The story goes that Minnie Mouse sewed a teddy bear for Mickey and hid it in Mickey’s duffle bag prior to his trip out to sea. This is how a new bear was added to an extensive list of Disney characters, and why he came to be named Duffy.
Duffy is unique in that he is a character created solely for Disney Parks and was not first introduced in a Disney film or television show.
Duffy the Disney bear was originally created in 2002 for Disney World’s Downtown Disney Once Upon a Toy Shop opening. Intended to be a unique, one-off bear, Duffy was reintroduced two years later to Tokyo’s DisneySea Park where he was finally named, dressed in a sailor suit and given that backstory.
Becoming increasingly popular in Japan, Duffy was eventually released and made available for purchase in the U.S. and Hong Kong Disney Parks.
Over the years, Duffy has been joined by more friends. In 2011 Duffy was reunited with his sweetheart, ShellieMay; Gelatoni the cat (who loves to paint) was added in 2014; followed by StellaLou the ballet bunny in 2017; and CookieAnn the dog (who cooks waffles) in 2018.
It’s been 25 years since I visited Disney World and over a decade since my trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, so I’m unfamiliar with Duffy and his friends. It is actually through the world of tattooing that I discovered these new Disney characters. When did you first learn about Duffy?
Which Duffy and Friends character is your favourite, and would you get a tattoo of one, or all of them?
The Tattooed Archivist 
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