One girl experienced what Disney is all about — being magical. She was surprised when one of her favorite characters began communicating with her in American Sign Language.
Zoe Tapley, 11, went to Disneyland in July with her family. She saw Princess Anna from the Disney hit movie “Frozen” and wanted to take a picture.
“Princess Anna must have seen us signing to each other,” dad Jesse Tapley told GMA. “Sometimes the characters will know, like, ‘What’s your name?’ or ‘Nice to meet you,’ and that’s awesome. But when she said, ‘Can I sign?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, go ahead.’”
When it was Zoe’s turn to meet the princess, she was met with ASL, with Anna saying more than just “Hello.” The family was shocked to see Princess Anna hold an entire conversation.
@jeanettetapley When Princess Anna can sign and have a full conversation with my deaf child. 🥹 Zoe has never been able to chat with a princess without Jesse or myself interpreting. This was magical. Thank you Princess Anna for making our trip so special! #deafchildren #asl #americansignlanguage #BigInkEnergy #fyp #feelgood #inclusionmatters @Disney Parks @Disneyland California
♬ For the First Time in Forever - From "Frozen"/Soundtrack Version - Kristen Bell & Idina Menzel
It’s about “that feeling of belonging to the Disney magic, and the authentic, emotional moments of connection with our characters and our cast,” a Disney spokesman told GMA.
Although more than 70 million people are hearing impaired, very few know how to how to sign. Jeanette Tapley, Zoe’s mom, gets an outpouring of support on her social media accounts that aim to teach as many as she can about ASL in hopes of creating a more communicative environment for her daughter.
“There’s just this joy of seeing ASL being celebrated and being the spotlight ... that’s so beautiful and so important to our family and to her culture,” Jeanette said. “It’s been really special.”
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