Disney's Castaway Cay

On our third day we woke to a gorgeous view of Castaway Cay, Disney's own private island in the Bahamas.  The exclusive island has it's own pier that jutts out allowing the Disney cruise line ships to dock directly on shore instead of using smaller boats to transport passengers.  Like everything Disney puts it's name on, all of the facilities had a specific theme.  Based off of the name Castaway Cay, all of the buildings look as if they were put together with items from salvaged ship wrecks.  There were three main areas and several excursions for people to choose from.  They had snorkeling, boat and bike rentals, peddle boats, swimming with sting rays, glass bottom boats, and an exclusive adults only beach along with the several different shops and eateries located throughout the island.  It was absolutely stunning, from the crystal clear water, perfectly clean beaches, paths and facilities, and the numerous wildlife and plants.

View of Castaway Cay as the sunning was rising and then again a little after noon. 

Looking at Castaway Kay from the top of the ship.  I loved how deep you could see into the water along the rock barriers.

In the morning we all went to breakfast and walked around the ship for a bit to enjoy the gorgeous views.  Mom's knee was really hurting by our third day of the cruise, so they decided to take it easy and enjoy the ship instead of debarking.  Mom said that they had a yummy lunch, shopped for awhile, and then ended up watching one of the many movies playing in the two level movie theater aboard Disney Dream.  Daxton and I decided to check out the island for our own little adventure after his morning nap.

Even though our massive BOB stroller was a pain to maneuver throughout the cruise ship and in result we never used it while exploring, I was definitely glad we had it for our day at Castaway Cay.  The island is pretty big but has a quick shuttle/train that transports passengers to different locations.  We arrived just in time for lunch which was a bit tricky since it was an outside buffet style meal.  The food was wonderful of course, but trying to push the stroller with Daxton, our swim bags, and then carry trays of food and drinks, it was quite difficult.  As we were walking towards our table, our waitress from dinner each night found us and immediately helped us get situated.  She was so sweet and returned several times to make sure we were OK.  Just another reason why I LOVED our Disney experience so much.  Everyone literally went out of there way to make sure we were taken care of and enjoying our stay.

 Castaway Cay even has it's very own post office with it's own postage stamp.  The whole idea was pretty clever.

Just a few of the gorgeous boat docks.

Exploring Castaway Cay...

Daxton loved eating watermelon at lunch.  It was a good thing we swam after, because his entire face, hands, chest, and legs were covered with watermelon juice by the end of our meal.

After a quick outfit change, we headed to the beach.  I'm sure I looked a bit crazy covering Daxton's entire body in clothing, swim hat, and still applying sunscreen, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.  On our walk to the beach we found a cute little shop that sold sand toys, so I got Dax a Nemo sand bucket and shovel...best investment ever!  We literally spent the next 4 hours swimming and playing in the sand.  He adored his sand toys and wouldn't put the shovel down!

Another thing I loved about Castaway Cay is that when Disney bought and then built on the island, they created a large coral/rock wall about a half mile off the beaches so there were no waves.  Daxton loved running in and out of the water and I didn't have to fear that he would be knocked over or be sucked out to sea by a wave.  It was so beautiful and relaxing.

We both had such a magical day and can't wait to return!