In 2013, when she was just four-years-old, Shaylee and her family embarked on an adventure to the theme park in Florida.
The little girl was gobsmacked when discovered one of her Disney icons, Tinkerbell, introduced herself in sign language.
“Hi, my name is T-I-N-K,” the beloved Peter Pan character signed as Shaylee’s mouth dropped open and eyes widened.
The delightful moment was captured on camera by her mum, Sheena McFeely, who is also deaf.
Little Shaylee was beyond excited to be able to chat with Tinkerbell.
The mum-of-two enrolled her daughter into a school where everyone speaks sign language so she grows up feeling included – but she never expected to feel that way at place like Disney World.
“When I was growing up, I never expected anyone to sign. That was the world I grew up in,” she explained in a video shared by the film makers YouTube page, Disney Parks.
She went on to say that seeing the park through her daughter’s eyes “brings out the best in me and makes me become a kid again”.
So moved by the Mansfield’s family’s incredible story, Disney invited them back to the park earlier this year.
“Every family that steps through the magical gates of a Disney Park is unique and special in their own way,” the company quipped.
Now seven, Shaylee was still just as impressed when she meet Minnie Mouse, who signed that she was learning the language.
“Good job, that’s great!” Shaylee gushed to Mini.
Her father said the impact on her was invaluable.
“It made her proud of her own language. She made that connection,” he explained. “The moments I remember the most in my life are when I see someone truly happy.”
