Duffy now appearing on Epcot restaurant Kid's menus

[wm49rs]

What's really funny is that within a couple of months Duffy will probably be replaced on the menus with characters from either Tron or Tangled....

 

[MAF]

It seems like the only people defending this marketing gimmick are the ones who fell for said gimmick. :shrug:

 

[Skipper03]

:roflol:

 

[JEANYLASER]

I love duffy! Buy the bear!

 

[trr1]

I love duffy! Buy the bear!

did you mean Bye to the Bear? or buy this bear

 

[WDWGoof07]

I knew this wouldn't take long -- if you complain that Disney is being too crassly commercial or nakedly avaricious, suddenly that makes you a communist or something.

For the record, although why I have to say this I don't know, I'm perfectly cognizant that Disney is a business, with a goal of making money. As I am a Disney shareholder, I hope they are successful. So it's not a choice between being a company that desires profits and some sort of non-profit co-op. The choice is between different visions of how the company is going to be successful in the long run.

On the slight chance that you're actually curious about what I was actually saying in the boldface, here's the explanation. The theme parks seemed to be originally designed to provide an incredible "show" that people would rave about. Shops like the silversmith and the magic shop were not about maximizing sales, they were about maximizing show. Again, to be perfectly clear, Disney wasn't doing this for altruistic motives, but because they thought in the long run, providing better show would be the better business choice, if it convinced people to come back, and to get more of their neighbors to make the trip to Florida. Now the focus seems to be about extracting every last dollar from the guests during each trip. In the short term, this is more profitable. Whether it's more profitable in the long run is a matter of opinion.

Or here's a metaphor. There was a time in recent memory when the only "advertisements" you would see at a movie theater were four other films, or for popcorn at the concession stand. Now you get a long slate of ordinary commercials before a film. Undoubtedly, in the short term, this helped theater profits. But this coarsening of the theater experience may have contributed to the decline in film attendance. Whether adding commercials was a smart decision for theaters in the long run is debatable, but those who argue against commercials are not doing so because they begrudge theaters a profit.

I actually agree with you that good show is a means to long-term profit. I just don't see Duffy as all that intrusive. There's one shop and a meet-and-greet, and Duffy was made to fit in World Showcase. A kid can get more enjoyment out of a stuffed bear than a pin or a Vinylmation, too. I can't stand the fanboys who moan about the loss of paper masks and the promotion of a toy on a kids' menu as if either of these was some great decline.

The presence of a Duffy shop is not irreconcilable with the idea of putting on a good show in WDW shops, and I disagree with the premise that Disney no longer cares about having shops as part of the show. Disney showcases such craftsmen as the glass blowers on Main Street and the confectioners in Germany's new caramel shop. There are unique items to be found in places like Sid Cahuenga's in DHS and all around World Showcase.

And there's no need to be so condescending...

 

[Biff215]

It seems like the only people defending this marketing gimmick are the ones who fell for said gimmick. :shrug:

So I "fell for a gimmick" because I bought my daughter a stuffed bear? I guess we also fell for "gimmicks" when we bought a house or car then, right?

If you don't like it, then you don't buy it. But why stand on the side and criticize those who do?

 

[rsoxguy]

On the slight chance that you're actually curious about what I was actually saying in the boldface, here's the explanation. The theme parks seemed to be originally designed to provide an incredible "show" that people would rave about. Shops like the silversmith and the magic shop were not about maximizing sales, they were about maximizing show. Again, to be perfectly clear, Disney wasn't doing this for altruistic motives, but because they thought in the long run, providing better show would be the better business choice, if it convinced people to come back, and to get more of their neighbors to make the trip to Florida. Now the focus seems to be about extracting every last dollar from the guests during each trip. In the short term, this is more profitable. Whether it's more profitable in the long run is a matter of opinion.

Well said.

 

[Tom]

I love duffy! Buy the bear!

Uhhh. What?

 

[MarkTwain]

Actually, from what I've seen and heard, Duffy has been selling better than expected and some items have already sold out or are in low quantities. The so-called "force feeding" of extra items like the Kidcot masks were always in the overall plan for familiarizing guests with Duffy and allowing them to have more interaction with him. It's not a last-ditch attempt, it's just a part of Duffy's launch that is slowly coming into play.

