bring back the old masks!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

there's a pattern already printed on the bear

I didn't pay the least attention to the pattern. Of course I am not the target audience for Duffy on a stick.

 

[ktlm]

Duffy on a stick was not a good idea for 4 kids ages 7-10.
#1 they didnt really like Duffy, wanted a mask
#2 Duffy made a great item to battle other Duffys
#3 threw away Duffy in France because didnt want to be seen holding a bear

I wish they would bring back the masks, Dd would spend all day doing her mask at Kidcot!

My whole family is VERY disappointed with the Duffy Bears to color in EPCOT. The bear itself is cute and I'm sure will sell well, but they just don't work well for coloring - there's a pattern already printed on the bear so there's very little room for creativity compared to the old masks. We have many dozens of the old masks - a highlight of our trips. But with Duffy Bear, after the second country we gave up and threw them out. TOO BORING!

They aren't good for the younger kids either. DD(4) went nuts over meet and greet Duffy and the stuffed bear and his clothes from each country (at $15 per outfit), but paper Duffy was a huge flop.

Randfamily, you are exactly right. We still have the masks from the last 3 trips. DD could spend forever in the kidcot stations when they had masks and charms. She wasn't too disappointed with the paper Duffy at first, but then she tried to color him. She started looking for the brown marker because Duffy is brown. No brown markers. Okay, well the other color that applies to that Duffy is blue (Duffy is brown, blue, and white with a red tie), so we'll try that. She promptly flips out because she had no idea that if she did not stay perfectly in the lines the sharpie would completely cover Duffy's printed features so you couldn't see them, and she has covered up part of his face. She tells the CM she made a mistake and asks if she can have another Duffy to start over. The CM doesn't give her another (pretends she doesn't hear her) so we distract her with the the fact that she is wanting to ride the Gran fiesta Tour. We try again later. She gets bored with attempting to color Duffy after about 10 seconds (unlike the masks where she would pick up markers and add something else at each Kidcot station). The mask gets stamped and she wonders where the charms are. Next country, the mask gets stamped again. DD realizes that there is only a little bit of room on the front of the stick and then they stamp the back of the stick and the back of Duffy. This causes DD to completely lose interest. Although, she loves WS and we spend a lot of time exploring there, she does not even care to bother to stop at any more Kidcot stations. We also noticed that there were very few kids at the Kidcot stations we passed by, if any, which was unusual based on past experience.

DD never throws away anything. I'm talking this is the kid who will rip a tag off a toy and then want to keep the tag. Paper Duffy made it back to the resort room, but he got chunked in the trash before we left for home.

 

[poohfriend77]

Can anyone give me a ballpark price on the bear and outfits? I see a couple in my future. Seems Disney is specifically targeting my kids with this one.

 

[msminnieears]

Bring back the mask! My kids love the masks and my son will not carry around a teddy bear on stick. I love Disney and consider myself a freak and remember the bear but certainly didn't know it was a hot item. Don't get me wrong I love Disney products but this is just their way selling something. I hope they bring back the MASK!

 

[TDC Nala]

Standard size bear is $25, outfits are $15 each.

Those masks are probably not coming back as long as Disney sees any opportunity to "sell" Duffy.

 

[bumbershoot]

Duffy looks just like an axe to a certain subset of kids that my son belongs to. Duffy on a stick got used as an axe until I took it away from him.

I never saw the masks, but I would much rather have had those, instead of an axe that looks like a bear.

...they just don't work well for coloring - there's a pattern already printed on the bear so there's very little room for creativity ...

I agree completely. And with sharpies, the coloring just looks awful on him. A crayon would have been nicer. A bit more forgiving.


But I really dislike Duffy. It's not an attractive bear, the concept is mystifying to me, if I want a stuffed bear I'll get Pooh, period. So the Duffy-axe was just awful to my eyes.

 

[JaxsonsMom]

Does anyone have a picture of "Duffy on a stick"?

TIA

 

[Tltorrez]

Aargh! I literally spent time this afternoon putting all of the Kidcot station locations into our touring plan for the mask and charms. I know my son would've loved the masks. But when he watched Duffy in the Christmas parade he couldn't understand why they have a made-up character that doesn't come from a movie or cartton. He's not going to be impressed.

I suppose we'll still hit the stations for the stamps in his Passport kit but this is a real bummer. On the plus side, there's no chance he'll want to spend money on a dress-up bear.

 

[sophie832]

Currently looking for a better picture, but here I am in one of the UK phone booths holding my "Duffy" on a stick, which I turned into Mike from Monsters Inc. (at midnight in the Norway Kidcot the night before, with a CM who was grateful for the company). I also have DH's "Duffy" which he colored in the normal, boring way...it's upside-down in the pic. The better pictures of us holding our "Duffys" on a stick are Photopass pics we took with Mike and Sully. I just had to show Mike my "Duffy"! Unfortunately, I don't have those on CD yet. I should just take a pic of them when I get home tonight. They are proudly displayed in our living room.