Bereaved Grandma and Aunt Touched by Kindness of Disney World Cast Members
A bereaved aunt and grandmother took the memorial card of their loved one to Disney World, and were touched by the reaction of a cast member playing Mickey Mouse, a heartwarming video shared to TikTok shows.
The video, from aunt Juliana Straessley, shows the touching when Mickey Mouse carefully wraps and kisses the memorial photograph of Straessley’s late niece Rayne, and urges her and Rayne’s grandmother not to cry.
“I moved to the Orlando area from Pittsburgh last spring, and I promised to take her to Disney World for her birthday,” Straessley said. Rayne was “a fighter all of her life” she said, “but passed away at the end of September.”
Straessley set up a GoFundMe for her niece when she was ill. Rayne struggled with her health for much of her short life and was in and out of the ICU a lot of the time, the fundraiser post said.
Straessley told Storyful that she and her mom, often referred to as Grammy Jo, brought Rayne’s picture to Disney World to “meet all of her favorite characters.” She said she was left in awe of the “kindness and tenderness of the cast members” that day.
“Child loss isn’t an easy thing to navigate in this life,” she said. “For a few days, they definitely shined a bright light in the darkness of grief.” Credit: Juliana Straessley via Storyful
Video transcript
- [INDISTINCT SPEECH]
- She's ready to go now.
[CHATTER]
Oh, it's cold in here. You're right, Mickey. Thank you.
[CHATTER]
OK. [LAUGHS]
- [INDISTINCT SPEECH]
- She's happy because she's here. She's here with us. I pinky swear. [LAUGHS] No crying, yes, sir. No crying from her either. Thank you, Mickey.
- Thank you.
- [INDISTINCT SPEECH]
- She's ready to go now.
[CHATTER]
Oh, it's cold in here. You're right, Mickey. Thank you.
[CHATTER]
OK. [LAUGHS]
- [INDISTINCT SPEECH]
- She' happy because she's here. She's here with us. I pinky swear. [LAUGHS] No crying, yes, sir. No crying from her either. Thank you, Mickey.
- Thank you
