After wrapping up our third day on the Disney Magic at the island of Nassau, I wrote about how blogging about our vacations really makes me appreciate all of the fun that is packed into a day on the cruise. From our embarkation day in Miami, to our Key West adventures, and our day exploring the ship while docked in the Bahamas, we have shared so many fun moments just on this trip. And today was certain to have more fun in store as the Disney Magic arrived at our favorite island of all, Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.
We set the alarms for 6:30 to ensure we had the opportunity to test out the snooze button. I was up around 5:45, which provided the perfect opportunity to sneak out on the veranda, set up the morning time lapse video, and enjoy the absolutely perfect morning overlooking the ocean. Because the sail from Nassau was a short one, Captain Jonathan was sailing the Disney Magic at a really slow pace. Combined with the calm seas, the experience was remarkably peaceful. Since our discovery the prior day that we had secured a beach cabana, everyone was excited to get going and make the most of our day. We got ready in record time, headed up for a quick breakfast at Cabanas, and were ready to go when they announced the all clear to disembark the ship.
We were elated to be back at Castaway Cay and savored our first few breaths of ocean air. We captured a few photos on our walk to the tram. Boarding with other eager beach goers, we took a short spin down the island to the multiple tram stops. We exited the tram at the second stop for Pelican Plunge and the Beach Cabanas. We took a short walk to the check in desk for the beach cabanas. We were greeted by a friendly Cast Member who recommended that we go and pick up our complimentary snorkel gear before continuing on our journey. We got fitted for our gear and loaded it up on a golf cart that took us on a short drive to Beach Cabana One, which was our private cabana for the entirety of the day at Castaway Cay.
We were in awe of how amazing the experience had been already and we hadn’t even stepped foot in the cabana. The short path to the hut style cabana contained a sign with a chalkboard welcoming the Hayes family for the day. After we set down our things we were greeted by Amanda, a Cabana Cast Member who said that she would be taking care of us for the day if we needed anything. She showed us around the cabana which included a refrigerator of water, soda, and fresh fruit. The cabana also had a sound system that allowed you to choose the background music that you wanted. There were also beach toys, sunscreen, and additional snacks to curb any hunger that you might confront. I didn’t think that Castaway Cay could get any better, but this place proved me wrong.
After getting situated in the cabana and applying our first coating of sunscreen, we walked down the path from the cabana to the beach area. Between the cabana and the beach, there was a really nice sitting area with cozy cushion lounge chairs followed by a perfectly shaded private hammock. The private wooden walkway seamlessly transitioned to beach sand and a selection of beach chairs reserved for just us. The cabana beach area was roped off from the guest beach area providing ample space to spread out on the beach. We were the first ones there and it truly felt like our own slice of paradise.
The boys got to work with the beach toys, digging in the sand and splashing in the water. The water was a tad cold, but not too cold to to swim. Hunter, who is a lover of all things water, was eager to suit up in his snorkel gear to explore the ocean. I followed along with him as he explored the cabana beach area but didn’t find many sea creatures.
When we returned to the beach area, Emily had the idea to grab some tubes and float in the water. These are included in the cabana rental, and she was determined to use all the amenities and get our money’s worth! There was a slight wind so we walked our tubes down to one end of the water and floated to the other end. It was still early in the morning so many of the cabana guests hadn’t yet arrived, and we had most of the area to ourselves. It was a really relaxing way to spend the morning. The only thing more relaxing than floating was enjoying two Captain’s Mai Tais when we returned to our beach chairs!
When Emily and I walked by our cozy cabana beach chairs we agreed that we would each take a chill break while the other one hung out with the boys. Em was kind enough to give me the first shift, so I got my book and enjoyed a 30 minute chill break. Not sure life gets any better than that.
Just as I was getting ready to rejoin the rest of the group they returned to inform me that they were ready for lunch. Another one of the many perks of the private cabana was that you can bring your lunch back to enjoy your food in comfort. Eating at Cookies is definitely a fun part of the Castaway experience, but it’s not always the most relaxing with the balancing of trays, hunting for a table, and dodging of ravenous seagulls. Because we were in Beach Cabana 1 we were literally 100 feet from Cookies II. We loaded up our trays with burgers, chicken, salads, corn, potato salad, and more cookies than we could possibly handle. Back at the cabana we situated our furniture so we could eat on the comfortable chairs under the cover and out of the sun. The food never tasted so delicious!
