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If there is one character who you would expect to greet Guests at the entrance to Disney Parks, it would be Mickey Mouse himself, right?
A floral version of Mickey can be spotted at the entrance of Disney’s “castle Parks,” including Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and international Parks like Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland.
With very few exceptions (Minnie Mouse during special events like Women’s History Month), this floral design has historically always featured Mickey. The style of the design might change, especially when seasonal flowers are added or removed when the Parks celebrate holidays like Christmas or Halloween, but the floral itself has always featured either Mickey or Minnie…until now.
Credit: Disney
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For the first time ever, a different character altogether has been reimagined into a floral work of art, with Duffy the Disney Bear taking over for Mickey outside of the entrance to Hong Kong Disneyland.
Duffy is currently being featured by the entrance as part of “Duffy and Friends Play Days,” a seasonal event with Duffy and all of his friends celebrating the arrival of spring. Disney’s official website describes the event as”Duffy and Friends’ favorite season,” noting:
They love to spend this colorful time surrounded by laughter, smelling the flowers, touching the grass, bouncing around, jumping for joy, and playing wherever and whenever! So, let your innocent self out to play wholeheartedly and enjoy spring surprises at the all-new “Duffy and Friends Play Days” experience in the park.
@hkdlfantasy shared a photo of the new floral design that greets Guests entering the Park on Twitter:
Hong Kong Disneyland unprecedentedly replaced Floral Mickey at the entrance with Floral Duffy for “Duffy Play Days” Springtime seasonal event.#HongKongDisneyland #hkdisneyland #HKDL #disneyparks #disney #香港ディズニーランド #ディズニー #Duffy #ダッフィー pic.twitter.com/s0U7Hj7s7O
— HKDL Fantasy (@hkdlfantasy) March 22, 2023
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Duffy the Disney Bear was a gift from Minnie to Mickey before he set off on a long journey. While the character has been featured on occasion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, he has been much more popular in Disney’s international theme parks, particularly at Hong Kong Disney Resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, and Tokyo Disney Resort.
His only recent appearances stateside have been very limited character meet and greets for special events. In the past, Duffy could be found greeting Guests in EPCOT near the entrance to World Showcase, but the character has not resided in this location in years.
Credit: Hong Kong Disneyland
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Many Disney fans in the U.S. have expressed their interest in seeing more of Duffy at the theme parks, but this update might not be what they had in mind.
As for the Duffy floral, we do not see it coming to other Disney Parks where it is part of a specific event only taking place in Hong Kong. While Duffy coming to Disney World or Disneyland is unlikely, this change in Hong Kong does seem to open up the possibility of other characters replacing Mickey and Minnie in the future.
