Toddler falls asleep during dream trip to Disney World. Video shows how uncle saves day

It was a dream of hers to go to Disney World and see the Magic Kingdom, but when this 3-year-old got there, she just “couldn’t hang,” her uncle said in a viral Instagram video.

The video shows him carrying her through the theme park as she lies fast asleep in his arms, her head bobbing backward and arms swinging limp in the air

“I am here, that’s all that matters,” he says in the video, shared on his Instagram account @philwaukee in June.“We are here for Disney.”

The video opens with an image of the uncle, who goes by Phil the Culture, holding his 3-year-old niece, Maliha Cotton, with the caption “POV: Taking a toddler to Disney be like…”

Phil said his niece had always wanted to visit the Magic Kingdom, but when they got to the front of the castle, she was dozing like a “true sleeping beauty,” one user said in the comments.

“You made it. See?” he says before playfully touching her cheeks in an attempt to wake her up. The toddler slowly lifts her head and looks around drowsily before falling back asleep.

“See, that’s (what happens) when you come from Wisconsin at four in the morning,” he says to the camera. The family took a 6 a.m. flight from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then another to Orlando, Florida, he wrote.

Phil wrote that after that trip with his niece, he has more respect for parents who travel with kids.

“(Maliha) was so excited to see the Princess Castle that she talked about this moment for weeks,” the caption says. “Finally the time arrived and I’m not even sure she will remember anything, but it was great. Traveling with kids is hard.”

Many commenters noted how difficult it is to travel with young children who may not be old enough to get the most out of the experience.

“Yeah I learned long ago don’t waste expensive vacations on kids under about 10,” one user wrote. “Up until that age they are happy enough with local fun and sticking to their usual schedule.”

The majority of Disney visitors are adults. A 2017 report found that 18-29 year olds made up 46% of visitors, the largest age demographic group for the Florida park, according to the Theme Park Tribune. Another 2017 study conducted by Streetlight Data found that around 37% of Disney World visitors lived in households with children under 18.

But Disney World is still designed as an attraction for the whole family, and one Miami-based travel resource agency, the Family Vacation Guide, says it recommends bringing children to Disney World when they’re between the ages of 3 and 12.

In a direct message to McClatchy News, Phil said his niece did eventually wake up and enjoy the trip. Her favorite part was meeting Cinderella and Princess Tiana at the theme park, and he also took her on a Disney cruise, where she got to wear her own princess dress.

“I think she will look back at the trip and use the same words she says now as a 3 year old, ‘Wow that was my dream,’” he wrote.