The internet is divided on just how happy adults should behave at the Happiest Place on Earth.
The debate began when 27-year-old TikTok user Sarah Rachul — known as @everydayisdisney on the platform — posted a clip of herself getting emotional when she saw Goofy at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, on May 3.
Now, Rachul is speaking up to The Post about the cyberbullying she endured after sharing her heartfelt experience on social media, and why she’s “concerned” about young people on TikTok.
“When you see Goofy coming around the corner after you’ve waited 3 years to hug him again,” read the text displayed over the video.
The park lifted its ban on character-guest hugs on April 18. It had been in place since 2020 due to COVID-19.
Rachul’s clip now has more than 1.8 million views and over 7,770 comments, some of which shamed her for the extreme reaction.
“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,” one cynic of TikTok remarked.
Screenshots soon resurfaced on Twitter where discussions continued.
“We need to do something about disney adults,” one warned.
“Disney is for children,” another remarked.
But the Disney super-fan had good reason for her emotional reaction, she explained. “It might sound silly but my papa’s favorite character was Goofy and when I hug Goofy it’s like hugging my papa again,” Rachul captioned the video.
Many followers noted this, and commended the bereaved woman for sharing her insights into the stages of grief.
“Please y’all take the time to read the caption. The process of grief looks different for everyone,” one TikTok user commented.
“DISNEY CHARACTER PERFORMER HERE!! THIS is the reason why we go to work every day♥️This performer LOVED every bit of this, so happy for you love♥️,” another TikTok user said in the comments.
Despite the wholesome clip Rachul shared, it continued to go viral and prompted an eruption of mean comments aimed at so-called Disney Adults.
Rachul told The Post that while she wasn’t surprised by the backlash — “I was also raised to have a thick skin” — she worries about the effects the cyberbullying could have on younger generations.
“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,” she explained. “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.”
When her grandparents, who were Disney Vacation Club members, passed away, Rachul and and her parents started a regular tradition of visiting the park in their honor. Her last trip to the park was in 2019.
“I was surprised by my own reaction to getting to hug [Goofy] again,” Rachul recalled. “The tears came out of nowhere. 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.”
Post columnist Johnny Oleksinski gave his take on childless millennials vacationing at Disney in 2019.
“Why do the same old, safe, boring thing when you could buy a round-trip Norwegian Airlines flight from New York to Paris right now for $280, get an Airbnb and sit along the Seine drinking rosé?” he asked adult-aged Disney park-goers.
But for those who never want to grow up, the media giant announced in February that it was working on a real-life residential neighborhood in the Coachella Valley.
