Mickey Mouse helped Courtney and Tom Gilmour, of Pennsylvania, announce their adoption date to 12-year-old Janielle and 10-year-old Elijah, in a video posted to Facebook on July 6.
The Gilmours had been fostering Janielle and Elijah for about three years and had long planned to adopt the children.
They were waiting for an official court date when one was finally confirmed in April, just as they left for a trip to Orlando, Fla., to visit Walt Disney World.
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When the family checked into the Walt Disney World Resort, they were handed buttons to write down what occasion they were there to celebrate.
Courtney wrote “adopting our kids” on her and Tom’s button and took a photo of it, and tweeted it to the Walt Disney World Twitter account.
A Disney representative contacted Courtney shortly after she posted the photo, asking her how they could make their stay extra special. Courtney told People that she thought they were just going to give them a free dessert.
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In the video posted by Courtney on July 6, it shows the family attending a surprise meet and greet with Mickey Mouse at the back of the Town Street Theater at Disney World.
The footage shows Mickey signing Janielle and Elijah’s guestbook and performing a card trick before a sign is brought out that reads, “Your Adoption Day will be May 24, 2017.” That is the day they would officially be adopted.
When the children see the sign, they both burst into tears.
“Disney offered a special meet and greet with Mickey so he could let them know their adoption date. The kids had no idea any of this was happening,” Courtney wrote on Facebook. “They just thought they were getting their books signed. This went better than we had hoped”
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The post continued: “They were beyond shocked and we were beyond emotional. We were very lucky to have Aunt Vicki there to film it!… PURE DISNEY MAGIC!”
Since the video was posted, it has been viewed more than 2 million times.
Watch Mickey Mouse surprise Janielle and Elijah in the video above.
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