Two young Calgary boys’ heartbroken reaction to the news they were going on a family vacation to Disney World instead of Winnipeg, Man., have gone viral after being featured in a Winnipeg tourism ad.
For many children, a trip to see Mickey Mouse would be the trip of a lifetime, but for Jonathan and Ethan Byers, their parents’ surprise holiday announcement was received with tears and a tantrum caught on video.
Mom Chantalle and dad Ian told a little white lie to their sons in 2013, saying in a video the family was going to Winnipeg for a vacation, when in fact the couple had planned a trip to the Magic Kingdom.
When the parents tell them what their travel ininerary really was, the kids can be seen having a major meltdown over the news in the video
“You said we were going to Winnipeg… you’re such a liar!” older brother Jonathan yells as he storms off crying.
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“I’m going to my room, I’m shutting it and I’m locking it!”
WATCH: A Calgary family has become the face of Tourism Winnipeg after a surprise trip announcement took an unexpected turn. Christa Dao reports.
The boys’ reaction surprised their parents, to say the least.
The parents had told their children the trip to Winnipeg would be spent with their cousins, playing games and enjoying the outdoors — making the allure of a trip to Disney fade in comparison to the frosty prairie city.
“We were freaking out because we didn’t know what Disney World was and we wanted to see our cousins in Winnipeg,” Ethan, the youngest son said on Wednesday as he reflected on the video which was shot when the boys were eight and 10 years old.
Now, the City of Winnipeg is capitalizing on the little white lie that caused a meltdown. Tourism Winnipeg picked the video up, using it in a promotional campaign that’s now gone viral.
“We’re being compared to the Magic Kingdom,” Cody Chomiak with Tourism Winnipeg said on Wednesday.
The family has since travelled both to Disney World and Winnipeg.
— With files from Global’s Christa Dao