My obsession with Duffy the Disney bear.

Duffy is my most favorite Disney character interaction in the world. Every time I've met him has been a really cute experience! He's so soft and cuddly and with all the outfit options, what's not to love?

I think I recall my first time seeing Duffy merchandise in about, oh, late 2010 perhaps? I went to Disney on a trip with my parents and remember seeing Duffy's face plastered on advertisements inside the Disney buses. My mom pointed him out to me and told me he had a cute face, and I basically scoffed and said it was a dumb way to try for Disney to try and make even more money.

Well, I'm a complete sucker apparently because about a year later when my sister, brother-in-law and parents went back to Disney, I ordered Duffy on DisneyStore.com in preparation for the trip. He's $30 for the bear and at the time they had a promotion: if you purchased a Duffy bear, you got two outfits for half off. Add in my cast member discount and I had a Duffy in my mail mere weeks later.

My first Disney trip with Duffy, 2012. I purchased his standard sailor outfit to go with

I fell victim to Disney's marketing scheme! But I don't regret it for a minute even to this day. He is really soft and is a great companion for any Disney trip. Duffy is intended to be a travel teddy, so if I was five years old I'd probably take him on overnight stays and other non-Disney vacations. However, I'm not five years old and I don't really want to be judged so he only goes to Disney with me.

Prior to buying my Duffy, I did a lot of research on the Internet and found that Duffy was originally introduced to the parks much earlier than 2010 but he was not quite as successful. He really gained popularity in Japan, though, as the Japanese tend to love cute little fluffy things. Grown men, women and children alike carry Duffy at Tokyo DisneySea and some even create homemade outfits for their Duffys. Duffy even has a girlfriend in Japan and her name is Shellie May!

The other outfit I purchased for Duffy. It also fits my chihuahua, but that's a different story.

Duffy has an elaborate back story to him that I have now told to numerous small children who come into the Disney Store and spy this unfamiliar little bear sitting among their favorite Disney characters.

Basically, Mickey is a sea captain preparing to leave for a voyage. Minnie is gonna miss Mickey so she makes him a teddy bear and "sews her love into the teddy" so that Mickey doesn't feel homesick. Mickey and Duffy go on lots of fun adventures. Blah, blah, blah. That's the long story made short. Even shorter: Duffy is Mickey's teddy bear.

I loved my teddy and thought he was adorable, but the thing that really made me love Duffy was my first character interaction with him.

Big Duffy was amazed at little Duffy. He looked at little Duffy, then looked at himself, then at little Duffy again and gestured to himself in surprise. He seemed startled to find a mini version of himself in front of him. It was just adorable. I think big Duffy let me kiss his nose, too. I don't know, but it sealed the deal for me. I was smitten by how cute he was.

Meeting Duffy in Disneyland in 2012.

My Disneyland interaction with Duffy wasn't quite as adorable as my WDW one, but it was still good. I waited in line for, like, 30 minutes to meet him. The photographer could sense how excited I was and told Duffy I was his biggest fan. And since Duffy doesn't sign autograph books, I got a "I hugged Duffy" sticker that I still have to this day.

Basically, I'm a huge nerd when it comes to Disney and character interactions in general. I turn into a small child, starstruck and nervous to meet my favorite characters. It's really weird, but whatever- I guess that's the magic of Disney, turning into a kid again.

Carrying a Duffy around instantly makes you look younger than you are. I already look young but when I carried Duffy into the airport on the way back from one trip, the lady who checked my parent's IDs skipped over me. My dad asked, "Um, don't you need to check her ID?" The lady peered at me and I was there, clutching my Duffy bear. She says in that sweet little voice that you use to speak to little kids, "How old are you, sweetie?" I responded, "Twenty." I swear to God, her tone of voice changed instantly and became immediately deeper as she informed me that she did need to check my ID.

Maybe I'm getting too old for this.

Duffy in his 3rd and final outfit, decked out for Disneyland.
I refuse to buy any more clothes for this creature.

So in late 2012 after my Disneyland trip, my sister called me up and told me she and my brother-in-law would be in Japan on business. During their time there, they wanted to visit Tokyo DisneySea and she wanted to know if there was anything I wanted. I immediately told her I wanted a Shellie May, otherwise known as Duffy's girlfriend. I wanted something small, like a keychain, because I didn't want her to spend a lot of money on me.

I mean, I was thinking something more like this size.

But my sister, being the glorious human that she is, decided that I needed a Shellie May that would go perfectly with my Duffy bear. So she toured Tokyo DisneySea with a new companion...

...and returned to the United States with a surprise for me.

I was very excited, so I took lots of pictures of my new addition.

And that's how Shellie May joined the family!

It's been about a year and my latest addition to my collection is the Disney Store's large core Duffy, who was originally $40, but I snagged him on clearance for $20. I hope to collect the tiny $10 version of him eventually also, but that'll just have to wait. DisneyStore.com also sells a hand puppet version of Duffy which I have to fight myself on buying- I think he'd be really cute for the kindergarten or 1st grade classroom, which is my excuse for wanting him. : )

The collection currently... much too small.

I plan to take both Duffy and Shellie May with me to Disney World this January, but I doubt I'll be willing to carry them both to all four parks. I may switch a bear a day or not take them to certain parks at all- but I do definitely want to take both of them to Epcot to meet the real Duffy.

Have a magical night!

-Mari