5-year-old girl who visited Disney World loses beloved toy 4,200 miles from home — then, surprise

Here's what happened after a child lost her stuffed animal while on vacation with her family

A young girl has Mickey Mouse to thank for a remarkable act of kindness. 

Leilani Hatton, age 5, from Darlington, England, recently took a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, but came home without her teddy bear. 

Hatton’s family traveled roughly 4,200 miles for the trip and had the bear named Jofli with them up until the end, according to SWNS, the British news service. 

VIRGINIA HOTEL EMPLOYEES RESCUE TODDLER'S LOST STUFFED ANIMAL, TAKE PHOTOS OF IT WORKING AND EXERCISING

Grandmother Lynne Cullen said Hatton takes Jofli with her "anywhere and everywhere."

But then, "one of the days we just suddenly realized he wasn’t with us anymore. We got back to the hotel and thought, ‘Where’s the bear?’"

Hatton with Minnie Mouse

Leilani Hatton took her stuffed animal with her to Disney World on a family vacation.  (SWNS)

After reviewing photos from the trip to see when Jofli might have gone missing, the family determined he must have been left at either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. 

Cullen said the family had brought Jofli with them into each park to meet the Disney princesses. 

HOTEL REUNITES GIRL, 10, WITH STUFFED ANIMAL SHE LEFT BEHIND ON VACATION

She added, "We’ve got photographs of her with this bear and all the Disney princesses and characters."

Hatton with teddy bear

The family put in a lost property claim before they went home — but didn’t have high hopes of getting their daughter's beloved stuffed animal back.  (SWNS)

After realizing that Jofli was lost, the family had no choice but to continue with their trip and go home to England. 

Cullen told Fox News Digital the family put in a lost property claim the day before they went home but didn’t have high hopes of getting the item back. 

WOMAN FINDS LOST STUFFED BUNNY AND WANTS TO LOCATE ITS OWNER: ‘LOOKS LIKE IT WAS PRETTY LOVED’

About two weeks later, however, something surprising occurred.

"We got an email a couple of weeks later saying [Jofli] had been found, and he arrived in the post a few days later," she told Fox News Digital. 

Thank you letter

The grateful young girl wrote a thank-you note to Mickey Mouse after the most surprising thing happened.  (SWNS)

Disney employees somehow found the beloved stuffed animal — and mailed it about 4,200 miles to Hatton’s home. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Grandmother Cullen said the family let Hatton open the package — which contained Jofli, safe and sound.

"We surprised her and let her open the parcel, saying that Mickey Mouse found it for her. The teddy has always been important to her, so she was delighted," she told SWNS. 

She added, "Those parks are massive, and there must be a lot of lost property, so it was a really lovely touch for them to go out of their way and make sure he returned home."

Disney girl stuffed animal

A five-year-old girl experienced quite the surprise after her beloved stuffed animal went missing at Disney World.  (SWNS)

Hatton then wrote a "thank you" note to Mickey Mouse for returning her toy and sending it safely home.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews/lifestyle

Cullen said, "Jofli has certainly had an adventure of his own, and he’s ready for his next one after returning from America."

Brittany Kasko is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. 

Authored by Brittany Kasko via FoxNews July 3rd 2024