Disney has been described as "The Happiest Place on Earth" by many, and it's largely for the experience of seeing some of our favorite stories come to life in the form of realistic displays, rides, and of course, the cast of costumed Disney characters that can be found around the park.
The Foster family on Instagram was nothing short of elated at the prospect of going to Disneyland. On her Instagram profile, Carrie Foster describes herself and her husband as "hearing parents," while her son, Luca, is diagnosed as Hard of Hearing, and they're learning American Sign Language (ASL).
While the family was excited to see a lot of things, they were especially looking forward to meeting the cast of characters from Toy Story, Luca's favorite film.
On their way to Disneyland, Foster repeatedly promised her son that he would get to meet Buzz, Bo Peep, Jessie, and Woody.
And one day, they were able to keep that promise—but they had no idea of just how magical the moment would be.
Early in the day, the family met Buzz and Jessie, but later in the day, they visited the character area again to meet Woody and Bo Peep, who realized that Foster was using ASL with her son.
Bo Peep immediately started signing with Luca, who brightened at the interaction. Foster had tears in her eyes at the effort the characters made to make Luca feel comfortable and included, and she was even more touched when Bo Peep signed, "I love you" to Luca before they left the character area.
The caption of the video read:
"When your heroes speak your language..."
"Bo Peep and Woody signed with our little one, and our hearts just melted! Pure Disney magic!"
"Leading up to Disneyland, we kept telling Luca he was going to meet Buzz, Bo Peep, Jessie, and Woody. I’d seen other characters signing with Deaf guests, but when Bo Peep saw me signing with Luca and immediately started signing back, I was floored."
"It brought me to tears, and every time I watch it, I cry all over again."
"The inclusion, the understanding, the acceptance, it’s everything I hoped for as a hearing parent when I had all those fears in the beginning. Moments like this remind me just how beautiful this journey is ('love' in sign language emoji)."
You can watch the heartwarming video here:
Fellow Instagrammers found themselves tearing up alongside Luca's mom.
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Others applauded the Disney cast's awareness and treatment of Luca during this magical moment.
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We've all heard the saying that it costs nothing to be kind, and while learning another language, even just the basics of it, isn't without some cost in the form of time and effort, it's such an undeniable way to make someone feel seen and included.
Knowing there are Disney cast characters out there practicing sign language to ensure all of their guests have the best and most inclusive experience possible makes the whole idea of visiting one of Disney's parks all the more magical.
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