The Disney theme parks have always branded themselves as the place “Where Dreams Come True,” but that wasn’t the case for one couple who had their marriage proposal thwarted by an employee at Disneyland Paris.
In what has since become one of social media’s most viral posts in June, a bystander filmed the marriage proposal of two Disney fans in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.
In the clip, originally shared to Reddit, a man gets down on one knee to ask his girlfriend to marry him on an elevated stage.
As he presents a velvet ring box, the woman says “yes” — but not before a Disney employee in a pink and purple golf polo and silver Mickey Mouse ears snatches the ring from the man’s hand and insists the couple exit the stage.
The couple reluctantly leave and the man tells the employee that his now-fiancé already said “yes.”
“Yes, that’s great,” the employee replies. “But over here, it’s going to be even better.”
In an interview with the New York Times, the man, who was only identified as a German native named Ante, said his “mind was empty.” The woman was not identified in the article.
According to CNN, Ante had asked another employee if he could use the stage (which is normally reserved for live performances) for the proposal, and was given the go-ahead.
The disrupted proposal, which took place on May 21, triggered a statement from Disney headquarters in California.
“We have offered our sincere apologies to the couple concerned and we will do everything we can to make this up to them,” the statement read.
Disney has not said publicly whether the employee had been trained to keep park guests off of the stage, including for marriage proposals, or whether the employee had been reprimanded.
Ante told the Times that Disney also offered the couple a free weekend in a Disneyland park and hotel of their choosing. They refused the offer.
“Disneyland stands for dreams,” Ante told the Times. “Our moment was destroyed.”
“I don’t want to visit Disneyland anymore,” he said. “They can’t give us the moment back and that’s the only thing I want — to get a second chance.”
Comments