Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is one of the most magical places on Earth.
Spread over 25,000 acres, the park boasts four theme parks, two water parks, several golf courses, and twenty-seven resort hotels amongst its many attractions. Since its founding in 1971, families have flocked there to get a piece of the Disney magic— but after an unexpected interaction, one Kentucky family learned how magical Walt Disney World can really be.
Jessie Barber and her wife Allison were on vacation at Walt Disney World with their adopted children and 18-month old son with cerebral palsy.
The family was attending a character breakfast at the Crystal Palace in Disney World’s Magical Kingdom when they spotted a staff member dressed as Winnie the Pooh. Barber said that while her 18-month-old usually doesn’t do well in stimulating, crowded environments, he had been having a blast meeting all his favorite characters. In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, she said:
“We weren’t sure how he would handle the day, but he did amazing— he didn’t pitch a fit at all.”
Somehow, things got even better when he spotted Winnie the Pooh.
In the video, you see Pooh walk up to the disabled boy and proceed to snuggle him, rub his arm, and “kiss” his cheek.
Many people get uncomfortable with disabled children, not knowing how to act, but Winnie the Pooh went above and beyond to comfort Barber’s son— something for which she’s incredibly grateful.
Upon later uploading the video, she wrote:
“For those of you who have disabled children [and] know the feeling when people look but aren’t sure how to interact with your kiddo. This Winnie the Pooh melted my heart and knew exactly what to do!”
According to Barber, her son functions at a 4 to 6-month old level, meaning he can mimic a few sounds but mostly communicates with expressions. As you can see in the video, he is completely overjoyed by the kind-hearted Pooh bear. “Winnie the Pooh hung out for 10 minutes,” said Barber. “He wouldn’t let go of our son’s hands. He really calmed him.”
The next day, the family came across the same Winnie the Pooh in another one of the park’s restaurants. The instant the boy spotted Pooh, he immediately started to beam. Later, Barber purchased a Winnie the Pooh pin for him to hang on his adaptive stroller.
Before leaving the theme park, Barber and her family let Guest Services know how touched they were by the employee wearing the Winnie the Pooh costume. “We wanted to make sure he or she was recognized,” she said.
Since being uploaded a week ago, the family’s touching video has been viewed 33 million times.
It’s incredibly moving to see the amount of joy elicited by such a simple interaction. Comments on the video read:
“Disney is simply magic. This is the best thing ever.”
“Beautiful! So touching!”
“Oh my goodness, my heart.”
See the beautiful moment below.
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