RUMOR: Duffy leaving Epcot after the holidays

[ArwenMarie]

My son has out grown Duffy, but he LOVED Duffy. When he was younger he loved going to all of the different countries to see his different outfits. We have a great picture of him at the meet and greet. I have never understood why people hated him so much.

We have such great pictures with Duffy. And it never felt rushed or anything.

I bet they will keep him..I forgot about the countries thing with the Duffy on a stick. Maybe they will cut back his hours or use the gazebo for other meet and greets as well. Let's hope!

 

[hunter1722]

The Duffy Bear was first sold as "My First Disney Bear" and had no name other than that. My daughter was an infant when we bought it 14 years ago. It is still her favorite stuffed animal and he goes on all trips with her now at age 15.

She resents that he was renamed Duffy!

THIS! Exactly the same with my 14 year old daughter. Too funny...

 

[ParrotBill]

THIS! Exactly the same with my 14 year old daughter. Too funny...

My daughter sends your daughter a DISboards high 5!

 

[Reddog1134]

A lot of people say they don't like Duffy because he was created solely to sell merchandise.

I have 2 points regarding that:

1. Every thing they create now is done to sell merchandise. It's just that Duffy didn't get a movie first.

2. It's not that they created a character to sell merchandise, it's that they created merchandise and gave it character. (I hope that makes sense) That's what Disney does. They give things a back story. They could have simply made a teddy bear and stuck it in shops but they chose to give it a story.

 

[rteetz]

A lot of people say they don't like Duffy because he was created solely to sell merchandise. I have 2 points regarding that: 1. Every thing they create now is done to sell merchandise. It's just that Duffy didn't get a movie first. 2. It's not that they created a character to sell merchandise, it's that they created merchandise and gave it character. (I hope that makes sense) That's what Disney does. They give things a back story. They could have simply made a teddy bear and stuck it in shops but they chose to give it a story.

Well Duffy was created for Japan and is incredibly popular over there they brought him here and it was somewhat popular but they are starting to phase him out.

 

[Rai's Mommy]

My DD14 just got into Duffy this past summer when we took a trip to Tokyo Disney. We also got Duffy's feline friend, Gelatoni, who was just released this year and is adorable. All of the merchandise bags at Tokyo Disney had Duffy and Gelatoni on them. It was funny because he seemed to be more prominent than Mickey in the parks there. Like OP we were hoping that we would see Shellie May join Duffy here soon and will be receiving a Shellie May from a family member living in Japan for x-mas. I feel like you'd see the same reaction from people for Oswald at the American parks. My DD got a pair of Oswald ears at Tokyo Disney in July and wore them at WDW in August. Sadly it seemed like very few people knew who Oswald was when she wore them at WDW. If Disney wanted to they could certainly do more to spread the Duffy love here.

 

[krr126]

Anything new on this? Is Duffy still around or is the phase-out happening?

 

[rteetz]

Anything new on this? Is Duffy still around or is the phase-out happening?

I believe he is still around but merchandise has been phased out

 

[Ljbadfan]

Duffy is really popular at Aulani resort in Hawaii. They also sell the Shellie Mae there to, since they have a lot of tourists from Japan. We were there middle of feburary and they were buying them like crazy

 

[Amanda999]

DS met Duffy at the usual spot in Epcot last week. Same hours as usual.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

My DS's first trip to DL was in April of 2013. He was 4 and was very confused about all the bears. "Why's there bears in here?" "What movie is the bear from?" I guess we fall into the camp of not hating Duffy but also not understanding his place so we didn't buy into it.

 

[krr126]

No more Duffy merch? Glad we got DD a pillow pet when we could. Should probably discourage the cat from sleeping on it.....

 

[MelissaTnNc]

Is the flat cardboard Duffy still available for coloring at the kidstops?

 

[rteetz]

Is the flat cardboard Duffy still available for coloring at the kidstops?

I believe so

 

[Ceryssa]

We LOVE Duffy. I hate to hear this, but I'm glad we're going this year so we'll get to see him again!

 

[Duffy Bear]

I love Duffy! Look at my name!

 

[krr126]

we have a KidStop Duffy too!

 

[iheartglaciers]

I never understood Duffy either and wasn't a fan... until I went to Tokyo Disney! They love him so much there that it's become a strong part of the culture. Now Duffy reminds me of the enthusiasm of Tokyo DisneySea, but I can definitely see him not fitting in at WDW. I will hang my little Duffy and Gelatoni off of my bag next time I visit Disney in the States, but most people won't know it's Disney related

 

[iheartglaciers]

Well Duffy was created for Japan and is incredibly popular over there they brought him here and it was somewhat popular but they are starting to phase him out.

Duffy was originally created for WDW (without a name), but never caught on. Afterwards Tokyo Disney used him for a Christmas event and named him Duffy after he became so popular.

 

[rteetz]

Duffy was originally created for WDW (without a name), but never caught on. Afterwards Tokyo Disney used him for a Christmas event and named him Duffy after he became so popular.

He was created as a exclusive to the once upon a toy store in DTD when that didn't work out japan took it and ran with it. Japan loves those things this just proves that these things don't always work here. They even have a Duffy bus.