[Lemap760]

Andrew immediately noticed the TV monitors in the DME bus. He kept asking when the movie was going to start and wasn’t pleased when I said we were still waiting for people to board the bus.

We were finally on our way and the movie started after about 5 minutes. After a while Andrew kind of leaned over and whispered “This is a dumb movie.” I think maybe he was expecting a real movie instead of just a welcome video. He also couldn’t hear it so he wasn’t too impressed.

Pop Century was our first stop. Most of the bus emptied out here. I tried to keep Andrew entertained by pointing out the large bowling pins. I got one little wow out of him then he looked at me like I was a big loser. He was more entertained with the foot rest on the bus and the buttons for the lights.

Pretty soon we were on our way and Coronado was the next stop. We pulled in about 9pm. There was another family who got off the bus with us who had stopped first at luggage services. Not having used ME before I didn’t know if we needed to stop there or not, but the bus driver told me I didn’t have to. We made our way to the check in desk. At 9:00 on a Friday night I wasn’t expecting to have to wait in a long line, but the 3 families in front of me were taking forever (or so it seemed). Andrew noticed the TV in the corner playing cartoons and asked if he could wait over there. I happily agreed since I could still keep my eye on him and it kept him entertained instead of being bored with me in line. There was a juggler/entertainer in the lobby so I watched him while waiting my turn.

Soon enough I was speaking with a very pleasant CM (whose name I can’t remember). She took care of everything that needed to be taken care of and within minutes I had my resort map, keys, and all the other wonderful paperwork that no one ever looks twice at after checking in.

We were assigned to Casitas building 4 Room 4331. I was shown where it was on the map and was assured it was an excellent location. It was right next to the “quiet” pool, near the fitness center (as if I’d ever be using that, ha!), close to bus stop #2 which is usually the first stop, and “just a quick walk” to the dig site. From the map it did look like it would just be a quick walk but more on that later. We’d also find out later just how quiet (or not) the quiet pool was.

I got Andrew’s attention away from the cartoons and we watched the juggler for a few minutes. He tried to get Andrew to come assist him with a trick, but Andrew wanted no part of it. The juggler picked a couple of other kids and lassoed them. It was pretty funny when he wouldn't let the little boy out of the rope. After that we headed to our room.

As we were walking I realized that we could see part of Illuminations. Cool. We stopped to watch for a couple minutes. We could also see the top of the Swan from our location.

After about a 5 minute walk, which always seems longer when you’re carrying two pieces of carry on luggage and a stroller, we found our building. We took the long way around to find the elevator, then to find our room. Turns out we were right by the stairs which would have been a lot faster then trucking to the elevator. But when you're 5 it's more fun to push the elevator buttons then it is to hike up 3 flights of stairs.


We were on the third floor with a view of the lagoon. Yipee, we were upgraded to a water view. We could also see the top of the pyramid at the dig site waaay on the other side of the resort.


Here are some pictures of the room.


Andrew showing off the beds



Andrew finds the TV


Ok, so now it’s about 9:15 at night and we just got to Disney. What are we going to do now? Order room service! We hadn’t eaten dinner and we were both pretty hungry by now. I ordered a 9” cheese pizza for us to share and a couple of sodas. By the time I had the carry on bags unpacked and things put away, the food arrived.

I was a little confused at first because the CM was carrying a duffel bag. The first thing out of my mouth when I opened the door was “That’s not ours.” I thought he was bringing the luggage.

He confirmed that we had ordered room service and then I realized my mistake. I was joking with him that his duffle bag didn’t look like a pizza box either. Since they already put a tip on the in room dining bill I didn’t tip him any more.


There is no food pictures of the pizza and soda. Imagine if you will a square box with a round piece of dough covered in red sauce and cheese with a can of Sprite on the side. Delicious.


The pizza was just the right size for me and Andrew to share and fill us up. We also shared the Sprite and I put the Coke in the fridge for the morning.
After finishing up dinner Andrew asked about the pool. This kid has a great memory at the most inconvenient times. It was after 10:00 by this time and I knew the slide at the main pool would be closed, which is the whole point of going to the main pool. I explained to Andrew that I had thought we would be at the hotel earlier than we were and it was too late to go swimming tonight. My whole rationale behind not going swimming this late is that is totally revives Andrew. After being in the pool he’s raring to go for another few hours. I wanted to get to sleep because I knew we had to wake up early the next morning.

As soon as I had Andrew settled in bed and the lights were off our next door neighbors decided to move into their room. Why does this always happen when you’re trying to go to sleep? Oh well, I can’t sleep that good in a new place the first night anyway. The dad of the family was asking a CM where the appropriate smoking places were. What a good guest. Playing by the rules. As a non smoker I appreciated him seeking out the smoking areas instead of just lighting up wherever he pleased. What I didn’t appreciate was the CM who told him that unofficially he could just bring a glass from the room with a little water in it and smoke right there in the walkway outside his room. I couldn’t believe a CM was telling a guest this. Fortunately, this gentleman never did that (or I just didn’t see or smell him doing it).

The quiet pool was rather noisy and now it was around midnight. This would be the same for every night of the trip.


Sooner or later everything quieted down and I finally fell asleep. I was looking forward to our first day in the parks in the morning.


Up next: Our first day at the parks and the Family Magic Tour. Would it be magical or wet? Or magically wet?