KevieKev05
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2010
DAY 3 - February 5th, 2011 - Castaway Cay (Part 1)
There was no need to set an alarm for today. The thrusters of the ship woke us up as we were arriving at Castaway Cay! We didn’t mind though...we like this “natural” alarm clock! As we were waking up, I decided to take a picture of the detailing on the red pillow they place on the bed:
At about 8:45 we started getting ready and by 9:15 we were on our way to Cabanas for another scrumptious breakfast! Apparently, everyone else had the SAME idea as it was VERY crowded (but that was to be expected in all honesty). Breakfast, once again, was very satisfactory and within 20 minutes or so, we were on our way down to the gangway.
For whatever reason, the gangway being used was the forward one. As the ship backed in (which is what happens the majority of the time), this meant we were getting off the ship at the furthest point from all the island stuff. It was a MADHOUSE trying to get off the ship. The stairwells were backed up. The elevators were backed up. The elevator lobby on deck 1 forward was packed. It was just a mob of people trying to get off. Eventually, we got off and it was smooth sailing from then on out.
We didn’t make it too far before stopping. A sort of “tradition” for us is to get a picture with whatever character is at the Post Office (the only exception has been when Stitch was the character...we just kept on walking...not a fan of Stitch). At the Post Office, we normally see Chip & Dale (and for whatever reason, we always seem to purchase that picture from Shutters...I guess it always turns out well!). This time, Daisy was there! That’s fine! So, we got in line, and we noticed that the Post Office was actually open:
(I had to take a picture, because when we went with my parents, my Mom made sure to buy a post card on the island and as we were walking back to the ship, the darn thing wasn’t even open!)
While we were waiting in line, some guy passed and said “Oh look! It’s Daffy!” Really dude? Daffy?! Disney Cruise Line. D-I-S-N-E-Y. And it was a female duck anyway. Oy. Sorry.
ANYWAY, we took a picture, but found it interesting that Daisy didn’t have an “attendant” with her...just the photographer.
After that, we continued walking toward the beach. On the way, we noticed that there were ZERO shore excursions cancelled! We couldn’t believe it...normally that board is full of cancelled excursions when we’ve been to Castway Cay. So, naturally, I took a picture!
We continued walking and stopped at Mount Rustmore to get a picture with Minnie and Goofy. Minnie was looking quite scandalous in her short little shorts, though! What would Mickey say?! Here are some pictures looking back at the ship from this point:
We walked further along, knowing that our final destination was going to be Serenity Bay. Sometimes we walk there, but it was already pretty warm so we decided to take the tram. The “new” tram stop was confusing as it didn’t seem to outright say the tram was going to Serenity Bay. It listed a tram stop that we had passed on the way, and that was not the direction we wanted to go. Maybe we missed something, or maybe it provides tram service to two different tram stops? Either way, we hopped on the tram and it went to Serenity Bay.
After the lovely ride there, we went to the beach to find a couple of chairs to claim. Thankfully we didn’t have to walk too far. We plopped our stuff down, put some lotion on, and started absorbing as much sunlight as we could in our loungers! Here was the view from our loungers:
Shortly after getting settled, we flagged down a bartender walking along to beach so that we could order some Konk Koolers. He took our order and it took almost 20 minutes to receive our drinks. I know we were lazy and didn’t go to the bar ourselves, but this seemed a little too long for our liking. We were craving the drink and couldn’t stand to wait so long, haha!
In all honesty, it was probably the worst Konk Kooler I’ve ever had. It wasn’t bad by any means, it just wasn’t near as great as it normally is. I guess it all depends on who makes it! So, we started inhaling our drink:
After slurping it alllll down, we ventured to the water. BRRRRRR! It was way too cold for my liking. James pointed out this fish to me:
More pictures of the beach/water:
Looking back at our loungers:
Within 5 minutes I was back in my lounger. I was already sweating a great deal at this point, and I really wanted to just swim in water that wasn’t so cold. James felt the same way. How pathetic of us! It was only 11:15 and we were ready to get back on the (amazing) ship! We normally like to at least eat on the island before heading back to the ship but (a) we were still stuffed from breakfast and (b) they didn’t start serving until 11:30! So, on a tram we went back to the family beach area! NOTE: we LOVE Castaway Cay! It’s just, we love the new Dream as well and want to spend more time on it! Three days just isn’t enough! Also, seeing as this was my 8th cruise, I’ve spend a fair amount of time on the island, too. We also hoped that the ship would be deserted, thus allowing us to explore even more without a bunch of people around!
