Credit: DisneyA teenage girl recently went missing on a family trip to a Disney Park, leaving her family in a month-long “nightmare.”
For over 50 years, Disney has provided families a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make magical memories. What started as just Disneyland Resort has evolved into six resorts dotted across the globe, stretching all the way from Anaheim to Tokyo.
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While the Walt Disney Company and its Cast Members take extra care to make every guest’s experience as magical as possible, sometimes the real world creeps into the Disney bubble in the most terrifying ways.
In early August, the Palm family traveled from Castlerahan in County Cavan, Ireland, to Paris. The group of four then visited Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris, where they stayed at Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe before the disappearance of their 17-year-old daughter, Amber Victoria Palm.
Her mother, father, and brother woke up at Disney’s Cars (2006) themed hotel on the morning of August 7 to discover that Amber wasn’t in her bed and had, in fact, run away. Amber had snuck away from Hotel Santa Fe in Coupvray, France, at 3 a.m. to venture to a nearby gas station, where she met a male teenager of the same age.
After Amber’s family reported her missing from the Disney hotel, police retrieved security camera footage that showed her being driven away by the man, whom she’s believed to have met online.
Amber’s mother, Mactalene Palm, later issued a public appeal to “find my little girl” in The Irish Sun. Fortunately, she’s now confirmed that Amber has contacted the family to confirm her safety and is believed to be in Austria.
“I’m dreaming of a hug,” she told The Irish Sun. “It has been so long since I hugged my girl. She will get the biggest hug ever. I’m really happy. I can’t tell you how happy I am.”
Amber reportedly saw her mother’s appeal online and reached out to share her location. “It just seems to be young love,” said Mactalene. “She is with the guy. She read my appeals on the internet. She did see it and got in touch with me. It seems to be love, she ran off with the guy. I’m just happy she’s okay.”
The Palms have video-called Amber multiple times and plan to fly to Austria within the next week to retrieve their daughter, who left the Disneyland Paris hotel without her passport.
“The past month not knowing where she is has been a nightmare,” Mactalene added. “I’m phoning all the family now and letting everyone know.”
Young children go missing at Disney Parks every single day – only to be reunited with their families within minutes due to Disney’s stringent security measures and the eagle eyes of its Cast Members. While it may have taken a little longer than usual, we’re just glad this story had a happy ending for Amber and her family.
Have you ever had a scary experience at a Disney Park? Let us know in the comments!