I'll admit I bought a Duffy for myself as well as my grandmother (who saw my NYC WOD Disney Bear and fell in love with him). I dressed mine up in a Build a Bear Christmas outfit and took him to Monday's MVMCP. I received lots of great comments from other people on how cute he looked. Yes, I realize it's just a merchandising ploy, but Duffy is not an evil item of darkness like so many of you make him out to be. I understand everyone has a different opinion of him, and not everyone will like him - but some people do and there's nothing wrong with that either. Shoot, I collect vinylmations too which I certainly know aren't everyone's cup of tea.

Actually, Duffy sales have exceeded expectations thus far and stores have already completely sold out of all the different international Duffy outfits.

Edit: Sorry, didn't mean to be repetitive, but I didn't see the post just above mine.

Well then I stand corrected. I wasn't aware of any actual sales figures, but the measures Disney has taken with Duffy seem bordering on desperation, so I had assumed things weren't going as well as they had planned.

 

[AEfx]

Seriously, though, maybe I'm just getting too old but: down with the bear. It's getting harder for me to see WDW without cynicism anymore. There was a time when souvenir sales were an ancillary benefit to the company of having a great set of theme parks. The souvenir shops were often even part of the show -- remember the magic shop, or the silversmith? Now we have all this nonsense like pins, and Duffy the Bear Who Must Be Bought, commodities presented for our consumption, and their appearance is touted as an attraction in itself, as though commercials were part of the show.

I'm right there with you.

I even don't mind pins - I probably own 30-40 of them. Only get them for special events and such normally though (I was at Disneyland for Indy's anniversary, and bought the pin, for example).

However, this Duffy stuff is just...asinine. It has nothing to do with Disney, and I can't believe with the incredible stable of characters Disney has, they felt they had to create one (a rather generic one at that) just to sell more merch.

Like, seriously...it's like a bad gag about Itchy and Scratchy Land on the Simpsons.

 

[kapeman]

Did I miss something?

Where did it say that the kidcot masks would be replaced?

 

[lebeau]

Did I miss something?

Where did it say that the kidcot masks would be replaced?

I've been wondering about this myself. The kidcot masks were actually a highlight of our last trip (sad, but true).

I've heard that they have been replaced but I'm not sure by what.

 

[wm49rs]

I've been wondering about this myself. The kidcot masks were actually a highlight of our last trip (sad, but true).

I've heard that they have been replaced but I'm not sure by what.

I think they were replaced by "Duffy" masks.....

 

[Eeyore]

Did I miss something?

Where did it say that the kidcot masks would be replaced?

I've been wondering about this myself. The kidcot masks were actually a highlight of our last trip (sad, but true).

I've heard that they have been replaced but I'm not sure by what.

The kidcot masks have been replaced with a Duffy on a stick as seen in the last photo in our news item here.

 

[lebeau]

The kidcot masks have been replaced with a Duffy on a stick as seen in the last photo in our news item here.

They couldn't even make it a Duffy mask? What sense does Duffy on a stick make? What can you do with Duffy on a stick? (On second thought, I don't want to know...) :lookaroun

 

[wm49rs]

What can you do with Duffy on a stick?

Dip it in BBQ sauce.....

 

[blm07]

I just don't see Duffy as all that intrusive. There's one shop and a meet-and-greet, and Duffy was made to fit in World Showcase.

I didn't know there was a shop, but there is a meet and greet, Kidcot Duffy cutouts, kid's menus, and a poster and shelves about him in just about every merchandise location around Future World. If it that's not intrusion, then it's invasion. :lookaroun Oh, and I've seen managers wearing a Duffy polo too.

Did I miss something?

Where did it say that the kidcot masks would be replaced?

Pretty sure the masks have been replaced by Duffy cut outs.

How come they couldn't market something better? Would I mind that they put posters and a meet and greet for park CDs? No way! I'd gladly go up and get a picture with someone in a EPCOT Center 6 CD set costume. Why not market some wonderful piece of history and art from Disney's past? What about posters with modernized designs of the Horizons building on it? You know, something that has to do with Epcot.

 

[thelookingglass]

This thread needs more photoshopped Duffy propaganda

 

[trr1]

Uhhh. What?

I think she want to buy us all a bear!:sohappy: