Surprisingly Rare Character at Hollywood Studios

We love Disney characters, but there is something even more magical when we can meet rare characters. Walt Disney World opened the rare character vault for an epic holiday surprise. You do not want to miss out on this special character meet and greet, but hurry because it is for a limited time only.

Keep Moving Forward

Disney continues to offer unbelievable experiences and make changes with little or no advanced warning. We were all excited this holiday season when Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopened a once-shuttered shop.

One often overlooked location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the area of Grand Avenue where MuppetVision 3D is located along with Italian dining locations at PizzaRizzo and Mama Melrose. One little shop looks so inviting but has remained closed for several years.

The “It’s A Wonderful Shop” is always ready for the Christmas season even while remaining closed. This shop first welcomed guests in June 1992, and its long closure was met with disappointment by many Disney guests.

Rare Character

This holiday season, the shop reopened to allow guests to meet with Santa Claus. This was the perfect holiday surprise, but we did not know that Disney had an even bigger surprise planned for guests.

Santa Claus greeted guests until Christmas Eve and then prepared for his biggest night of the year. On Christmas Day, Santa takes a much-needed vacation. Typically, Santa Goofy fills in for Santa, but Disney has a fun surprise this year.

For a limited time, guests can now meet Santa Duffy at “It’s A Wonderful Shop” from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm. Santa Duffy greeted guests earlier this holiday season at the special ticketed, Jollywood Nights event.

Now guests can hug this friendly teddy bear without a special party ticket. Many guests may not be very familiar with Duffy. He is the teddy bear that Minnie made for Mickey Mouse to take while enjoying his worldwide adventures.

Santa Duffy is now greeting guests at “It’s A Wonderful Shop.”

Duffy and his friends have quite a following at the overseas Disney Parks but are rare here at US Disney Parks. We are so glad to see Duffy greeting guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We hope he may surprise us with even more meet and greets in the future.

What do you think of this fun surprise? Will you be waiting in line for this rare meet and greet? Share your thoughts with us and share this news with your Disney pals.