Disney’s Castaway Cay
Disney’s Castaway Cay
is their private island for guests of the Disney Cruise Line. A stop at
Castaway Cay is an enjoyable day “stranded” in a tropical paradise. It is
located off of Freeport, Bahamas.
Castaway Cay was not
always filled with Disney Magic. Back in the 1770s it is said that Gorda Cay (now
Castaway Cay) was a pirate haven. In the early 1990s the gentleman, a real
estate developer that owned this small beautiful island for years decided he
had to sell. He had found that drug runners had taken over his island. They were
using the airstrip he had built on the island for his personal use to bring in
drugs to the United States.
In the late 1990s Disney went looking for an
island and they came across the beautiful 1000 acre Gorda Cay. With the help of
Bahamian and US law enforcement Disney booted out the drug running pirates and
renamed the island Castaway Cay. You can still see the remains of the airstrip
and in fact you use it as part of the trail to head to the adult Serenity Bay
area of Castaway Cay.
Disney has not developed much of the island,
approximately 85% of the island remains in a wild state. Guests are not allowed
into the undeveloped area.
Approximately 100 Disney Castaway Cast Members
lived full-time on the island. These brave souls sign up for a six-month stay
on the island. They maintain the equipment, clean the facilities, train stingrays
and repair storm damage.
Castaway Cay was hit by both hurricanes Francine
and Janine in 2004. They have been hit by many hurricanes before and since this
time. Francine and Janine took out the majority of the amenities of Castaway
Cay. Yet within two months over 90% of the repairs were done. For the safety of
the Castaway Cast Members Disney has built a hurricane bunker. Those living on
the island can find shelter there.
There are at least two Castaway Cats! Nobody knows
exactly how these fastidious felines decided to join the House of Mouse.
Everybody is fairly sure that the cats did not come in on one of the Disney
Cruise Ships. (Disney cruise ships are the only cruise ships to stop there.) It
is possible that the cats came in on one of the local Bahamian supply ships.
One of the cats is black and appears to be missing part of one of its ears. This
beauty seems to have picked up the name of Casey (I saw one report saying his
name is Stitch) from its adoring fans and even has its own Facebook page. Many
stories tell of Casey walking up to guests to get his ears scratched and he’ll
often settle down next to guests as they sit on the beach. The second cat is a
red tabby. Casey’s buddy is not as friendly and tends to stay as far away from
people as he can. I know I’ll be looking for both of theses ‘s cats when I go
on my next cruise!
You may wonder why the Disney cruise ships always
leave Castaway Cay long before sunset. The reason is simple, sand fleas. These
vicious little bugs come out after sunset. By having guests off the beach long
before this the guests are saved any discomfort and inconvenience.
Castaway Cat
Facebook Page:
The cat has part of ear missing as it has been neutered. We do this so ferral cats are not retrapped to be done again.
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