We had our fill of the barbecue goodness and were ready to continue our day. Yet another perk of the beach cabana rental was that it came with complimentary bike rentals. We walked over to the bike rental area, signed our waiver forms, picked out our bikes, and hit the trail. Luckily they had a bike with training wheels on it for Sawyer. We followed the trail which takes you out to the old airplane runway, which had a scattering of guests enjoying their bike journeys around the island. We took the bike path that leads to a three story lookout tower, where we stopped for a bike break and some family photos. Whoever planned out the Castaway Cay island knew their Guests pretty well as the ride to the tower was about as much as we were willing to, bike so we made the round trip and returned the bikes.
We regrouped back at the cabana and agreed that we didn’t want to leave the island without taking the Pelican Plunge. It took us a few visits to the island to find this gem, but once we did, we have made it a ritual ever since. The Pelican Plunge is a floating platform in the middle of the ocean that has a couple of slides that drop you into the ocean. One of the slides moves at quite a fast pace, while the other one takes you on a leisurely slide into the water. Because the platform is a hundred feet or so from the beach, Em and the boys put on life vests as the majority of the swim is too deep to touch. We did one slide as a family, after which Emily returned to the cabana for her chill time and I took the boys on another round. Hunter was brave on his first attempt, taking the fast slide, but we all opted for the slow slide on the second round.
We returned to the cabana beach area to soak up a few more rays and enjoy the afternoon ocean. Emily continued her chill time until it was time for our second round of Captains Mai Tai’s, which were delivered to our cabana! I am sure anyone who gets the chance to enjoy one of these cabanas for the day, just like us, never wants to leave. This was a definite check on the bucket list! We wanted to enjoy every last minute we could at the cabana and on the island. We all waded into the water where we saw Emily’s friend Annie and her family in the water, so we chatted with them for a bit while we watched tons of fish swim by our feet.
We watched each family depart the cabana area until it was finally our time to leave. We bid adieu to Cabana 1 and hopped on the awaiting golf cart that took us to the tram area. Emily was hoping there would be time to shop, but all the stores were closed when we arrived, which was our clue that it was time to head back to the ship. There is no doubt in my mind that this was the longest that we have ever stayed and played on Castaway Cay! It was perfect from start to finish!
We begrudgingly got back on the ship, saying goodbye to our day in paradise. We got back to the room around 4:30 where we showered and chilled for a bit before our evening activities. Emily, being the planner that she is, encouraged us to get the majority of our bags packed today because the next day was the Marvel Day at Sea that we didn’t want to miss. As she got our things in order I took the boys to the Oceaneer Club so that could participate in the Spider-Man activity. I returned to the room to find Emily with most of our stuff packed and ready for an evening drink.
We wanted to visit a bar on the Disney Magic that we hadn’t yet been been to so we headed down to deck three to visit the Promenade Lounge. The location is just off the walkway from Rapunzel’s Royal Table. There were only a few other patrons when we arrived so we grabbed a table and were greeted by our waiter, Adi from Singapore. I have said this before, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of the cruise is meeting the Cast Members from all over the world. Adi shared many stories with us about all the places he has been able to see working for the cruise line. He also told us about a project that he worked on to help clean up Bali, Indonesia, which he spoke of with great pride. He mentioned that he hadn’t yet seen Alaska so he was hoping that he would be able to work on the Disney Wonder on his next contract. We told him that we were going this summer and that we hoped to see him on the ship! It was inspiring to hear from a young person with such optimism and positivity!
After our drinks we made our way to the merchandise shops where they were having the Captain’s signing. Emily purchased a piece of artwork that has all four ships, and her goal was to get signatures on the surrounding mat of the captains from all four ships. For this cruise we got to meet Captain Jonathan who was super nice. He graciously signed our frame, as well as the two ship models that we got for the boys. We were so excited to meet him that we picked up the boys from the Oceaneer Club so that they could meet him and get their photo taken with him.
After our photo opportunity with Captain Jonathan it was time for dinner at Animators Palette. We were happily greeted by our server Tana, who provided yet another amazing dining experience. Along with the delicious food, he provided us a shape puzzle to work on while we waited for our food, which looked like a broken up piece of Kraft Cheese. Sawyer was starting to fade, as he had the previous evenings, as the long days and late dinners were a little more than he could handle. Since we were sitting against the wall Tana came over and set three chairs next to each other, had Sawer lay down, and covered him with a table cloth. He capped it off by folding another table cloth for Sawyer to use as a pillow. Sawyer got quite a kick out of the experience and attention.
We finished off our dinner and retired to our Stateroom to get a good night’s rest so that we would be charged and ready to go for the Marvel Day at Sea the following morning. Truly a once in a lifetime experience at Castaway Cay that we will remember for a long time!
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out the Disney Cruise Adventures page to see more fun adventures, photos and videos from our all of our cruise vacations!
Love love love this. As always!