The United States is closed, but Florida has decided to secede from that idea. Upon landing in Florida we were greeted with hundreds if not thousands of happy travelers ready to enjoy the Disney World or the Conservative Political Action Committee Conference with keynote speaker Donald Trump. However, we were not in town for either of those events, but rather our friend’s (Debbie and Andrew) wedding.
The first thing that we usually do when we land is grab our rental car. However, if you have ever dealt with renting a car in Florida you know that it is the WORST place in the world to rent a car. It doesn’t matter if you are in Fort Lauderdale or Miami— be warned. As we descended down the elevator we saw more and more and more people. The lines for each car rental company overflowed outside their cues and it was clear that line management was something that they needed consultation from Disney on. The live entertainment of people yelling and screaming into their phones at the car rental companies made us want to wait it out. However, after a half-hour of moving slowly, we began to realize that we were now as angry as those people and left for the Uber line.
The next morning we got up and were excited to head to Universal Studios. What limited occupancy? You got money and want to come in— SURE! It also probably didn’t help that the park was celebrating Mardi Gras with decorated floats, beads being thrown, and international food stations throughout the park. Upon entering the park we zipped it over to the Mummy. Certain rides were being done by “virtual lines,” which just meant that you signed up for a specific time to wait in line. As we were in line the ride broke down. The mummy wouldn’t pop out of his tomb and so they had to fix him. They gave us a free front-of-the-line pass voucher for any ride we wanted as a consolation.
After attempting unsuccessfully to ride a few of the other rides, our friends Manny and Michael who were also in town reached out and we decided to meet up with them. We hopped on the Hogwarts Express to get to the other park Island of Adventure. There is where I kind of pulled a slimy trick. Frustrated, I went up to the Express pass line attendant and gave them a sob story about our ride breaking down and that we were supposed to have a free pass on our phones. In reality, they gave us a paper version I had in my wallet. The attendant said that they understood and let us skip the line, and we got to keep our paper front of the line ticket. YES! So we rode the Harry Potter ride and then I attempted the same scam at Hulk and it worked again. I tried it for a third time at Spider-Man and this one took a little more convincing, but eventually, the Team Lead relented and let us through. I had turned one broken ride into 3 front of the line passes.
Everyone wanted to go on the Riptide rollercoaster, but we did not want to stand in line. I had the two front-of-the-line paper passes and asked if we could use these two for five people. The attendant was very accommodating and let us through so none of us had to wait. Karma always has a way of catching up to you and it got its revenge. The ride advertised that it had a 75-minute wait. Since it was the last ride and I was out of tricks we all waited. And waited. And waited. The 75-minute timer was off as it was more like a 120-minute wait. Eventually, we made it and got to ride. Due to the amount of time, this one ride took we had to leave immediately to meet up for the welcome dinner at Debbie and Andrew’s house.
We grabbed another Uber and were on our way. This was the first time that we had seen the house since it had been revamped and it was gorgeous. Grant and I loved the tile that they selected in the bathrooms and thought the choice of a dog shower in their laundry room was such a great idea! We met and mingled with everyone and then the pizza arrived. The pizza had a secret message— they were pregnant! We are so happy for David James Avery Kim to join this world and look forward to meeting the little slugger when he arrives. After chowing down on the biggest slices of pizza we had ever eaten we departed for our hotel room. A quick pit stop at Wawa (gas station) and we were out.
The next morning we got up slowly as the wedding was not until 4 pm. I walked over to Whole Foods for orange juice and cookies. My must-haves on a trip. With no car, we got our steps in and I met Grant at Cafe Tu Tu Tango with a grocery bag in hand. The place was billed as a Spanish tapas joint, but I don’t think having chicken and waffles, chicken tikka masala, or meatball pizza counts as Spanish. From no wait to an hour wait, but we had OJ and cookies. After a little bit of waiting, we cracked open the OJ and began eating the cookies right next to the host table. Eventually, we wanted something more substantive and got up to leave. The host was super nice and said that a table had just magically opened up. Not one to argue we sat down and enjoyed an all-you-can-eat brunch full of American tapas.
We walked back with full stomachs and then got dressed up for the wedding. We tried to time it so that the Uber (even if they got lost) would get us there on time. Somehow we got a dozy of a driver and they got lost multiple times. We made it through and we're only two minutes late. The wedding was held in their backyard and after a quick ceremony where Andrew’s dad told us some amazing dad jokes we were back inside welcoming the happy bride and groom. Each seat was adorned with boxes full of goodies including a lottery ticket that I scratched and won $10. We ate and the bride and groom took to the dance floor. Who knew Andrew had moves? After a few photo ops, we hit the road as we had a morning flight.
One last stop to Wawa to cash in our winning lottery ticket and our trip to Orlando was complete. Debbie, Andrew, and “David” were married and ready to continue their life together. We wish them nothing but the best in life and look forward to seeing them again as soon as we can! To the bride and groom!
