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With one day left on a 22-year-old Disney World ticket, this woman made the most of it.

Everyone feels like they missed out on something as a kid.

Maybe you never got the Sweet 16 party you always wanted or never got to go on the glamorous family vacations your friends were always taking.

Eventually, though, you grow up, you move on, and you tuck those loose ends away.

Chelsea Herline? She missed out on the last day of a magical trip to Disney World when she was 4 years old.

All photos provided by Chelsea Herline (front right, directly under Pluto's paw).

"My parents own a timeshare in Orlando, so we used to go to Disney when we were younger all the time," the now 26-year-old said, recalling what sounds like the most amazing childhood ever.

But one trip in particular, when Chelsea was just a toddler, stands out above the others.

"It was a four-day pass, and I used to get sick all the time on vacation when I was little. We went for the first three days and I got sick on the last day."

What. A. Bummer.

"We had lots of memories there, lots of pictures," she said. But even though she got to go often, it had to hurt young Chelsea to miss out on an entire day of fun and memory-making with her family.

"My sisters and I are older now, so we don't really go anymore," she said.

22 years later, Chelsea's dad found her old ticket in the basement, and he realized that it still had one day left.

It's even got a picture of her as a 4-year-old on there!

She's not sure why her family kept the ticket this long, but immediately she wondered if it would still get her into the park. On her next visit to Orlando, she headed over to Disney on a whim, just to see what would happen.

To Chelsea's surprise, the Disney World staff told her the ticket was still valid!

"I just went up to the window. I wasn't expecting to spend the day there; I didn't bring anything (or anyone) with me," she said.

"They were pretty surprised. The girl working there was younger than me and said, 'Wow, I've never seen one this old before!' She called her manager over and they were super nice about it."

The ticket-taker was nice enough to snap a pic.

They even gave Chelsea a "dorky pin" to wear around the park: "1st visit in forever!"

22 years is a long time in Disney World.

Chelsea spent the day riding the rides — by herself — and having a blast.

She even got a redo with Chip and Dale, who she says made her bust into embarrassing tears of joy the first time she met them as a little girl.

Chip, in particular, was pretty pumped to see her again.

When the day was over, Chelsea posted about her experience on LinkedIn, where it's connected with a lot of people.

Pretty quickly, her post had over 1,000 responses.

"Disney is just really nostalgic for everyone," she said.

And she's right. They don't call Disney World "the most magical place on Earth" for nothing, with everyone from toddlers to Super Bowl MVPs yearning to go somewhere where the sun is shining and life is all about how much fun you can cram into a single afternoon.

Chelsea's surprise day of fun proves that you're never too old to act like a kid again.

Discovering one of those "loose ends" from her own childhood was just the nudge she needed to get back in touch with the wide-eyed little girl inside.

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Classy Awards
Classy Awards
Joy

Meet the 11 outstanding nonprofits that took home this year’s Classy Awards

Each organization has gone above and beyond to make our world a better place.

All images provided by the Classy Awards, used with permission

Give these organizations all the awards

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Since 2009, the Classy Awards have celebrated nonprofits for their unique approaches to making our world a better place for everyone. Winners are given a platform to amplify their cause and showcase the positive impact of their programs.

This year, we are proud to announce that the Classy Awards have partnered with Upworthy, and we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the 2023 winners.

From championing gender equality, to massively reducing food waste, to providing trade-based skills training to the neurodivergent community, each organization has made an incredible contribution to the betterment of our world.

Collectively through their efforts, nearly 1.5 million people and animals were served across 34 countries worldwide last year alone. That’s a win in itself.

Check out the 11 winners for 2023 below:


​412 Food Rescue

1/11

In an effort to address the growing concern of food waste, hunger, and environmental sustainability, 412 Food Rescue uses an innovative app to match volunteers, aka Food Heroes, with other organizations that might have a surplus of perfectly good but unsellable food that would otherwise be wasted and redirect it to people who need it.

Food Heroes has redirected 137 million pounds of edible food from landfills to the people who need it most.

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