40 ‘Expectation Vs. Reality’ Posts Where The Results Surpassed People’s Expectations

Admit it – you’ve definitely found yourself in a situation where you saw a cool project on Pinterest and thought “I could do it” only to realize you’re in above your head halfway in at least once. And while most of the time we just quietly sweep the terrible results under the rug, there are instances when we actually manage to succeed.

#1 Dr. Who Cupcakes. Sent An Independent Baker The First Pic Not Hoping For Much (It Was A Short Notice), Nearly Cried With Joy When Got My Order

Image source: zarishka

#2 My Wife And I Were Worried Our Daughter Would Have A Hard Time Making Friends In Kindergarten Because Of The Wheelchair. Turns Out I Have A Different Problem On My Hands

Image source: robinson217

#3 When Your 3-Year-Old Asks For A Rainbow Dinosaur Donut Party You Comply. I Drew The Design And Had It Made By A Local Baker

Image source: thepantyprincessx

#4 Commissioned Piece Of My Sweet, Late Persephone. The Artist Surpassed Any And All Expectations

Image source: queso4lyfe

#5 Otterly Impressive Birthday Cake From My Mom

Image source: mamabear034

#6 My Daughter Begged Me To Show Her A Planet Through Her Toy Telescope. Expected Failure, But Found Jupiter And All 4 Moons. Mindblown

Image source: yogiscott

#7 My Wife Asked What Kind Of Cake She Should Make. I Told Her That, Honestly, I’ve Always Wanted To Try Peach’s Thank-You Cake From The End Of Super Mario 64

Image source: alandenton

#8 Ordered The Blanket From A Sketchy Seeming Website. They Nailed It

Image source: ezfriedchiken

#9 I Pointed My Camera Straight Up And Left The Shutter Running For An Hour To See What Would Happen. Didn’t Expect A Flowing River Of Stars

Image source: ajamesmccarthy

This was taken at Ice House reservoir in Pollock Pines, CA last night. I head out to dark skies on occasion to do astrophotography, but last night I forgot a tracker to compensate for the earth’s motion, so I took some experimental shots without it. Turned out much better than I expected. Star trail shots are challenging to compose, so I got pretty lucky with the way they seemed to flow through the trees.

#10 I Took A Picture Through My Sunglasses At The Beach With My Phone. It Turned Out Better Than I Expected

Image source: Captain__CheeseBurg

#11 That’s Hot

Image source: Grand_Area

#12 First Time Doing A Photo Restoration Turned Out Better Than Expected (12 Hours Of Work)

Image source: aberempel

#13 Opened The Box To Assemble A New Office Desk & Expected A Big Headache. Was Pleasantly Surprised

Image source: 2_black_cats

#14 Client’s Sketch For Pendant vs. Finished Pendant. Expectations Surpassed

Image source: brokenfap

#15 I Think It Turned Out Pretty Well

Image source: brigie3594

#16 Reality vs. Better Reality

Image source: sierraalexiss_

#17 The Way We Advertise Our Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas vs. The Way I Like To Make Them For Customers

Image source: ArcusArtifex

#18 Pic Given To Local Baker On The Left. Actual Hungry Unicorn Cake I Received On The Right. I Like My Cake Better

Image source: VenomousUnicorn

#19 Looks Way Better Than The Box

Image source: t3slaract

#20 Shined My Girlfriend’s Favorite Pair Of Boots And They Turned Out Better Than Expected

Image source: MurrDeHurr

#21 My Friend’s Wife Wanted Us Groomsmen To Do A Pic Similar To The Bridesmaids Poster. I’d Say It Came Out Better Than I Expected

Image source: fupasaursrex

#22 My Mom Made An Elsa Cake

Image source: hellogoodhigh

#23 Made A Unicorn Cake For My Mom’s Birthday. Considering How Inexperienced I Am With Baking, I Thought It Turned Out Pretty Good

Image source: nightmare_vision

#24 Christmas Gift From My Teens Has Proven More Useful Than Expected

Image source: Beththemagicalpony

#25 I Ran Out Of Filament During A Print, And As A Royals Fan I Decided To Make The Best Of A Bad Situation. Result Is Even Better Than Expected

Image source: welshhomebrew

#26 Ordered From Grocery Store. Cupcake ‘Cake’ For My Daughter’s Birthday. Pleasantly Surprised

Image source: mydogisanastronaut

#27 Friend Faceswapped With A Wendy’s Cup. Results Better Than Expected

Image source: Tnpdynomite

#28 Cat Bed

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#29 Pic I Sent Cookie Maker, And What I Got. 100% Impressed And Would Order From Her Again. Bonus: Cookies Tasted Great

Image source: ICvsShipt

#30 Dad’s Cookies Turned Out Just Like The Picture. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies From America’s Test Kitchen

Image source: ag2575

#31 My Wife’s McDonald’s Cone In The Drive Through Last Night

Image source: Eric_SS

#32 For My Son’s B-Day Pizza Party, We Told Him We Could Only Afford 1 Pizza. Expectations Exceeded

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#33 My Wife Loved The Cake Most Ardently

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#34 Pretty Happy With How This Turned Out

Image source: CometDebris

#35 Dyed Easter Eggs Today When I Messed Up On One. Turns Out It Kinda Looks Like The Universe

Image source: chrisevslee

#36 My Wife Did A Damn Fine Job On These Cupcakes. Delicious Too

Image source: bike_rack

#37 This Chipwich

Image source: ItzGonnaBeMei

#38 My Daughter’s Birthday Cake From Last Year

Image source: Awnya

#39 I Went To 5 Guys Last Night When They Were Closing, They Asked If I Wanted Extra Bacon Cause They Were Going To Throw It Out. I Didn’t Expect This

Image source: BossMcBossington

#40 My Interpretation vs. My Artist’s Interpretation

Image source: Zlatehagoat