Email
Print
Low expectations brought high returns on vacation
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: April 23, 2009
My theory of low expectations leading to more happiness has passed another test. Departing on my family's spring break trip to Universal Studios and Sea World with reasonably low expectations, I was rewarded with a trip that exceeded those low expectations. I've returned a happy and fulfilled man.
As expected, our flight to Orlando was delayed, but instead of the pacing and thumb-twiddling I expected, our girls had an absolute blast. The airport wasn't particularly crowded, so without the usual entertaining hullabaloo of a hectic airport, there wasn't much for them to do. Instead, they created their own entertainment.
We delighted in watching them repeatedly riding the moving walkways on the way to the gate. They had used these before, but not when so few other people were using them, and so we didn't have to reprimand them for getting in the way. I never thought a conveyer belt for people could be so much fun. The girls spent almost 45 minutes gleefully entertaining themselves on these accidental toys. They perched stuffed animals on the railing to see how long they would stay balanced. They raced each other running the wrong way on the walks, and then rode in opposite directions and breathlessly slapped hands as they passed. My wife and I even amused ourselves by timing how long it took for a smudge of some gunk on the handrail to travel the entire circuit (three minutes, 59 seconds).
Our good fortune continued on the flight down. We expected to be juggling the window seats, to avoid turmoil, but a gracious and affable woman traveling with a seeing-eye dog sat across the aisle from us. She was accompanied by her daughter who, as it turned out, was the same age as our oldest. So as our youngest sat enraptured by the clear view out the window from 35,000 feet, Claire got to sit with and pet a dog on an airplane while chatting with a peer.
Once there, things continued to go well. Our waits for shows and rides at the most crowded parks averaged about five to seven minutes. Of course it cost us money in the way of Quick Passes to make it so; but apparently we lucked out with that investment.
During a closing-time visit to Guest Relations, we were told that the passes were good for a line jump only once per ride. Inexplicably, we had been able to use the passes repeatedly on each ride, riding some of the more popular ones several times with almost no wait.
Spring break nights did not exceed my expectations. The girls wanted to stay awake and visit or play all night. I think that over the four days, they each (temporarily) lost a year's worth of allowance and all television privileges for the next two or three years.
On the whole, though, we had a fantastic time. The Spiderman ride at Universal was a bit intense for Jenna, but I'm sure we can find a good therapist up here somewhere.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
