Duffy the Disney Bear was introduced to Disneyland Paris early November 2011. This makes our Resort in Paris the last one of all other Disney Parks to offer the furry animal. Duffy originates from Tokyo Disney Resort where it was and still is a huge success. The concept, which is entirely based on in-park marketing and without any feature or animated film background; was quickly adopted by the parks in the United States and Hong Kong.
As part of the Christmas Season and to celebrate the introduction of Duffy, a group of European fashion designers were asked by Disneyland Paris to design unique costumes and suits for him. If you want to see Duffy in contemporary, modern or just totally crazy outfits, be sure to go look in the Disney Store windows in Disney Village before 8 January 2012. Afterwards, the entire collection will be donated to children’s hospitals in France and Belgium.
To support and advertise the sales in Disneyland Park has the Storybook Store in Main Street, U.S.A. been turned into the main Duffy store. Not only is it carrying the bear in all sizes, some of the theming of the shop has been changed too. Most remarkably, the well-known Tigger Audio-Animatronic located at the entrance has been ripped out and replaced by a large moving… Duffy!
But that’s not all that has been replaced! The Mark Twain poster located between the Boarding House (where the Duffy character performs meet ‘n’ greets) and The Storybook Store was recently over painted and replaced with a large painting of “The United States Steamship Company”, a reference to the American Waterfront area of Tokyo Disney Sea. These theme-changes were done by Disneyland Paris Imagineering to make sure the Duffy story fits in with the rest of Main Street, U.S.A. and Disneyland Park…
To take a photo tour of The Storybook Store and its recent changes, check out our photo album here.
Photos Magiques 