Amusement parks can be a marvelous place to create wonderful memories. Young couples go there for a day of fun. Old couples celebrating fifty years together can even be found buying ice cream and trying to hit the targets. The most common sight you will see in amusement parks, however, is a family enjoying the rides together.

For one family, a trip to the “happiest place on earth” turned into a day they’ll never forget – but it wasn’t just because of the typical thrills. One little boy got something he didn’t expect, and it brought the onlooking crowd to tears.

Flickr/Sean MacEntee

Disneyland has been called a paradise and the “Happiest Place On Earth” for many reasons. Officially called Disneyland Park, this place of fun was built in 1955. It is the only theme park that was supervised by Walt Disney himself.

There are a lot of reasons people go to Disneyland, but mostly because of the rides. They were built after classic and iconic Disney movies like “Indiana Jones,” “Peter Pan,” “Dumbo the Flying Elephant,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and more.

One young boy had been very excited to go to Disneyland. He saw the movies and wanted to try the rides. He went there with his family, but there was one person missing — his father who was gone for five months because of his position in the Navy.

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While at Disneyland, the boy’s family took pictures of him standing in the center, smiling hugely. It was already a magical day for him, but it was about to get even more surprising…

As he was having his picture taken, the boy didn’t notice that there was someone approaching him from behind.

The man, who was wearing a tan-colored Navy uniform, came and squatted behind the boy. That’s when the little one turned around and exclaimed, “Daddy!”

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The man smiled and said simply, “Hi.” The boy quickly jumped into his arms, and the onlookers went, “Aww!” There was even applause from the crowd.

Understandably, the little boy seemed overwhelmed by what had just happened. His daddy kissed the side of his head. All the while, he was grinning and saying that his father surprised him.

His father said, “I’m home,” and the boy said how much he missed him. Their sweet reunion made a lot of people’s hearts melt into puddles. The crowd that formed around them couldn’t help tearing up at the scene.

The little boy’s father had been gone for months on end – but now that he was back, their Disneyland outing was going to be much more magical than ever expected!

It’s a beautiful homecoming surprise that requires a tissue or two.