Duffy is coming!

Well, it's "official", Duffy will make his way to the American Disney parks this fall.  Disney has announced special annual passholder events at both Disney's California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California, and EPCOT at Walt Disney World.  The Orlando Sentinel has a small piece about Duffy's launch.

http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2010/08/disney-world-passholder-event-to-introduce-duffy-the-disney-bear/


"Duffy the Disney Bear will become a regular for character meet-and-greets at Epcot in October. Known as the teddy bear who sailed around the world with Mickey Mouse, Duffy made regular appearances at Disney’s Teddy Bear & Doll Weekend and has been spotted at Once Upon a Toy store occasionally. Duffy also is very popular at the two Disney parks in Japan.

Walt Disney World passholders can hear about Duffy’s background at a special presentation at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at The Odyssey at Epcot. Each hour-long show will feature a guest speaker from Walt Disney Creative Entertainment.

This event is for passholders only, and seating is limited to those who reserve it online at Disney’s passholder website. Adults can claim children ages 3 to 17 as their guests when making reservations, but the kids still must be passholders and show valid passes and the confirmation slip at the time of check-in. This is a welcome change and should help many families who were frustrated by the tedious reservation process in the past that required each family member to log in and reserve a seat. (Children younger than 3 must sit on an adult’s lap.)

Reservations open Tuesday, Aug. 31, at DisneyWorld.com/passholder to all Disney World passholders. However, Weekday Select and Epcot After 4 p.m. passholders will need valid admission to Epcot.

Check-in for the event is 30 minutes before each presentation"

It looks like they will actually be referencing his popularity in Japan, and they appear to be using his sailor motif, as well as his logo.  This is a great sign, that maybe he'll be treated with some class and respect in the US.  As you can see with the picture above, he's got a cute little sailor suit on, and his story is that he's sailed around the world with Mickey.  Rumors are that he will be making appearances at EPCOT's Japan pavilion, which makes total sense, since he's "visiting" from Japan.

I'm excited to see where they take Duffy, and I hope he finds some level of success in America.  I don't think fans will go as wild for him as they do in Japan, but even a dedicated fan following will be good for the little bear that could.