Cool pool

Brandon, Benjamin and I change into our swimsuits and head out to the pool, which is just a few steps past the Great House. It’s windy out, and I suspect the water, though heated, will not be terribly warm.

We grab some towels at the poolside storage unit and find a table with an umbrella – rain is still threatening – and put our towels and stuff on the chairs. Brandon is the first to go check out the water. He comes back and reports that it’s cold. Great.

I gingerly step into the water. Okay, it’s not as bad as it could be. It’s not really cold, but it’s not warm, either. It’s the kind of “cool” that I can adjust to once I’m in, and can tolerate for a while, at least, as long as I keep moving.

It takes us different times to get all the way into the pool. Brandon just leaps in, while Benjamin works his way in over the course of several minutes. I split the difference between them, getting in waist-deep and getting used to that first, then finishing the plunge.

Once we’re all in and semi-adjusted to the cool water, I take stock of my surroundings. It dawns on me that this may be the absolutely coolest swimming pool I’ve ever been in. And I’m not talking temperature.

Oh, the pool itself is wonderful. There’s a 20- to 25-foot volcano above us and a waterfall. It’s very pretty, and being surrounded by the palm trees and island theming of the Polynesian Resort adds to the exotic feeling.

But the really cool, really amazing thing to me is the view to the north. That’s the side of the pool facing the Seven Seas Lagoon, and I’m surprised to find that even while in the water I can see the landmarks of the Magic Kingdom! Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain are easily spotted, and then I find Big Thunder Mountain. And of course the Grand Floridian and Contemporary resorts are in view as well.

And so I bob in the pool, with a volcano and waterfall to my left, palm trees to my right, and Cinderella Castle across the lagoon in front of me. Boats flit across the lagoon as monorails circle it. This is absolutely amazing. I can’t imagine any other pool anywhere in the world being half this awesome.

If the water were slightly warmer, I could stay here for hours.