Disney Bear and Duffy the Disney Bear

When I first heard about Duffy I was slightly puzzled because I had seen this bear before at Disneyland.  The only difference was he was known simply as "Disney Bear" and had a different story on his tag.  Disney Bear's story was that Mickey was at Disneyland by himself with his bear waiting for his friends.  Mickey wished he had someone to enjoy the park with and his Disney Bear came to life.  Disney Bear looks just like Duffy with the hidden Mickeys on his face and paws and even his Mickey shape birthmark.  You could buy Disney Bear at Disneyland, Disney World, and the Disney Store online and even get him t-shirts.  Take a look at this photo:

He's Duffy!  He was just marketed under a different name.  My sister and I got one for our youngest sister.  We took pictures of him all over Disneyland.  He met different cast members and characters and they all recognized him as Duffy.

A week before the Annual Passholder Preview of Duffy at California Adventure, all the Disney Bears were taken off the store shelves. At the Disney World Passholder Preview, I read that someone asked a cast member about Disney Bear and the cast member claimed that he was Duffy's cousin.
But I don't believe that because Disney Bear is clearly Duffy!  So I'll be using pictures of Disney Bear on this site as well as the Duffy the Disney Bear that comes to Disneyland and Disney World on October 14th.