The next life lesson I learned on my European Adventure came about the day we boarded our Disney Cruise ship in Barcelona. I have taken many other cruises before but never have I gone on a Disney cruise. For one they charge significantly more than other cruise lines so I have always opted for the less expensive options, but with my daughter coming home and our family taking our first full family trip with both my kids and our new daughter-in-law we decided to splurge a little and take the Disney cruise. Plus our family happens to be obsessed with all things Disney as we love nothing more than a Happily Ever After!

The first question I will get out of the way was the one that was weighing on my mind when we booked the cruise in the first place – “Will the Disney cruise be worth the extra expense?” My answer is a resounding “Yes!”. And the life lesson I will share today is just one reason for that so here goes:

As we boarded the Disney cruise ship on the main atrium we were greeted by an entire group of Disney staff in their uniforms in a receiving line to greet us. At the start of the line a man yelled out “Announcing the Anderson Family” and then the receiving line all started applauding as we walked into the lobby. Okay, in all seriousness – BEST WELCOME EVER! Like…literally. This was the first time in my life I have ever been announced and then had a standing ovation of applause as I entered a room and I was like “Everyone should be received like this ALL THE TIME!” It was honestly the greatest feeling ever and it made all of us feel like we were so special!  We all wished we had taken a video of this welcoming reception line so we could remember it forever.

But it didn’t just stop there. Nope – it wasn’t just a one-time thing on the cruise ship – in fact, every single night as we entered the dining room the Disney crew would stand in a receiving line and applaud us as we walked in. SOOOO COOL!!!! Every night it made us feel like royalty entering the dining hall. And we LOVED IT!

I thought a tremendous amount about this welcome affected us on the trip. From the moment we arrived we felt special and important and valued. And that feeling set the tone for our entire trip. Every day we felt like we mattered and that is an amazing feeling in life. And all it took was a little applause…

All of us deserve to be applauded in life…to feel special and to feel like we are important….because every one of us IS special and important. So tell your friends and family you would appreciate it if they would applaud when you enter a room once in a while 🙂 …and every now and then when no one is around to clap for you, go ahead and applaud yourself!!!

Have a magical day!

~Amy Rees Anderson