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Last edited by The Forbidden Eye; 05-14-2011, 11:53 PM.
Reason: Removed pics at the request of F183
The world is a treasure trove of places. The colors of Earth, Sea and Sky. Beauty i'm told, is ours to behold. In the wonderful world of color. Indy Ride Count: 2211 World of Color Count: 74
I'll be at Downtown Disney today for the Disney Cars Masters Weekend event. They should have the Cars one there. I will also check Epcot for the Pirates.
DuffyD, you can always sew your own button on to make the quality of the costume better. Adding your own detail can go a long way.
Yeah, I have done that with a lot of things. Added claws and changed the eye buttons on the Halloween cat costume... Swapped the buttons and made different shoes for Candlelight Reflections... Done some BAB edits and will be using BAB costumes I already bought with UniBEARsity details to make school uniforms to fit my overstuffed armature bears...
If the paint came off, maybe I'd try that here. I'd have to add a metal sash buckle, too. That was my first thought, but then I looked closely at the material and stitching and decided it wasn't really worth it to me.
Thanks for posting my pics TFE! They're in DCA! We just got them in today! I'm not even sure if they're onstage yet! LOL
I'll see if they're in the store today. I'll let you know via Twitter!
The world is a treasure trove of places. The colors of Earth, Sea and Sky. Beauty i'm told, is ours to behold. In the wonderful world of color. Indy Ride Count: 2211 World of Color Count: 74
Hopefully I can find these when I'm at DTD next weekend. I don't care for the Lightning McQueen one, but the pirate one looks pretty cool. If I like it upon closer inspection I'll definitely buy it.
All the details on both costumes are embroidered or stitched! They did not skimp out on these! The pockets are even REAL! They are so cute in person! And finally we're getting some detail!!! Can't wait to see them on Duffy! I REALLY want the pirate one! It's just too cute to pass up!
It's nice to hear that the pockets are not just flaps (I had assumed they were). And while I agree that embroidery is generally better than painted on, it certainly isn't the same quality as a sewn-on button. Further, since it's even harder to remove than painted on, replacing these "buttons" with real ones wouldn't even be a very practical option unless you use simple plastic discs exactly the same size and shade as the existinge embroidery. Build-A-Bear never does painted-on or embroidered buttons - shame on you, Disney!
I expect Disney, as the owner of the character and the planet's most celebrated and well-resourced character merchandising house, to be the industry leader producing the absolute pinnacle of creativity and construction. Disney's details should be perfect; that's what makes it Disney. The problem is that if these sell well, we should expect to see more corner-cutting in the future. I think it's a step in the right direction, but I'm reserving my jumping claps for when they actually start producing at an acceptable standard of quality appropriate to the Disney legacy, which is precisely what the Duffy character/product is meant to be ensouled by and embody.
The pirate costume is cute, but clearly not their best possible work, which for me creates a disappointment. How much are these, by the way? At $15 I'd say it's "reasonable" but not a bargain; I'm thinking they're up around $30 now, though. That's getting close to Tokyo price for not nearly the same quality - and they don't have to pay licensing fees! I find that outrageous. I would like to see more photos, though. My opinion could change considerably if those garishly over-bright and unsophisticated colors look really adorable when they're on an actual Duffy.^^
To be honest, the pirate costume reminds me of a Blue version of the Halloween Pirate costume that had come out in...2007 I believe for Tokyo Disney Sea. I saw another picture on Ebay and the gold buttons look almost exact. I personally don't mind them not being real buttons as it's nice to just have a soft outfit.
I think the costumes are 18-20 now. Maybe 25 tops. I believe it's only 25-30 for the 12 inch Duffy that come with costumes on.
It was actually in a store that I didn't expect. It's the little shop at the International Gateway going towards the resorts (Beach Club, Boardwalk). They didn't have a lot of them, just a few. I don't know if this is because they didn't get a lot in yet or if all those ebayers are buying like a thousand of them.
To be honest, the pirate costume reminds me of a Blue version of the Halloween Pirate costume that had come out in...2007 I believe for Tokyo Disney Sea. I saw another picture on Ebay and the gold buttons look almost exact. I personally don't mind them not being real buttons as it's nice to just have a soft outfit.
I think the costumes are 18-20 now. Maybe 25 tops. I believe it's only 25-30 for the 12 inch Duffy that come with costumes on.
I guess you're talking about this one. I never noticed the stitched buttons.:yuck: Still, while I suppose you could argue that these terrible buttons and that hexagonal sash buckle are similar, I think that's a pretty weak connection considering how very different all the other elements and the overall impression are. Plus, it includes pants and boots that are among the best of all the TDS footwear releases. Check the details at the Disney Bear Duffy blog. Is this what you're talking about?
Here's the TDS Pirate for comparison, clearly more inspired by Jack Sparrow than by the cartoony eyepatch pirates I grew up with - and FAR more complex, detailed and sophisticated than the US one, terrible buttons aside (although at least they look gold and not yellow, making it easier to sew on metal buttons, which it would be worth doing with such a generally well-constructed costume and which I would do immediately):
As for US pricing, I really only go by what people post here. I remembered there being a bit of discussion about a price hike around the time of the release of the Buzz Lightyear costume. I was thinking of DBEAR's post from March, although it was two weeks before the earthquake and now it feels like it's from an eternity ago:
The prices on some items did go up today at WDW. I'm sure Disneyland also raised prices since they use the same merchandising computer/pricing system. The outfits are now $18, except Buzz and Woody are now $20. The large Duffy went up $15, from $60 to $75. The 17 inch Duffy is now $30 instead of $25. The 12 inch dressed Duffys were marked $30 at 1 location out of 3 that I checked but still ring up at $25. I was told that they were suppose to go up to $30, so who knows what is happening with those. Didn't get to check the other items yet. I really don't see most tourists spending over $50 for a Duffy with an outfit. I have seen less than 10 people walking around with a Duffy since the relaunch and I go to the parks at least once a week. Less than 6 months and already price increases.
I think I remembered the $30 from the bears. I think $15 should be the limit on this and most of the US costumes. $20 is reasonable, I guess, for Buzz and Woody...except that Build-A-Bear has sold both of these costumes for years - with shoes for Buzz and MUCH better details on Woody, including a stiff molded hat and a plastic pull ring that's actually sewn on with a string, as well as a MUCH better bandana and spurs - at a price point of just $16. What Disney makes isn't as high quality, so I think it should be less expensive, not more.
*The one good thing, though, is that the BAB "helmet" for Buzz doesn't fit Duffy right. In this, the US wins, but that's not a fair fight really since BAB wasn't designing for Duffy in the first place.
Oops! Looks like the photos got taken down. You can check out Duffy in the pirate costume in TheForbiddenEyes latest photo post HERE:
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