9/18 Duffy the Bear Epcot Event, Food and Wine Festival Update

Hi everyone!

We went to Epcot yesterday for the Duffy the Disney Bear passholder event, followed by a walk around World Showcase to take photos of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival setup progression (we photographed our new Duffy the Disney Bear plush in all the countries, that was really fun!) We also spoke with Dara Trujillo, Manager, Merchandise Synergy, Events, and Communication about Duffy.

I also have 350 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party photos to enjoy after you read this blog article!

To be honest, I'd barely heard of Duffy before – he is very popular in Japan, and if you've ever seen The Disney Bear, he is very similar.  Starting October 14th, he is going to be invading Epcot in a very big way – from a meet-and-greet, to the kids menus, to the Kidcot masks, and of course you will be able to buy a Duffy plush as well as a variety of different outfits. Molded mugs and popcorn buckets in the shape of Duffy will also be available.

 

 

The event was held at the Odyssey, I always enjoy going back there whenever I can:

 

 

We were given Duffy the Disney Bear Rice Krispie Treats as we entered:

 

 

 

The event appeared to be sold out:

 

 

 

Duffy the Disney Bear images before the event, including Mickey holding his Duffy (Duffy is Mickey's bear).

 

 

It appeared to be a sell-out:

 

 

 

Our Rice Krispie treat:

 

 

Disney Ambassador Vanessa Rosas:

 

 

Dara Trujillo:

 

 

At this point, we were told that there would be no pictures during the presentation, so I put down my camera.  We were shown artwork of Duffy, as well as costumes that would be available for the plush bear.  The outfits include one for each World Showcase country (imagine Duffy in Mr. Pricklepants style German attire), and different holidays such as Valentines Day, Halloween and Easter.  We were shown concept art of the popcorn bucket and cup, and we had a visit from Duffy as well – he was led around the room by Dara Trujillo.  On October 14th, he will have a meet and greet location that is now being constructed near the Traders East store, I'll have photos of that on the next page.  Traders East will become "Duffy Central", with little other merchandise. It will be similar to D-Street for Vinylmation figures, where all Duffy merchandise will be sold first. We were told that there are currently no plans to sell Duffy through mail order, phone orders or at The Disney Store.  Duffy has a stage show in Japan, but there are no plans "yet" for one here. One other fun fact – Duffy is 6 years old.