- Castaway Cay
Disneyparkinfo
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name=Castaway Cay
location=Castaway Cay,The Bahamas
opening=July 30 ,1998
resort=Disney Cruise Line
theme=Private island
website= [http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/ports/landing?name=CastawayCayLandingPage Castaway Cay homepage]
operator=The Walt Disney Company Castaway Cay is a
private island or "out island" in theBahamas which serves as an exclusiveport of call for theDisney Cruise Line ships "Disney Wonder " and "Disney Magic ". It is located at coord|26|05|N|77|32|W| nearGreat Abaco Island , and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. It is owned in full byThe Walt Disney Company , giving them substantial control over the experience of visitors to the island. A post office on the island has special Bahamian postage specific to Disney Cruise Line, and a "Castaway Cay" postmark.History and development
Gorda Cay was once used as a stop for drug runners. There is an airstrip on the island, but it is no longer in use nor maintained, but only use in emegencies such as hurricanes,medical,fire,etc.. Gorda Cay has also been used for filming; the beach where
Tom Hanks first encountersDaryl Hannah in "Splash" is on the island.Disney is said to have spent $25,000,000 to develop and outfit the island. Construction took 18 months and included dredging 50,000 truckloads of sand from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The
pier and its approaches were constructed to allow the Disney ships to dock alongside, thus removing the need for tenders to get the passengers ashore. To create the mooring site for the ships, workers dredged sand from a convert|1700|ft|m|sing=on channel about convert|35|ft|m deep and ranging from 200 to convert|400|ft|m wide. The island is still largely undeveloped: only 55 of the convert|1000|acre|km2 are being used. [ [http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Cruise/Secrets.html Fun Facts of Disney Cruise Lines ] ]Facilities
The island is developed in the theme of a
castaway community, with buildings made to look as if they had been improvised after a shipwreck. The facilities are maintained like any other Disney theme park, and the shops accept guests' stateroom keys for payment. The food service is operated as an extension of the cruise package. A variety of activities are available to guests including bicycle hire,personal watercraft rental, snorkeling, and parasailing. There are three beaches for guests: one for families, one for teens, and another exclusively for adults, called Serenity Bay.Two submarine-ride vehicles from the now-closed ride at the
Magic Kingdom lie underwater in the snorkeling area. The "Flying Dutchman " from thePirates of the Caribbean movies is on display in the lagoon.The seven-night cruises visit Castaway Cay on Fridays, four-night cruises visit on Tuesdays, and three-night cruises visit on Saturdays.
Castaway Cay has facilities for the exclusive use of the ships' crews, including beaches and recreational areas. A staff of 40 custodians, boat captains, drivers, landscapers, and maintenance personnel live on the island, and are supplemented by crew from the ship when one is in port. Food and other supplies are brought in by the ships themselves. Sea water is desalinated for drinking with
reverse osmosis water processors.Image gallery
References
*Ward, Douglas ed.. "Berlitz ocean cruising & cruise ships". London : Berlitz, 2003.
External links
* Castaway Cay is at coordinates coord|26.083305|-77.53335|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title
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