A 27-year-old Disney fan has shared her thoughts after footage showing her excitement over seeing Goofy at Disney World left viewers divided.
TikToker and Disney lover Sarah Rachul took a trip to the theme park in Orlando, Florida on 3 May and later shared footage of herself hugging Goofy on her TikTok page, where she goes by the handle @everydayisdisney.
The clip showed Rachul clasping her hands to her chest, jumping up and down and apparently even nearing tears with excitement before she ran to Goofy, who enveloped her in a big hug.
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See her reaction below:
Alongside the clip, the 27-year-old explained Goofy was her late grandfather's favourite character and she hadn't seen the big dog in three years, adding: "When I hug Goofy it’s like hugging my papa again. Thank you so much @disneyparks for making real magic for me today."
In spite of her heartfelt explanation for the post, some TikTokers criticised Rachul over her excitement. One viewer responded "I thought this was a joke at first", while another commented: “Ohh k yeah im fine with disney adults but some of y’all grown people need to remember there’s another adult in the costume lol [sic]."
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Although Rachul did receive some support and praise for her reaction to the character, after her clip went viral she admitted she wasn't surprised by the critical comments she had received.
She told the New York Post she was 'raised to have a thick skin', though expressed concern about the effects such cyberbullying could have a future generations.
Rachul commented: "I dug into some of these video duets/stitches and comments and lot of the people behind the account are in middle school/high school/college. These are really formative years for learning how to treat others and I’m concerned for how brazen people have become online when criticizing strangers.”
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Like many people online, Rachul said she was 'surprised' by her reaction to getting to hug Goofy again after three years. She and her parents had started a regular tradition of visiting the park in honour of their grandparents, who were Disney Vacation Club members, after they had passed away.
“The tears came out of nowhere," Rachul said. "All the cast members there were wonderful too and Goofy gave me a long hug and a lot of special interaction because he could see it meant a lot to me.”
One TikToker who stood up for Rachul claimed they were a Disney character performer and described reactions such as Rachul's as 'the reason why [they] go to work every day', adding they were 'so happy' for Rachul at having the chance to reunite with Goofy.
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Topics: Disney, Viral, TikTok, Film and TV
Emily Brown