Disney World is called the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s filled with fun, fantasy, games and rides, all designed to bring out the child in anyone. But Disney is also famous for the incredible care and attention to detail the company brings to all of its visitors. Disney World more than lived up to its reputation when two kids, Janielle, 12, and Elijah, 10, visited the Magic Kingdom for the first time.
Janielle and Elijah were in Orlando with their foster parents of three years, Courtney and Tom Gilmour. Their foster parents conspired with Disney staff to make the trip a dream come true in more ways than one!
It all started when Courtney tweeted about the trip and how she planned to share the news that she and her husband were formally adopting the kids. Someone at Disney World saw her tweets, reached out to her and then a plan was hatched. The Disney family assigned the Mouse himself to give the children the life-changing news.
When Janielle and Elijah arrived at Magic Kingdom, they were whisked off to a very special meeting with Mickey Mouse. Mickey entertained the kids with a magic trick. Then, he hung around to take photographs with the happy family. Before one more pictures, a Disney employee stepped in to say that Mickey had some important news for Janielle and Elijah.
As Mickey spread his arms wide, he gestured to another Disney employee, who then held up a large sign. It contained the kids’ adoption date: May 24. “We thought it would be so cool to be in the Magic Kingdom and slip Mickey a sign,” Courtney told CBS News. “He could show it to the kids and we would let them know their adoption date that way.”
The children broke down in tears of happiness. The parents had fostered 13 children over the years. Courtney, a former foster child herself, has dedicated her life to helping sibling groups stay together. Janielle and Elijah had been in foster care for most of their lives, but now, with help from Mickey Mouse, they have found a home where they will stay forever.