Meeting a favorite Disney character is always a highlight of many trips to Walt Disney World. People have truly emotional connections to a particular Disney Princess they grew up with, and for some, it can be an emotional experience to hug Mickey Mouse. But for one service dog, meeting Mickey was so calming that the pup fell asleep, and honestly, I get it.
Prepare yourself, because you might not be ready for the level of adorable that comes with watching a service dog become so comfortable with Mickey Mouse that they just curl up and go to sleep. It’s an incredibly sweet TikTok that has gone viral, and I seriously can’t get enough of it. The dog is obviously content, Mickey loves it and so will you. Check it out.
@radiantlygolden ♬ What Was I Made For (Piano) - T I H H
It hasn’t even been all that long since the ability to get close enough to touch characters came back to Disney World. When the parks first reopened, characters were kept at a distance, and it stayed that way for quite some time. Disney World fans cried when they were able to hug Goofy again, a testament to what those moments mean to people at an emotional level.
But I would not have guessed that a dog would feel the same way. Maybe the extra big hands make Mickey extra good at rubbing a dog’s belly, but something about this interaction makes the dog so comfortable that they just go to sleep. I mean, some people would probably do the same if they could, but the dog is at least able to get away with it.
I don’t have the same connection to character meetings that others do, though I did recently take a photo with Inside Out’s Bing Bong, who can be met at the new Pixar Place Hotel at the Disneyland Resort. For me, the lines are almost always too long. I'll only visit characters if my favorite attraction is closed at Disney World for refurbishment and I have nothing else I feel a need to do.
I will stand in the lines for my kid, however, and I imagine that people with service animals might now want to consider doing the same thing. Even if the character doesn’t mean everything to you, how do you know that’s not your animal’s favorite character?
New characters appear in the parks all the time. Among what's new at Disney World in the last few months they added a meet and greet for Asha from Wish. It's become standard practice whenever there is a new Star Wars or Marvel project for a new character to appear in their respective theme park land.
I guess this just shows that the joy that people get from visiting Disney World can cross species boundaries as well. Now I’ll never be able to look at a service animal at a theme park the same way. Are they having as much fun as everybody else?