Waiting for the tram, I took a couple more pictures:
And more pictures as we were heading back to the ship:
There was no need to set an alarm for today. The thrusters of the ship woke us up as we were arriving at Castaway Cay! We didn’t mind though...we like this “natural” alarm clock! As we were waking up, I decided to take a picture of the detailing on the red pillow they place on the bed:
At about 8:45 we started getting ready and by 9:15 we were on our way to Cabanas for another scrumptious breakfast! Apparently, everyone else had the SAME idea as it was VERY crowded (but that was to be expected in all honesty). Breakfast, once again, was very satisfactory and within 20 minutes or so, we were on our way down to the gangway.
For whatever reason, the gangway being used was the forward one. As the ship backed in (which is what happens the majority of the time), this meant we were getting off the ship at the furthest point from all the island stuff. It was a MADHOUSE trying to get off the ship. The stairwells were backed up. The elevators were backed up. The elevator lobby on deck 1 forward was packed. It was just a mob of people trying to get off. Eventually, we got off and it was smooth sailing from then on out.
We didn’t make it too far before stopping. A sort of “tradition” for us is to get a picture with whatever character is at the Post Office (the only exception has been when Stitch was the character...we just kept on walking...not a fan of Stitch). At the Post Office, we normally see Chip & Dale (and for whatever reason, we always seem to purchase that picture from Shutters...I guess it always turns out well!). This time, Daisy was there! That’s fine! So, we got in line, and we noticed that the Post Office was actually open:
(I had to take a picture, because when we went with my parents, my Mom made sure to buy a post card on the island and as we were walking back to the ship, the darn thing wasn’t even open!)
While we were waiting in line, some guy passed and said “Oh look! It’s Daffy!” Really dude? Daffy?! Disney Cruise Line. D-I-S-N-E-Y. And it was a female duck anyway. Oy. Sorry.
ANYWAY, we took a picture, but found it interesting that Daisy didn’t have an “attendant” with her...just the photographer.
After that, we continued walking toward the beach. On the way, we noticed that there were ZERO shore excursions cancelled! We couldn’t believe it...normally that board is full of cancelled excursions when we’ve been to Castway Cay. So, naturally, I took a picture!
We continued walking and stopped at Mount Rustmore to get a picture with Minnie and Goofy. Minnie was looking quite scandalous in her short little shorts, though! What would Mickey say?! Here are some pictures looking back at the ship from this point:
We walked further along, knowing that our final destination was going to be Serenity Bay. Sometimes we walk there, but it was already pretty warm so we decided to take the tram. The “new” tram stop was confusing as it didn’t seem to outright say the tram was going to Serenity Bay. It listed a tram stop that we had passed on the way, and that was not the direction we wanted to go. Maybe we missed something, or maybe it provides tram service to two different tram stops? Either way, we hopped on the tram and it went to Serenity Bay.
After the lovely ride there, we went to the beach to find a couple of chairs to claim. Thankfully we didn’t have to walk too far. We plopped our stuff down, put some lotion on, and started absorbing as much sunlight as we could in our loungers! Here was the view from our loungers:
Shortly after getting settled, we flagged down a bartender walking along to beach so that we could order some Konk Koolers. He took our order and it took almost 20 minutes to receive our drinks. I know we were lazy and didn’t go to the bar ourselves, but this seemed a little too long for our liking. We were craving the drink and couldn’t stand to wait so long, haha!
In all honesty, it was probably the worst Konk Kooler I’ve ever had. It wasn’t bad by any means, it just wasn’t near as great as it normally is. I guess it all depends on who makes it! So, we started inhaling our drink:
After slurping it alllll down, we ventured to the water. BRRRRRR! It was way too cold for my liking. James pointed out this fish to me:
More pictures of the beach/water:
Looking back at our loungers:
Within 5 minutes I was back in my lounger. I was already sweating a great deal at this point, and I really wanted to just swim in water that wasn’t so cold. James felt the same way. How pathetic of us! It was only 11:15 and we were ready to get back on the (amazing) ship! We normally like to at least eat on the island before heading back to the ship but (a) we were still stuffed from breakfast and (b) they didn’t start serving until 11:30! So, on a tram we went back to the family beach area! NOTE: we LOVE Castaway Cay! It’s just, we love the new Dream as well and want to spend more time on it! Three days just isn’t enough! Also, seeing as this was my 8th cruise, I’ve spend a fair amount of time on the island, too. We also hoped that the ship would be deserted, thus allowing us to explore even more without a bunch of people around!
Waiting for the tram, I took a couple more pictures:
And more pictures as we were heading back to the ship:
