Before Duffy The Disney Bear there was The Disney Bear

Duffy the Disney Bear has taken DisneyWorld and DisneyLand by storm, becoming one of the must have souvenirs when visiting the mouse! Duffy has meet & greet photo ops and also has different outfits that can be purchased to dress him up. Duffy has become so popular, that limits have been placed on the number of outfits and number of bears that can be bought at one time. This is to ensure a fair chance for other guests to be able to dress Duffy up and also because one can make a small mint form selling the outfits to buyers over seas. Quite the feet for a Disney Character that has never been in a Disney Movie or cartoon. To bridge that gap he does have storyline here in the States that allows him to fit in the stable of Disney Characters. That story goes like this:

It is Duffy, how many hidden Mickeys can you find?

"One day, Mickey Mouse was getting ready to set sail on a long sea voyage. Minnie Mouse made him a special teddy bear to take with him so he would never be lonely. Minnie presented her hand sewn bear to Mickey in a duffel bag. Mickey loved the bear and named him Duffy.
As Mickey and Duffy sailed on their journey, they visited all sorts of exciting places and make new friends along the way. At the end of their travels, they sailed back home for a wonderful reunion with Minnie.
Mickey and Duffy shared their magical memories and photos with Minnie, who was thrilled that Duffy was such a great friend and companion for Mickey."

This hidden Mickey is on his bottom.

Our household has also caught the Duffy fever, so it is almost a guarantee that when we visit  Walt Disney World a new Duffy(or two) will becoming home with us along with several outfits.



Many people don't  know that before Duffy's debut in October of 2010 in the United States, he had a completely different back story,  look, and feel (little heavier, not so soft and course fur) in his first incarnation back in 2002 at Walt Disney World. Duffy was previously known as "The Disney Bear". His  original story was something along the lines of this:

" Mickey brought his favorite bear to the Magic Kingdom. Mickey sat in front of the castle wishing that he had a friend with him to share the excitement and magic of the park. Tinker-bell appears and sprinkles pixie dust on Mickey's bear, bringing it to life. Mickey then hugs the bear and a Mickey-shape appears on the bear's face, forever bonding Mickey and his new friend."

The story was presented on his tag and was done in nice story book fashion. Most of all it worked.(well on this Dad who made sure his daughter got one ....or two.) The story was not the only difference, the major difference was in the bear itself. It came in the colors of  Valentine red, pink, green, blue, lavender, grey, black, white, chocolate, caramel and  Duffy's current color honey gold.

Two of the Original Disney Bears..looks just like Duffy, feels much different.

Signature hidden Mickey on the bottom.

"The Disney Bear" was a flop though and disappeared from the parks by 2005, so if you arer lucky to have one these original bears with the story tag, you now not only have a souvenir but a souvenir that is a collectible and part of the evolution of Duffy. 

We are fortunate enough to have 2 of the bears that are gently used and will always have a home here at Matt's Firehouse Family Vacations Headquarters.

Duffy hanging with his cousins The Disney Bears!

 Do you have other Souvenirs that have evolved over the years? Maybe some Disney Bears of your own or a Pal Mickey(more to come on him later)? Tell us about them!!!