A Cafeteria Worker Got Her Dream Trip to Disney, Proved That There Is Magic in This World

In this installment of "Things That Make Us Silently Weep at Our Desk," students at Elon University gifted their beloved cafeteria worker a fully funded trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. It all started when the longtime Elon employee, Kathryn Thompson, remarked to students Taylor Zisholtz and Lucy Smith-Williams that she had always dreamed of taking her family to Disney World. She told them, "I just want that so badly. I have never been anywhere but here." The students saw that as an opportunity to go full Disney and make her wish come true.

Zisholtz and Smith-Williams immediately got started on a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money for Thompson, her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons to visit Walt Disney World at a date of their choosing. In less than a month, their goal of $6,500 was made.

In a video, the two students can be seen surprising Thompson at the end of her shift, at which point she immediately starts crying — at which point, so do we. Through tears, she says, "Just to see my grandson's eyes when he sees Mickey . . . " We totally understand; Mickey tends to have that effect on people.