Castaway Cay water slides?

[Minuet888]

I've seen videos of Castaway Cay but I thought it had water slides? (My son loves water slides).
I didn't see any on the videos. I see a lot of snorkeling but my son hates that. He is autistic and doesn't like dunking his face in the water.
Also I see both people walking to and from the ship and I also see people riding a tram. Do you have to make a reservation for the tram?
Do you have to make a reservation to do things on Castaway Cay?
What about things like intertubes?

EDIT: I did find a video with the water slides but you have to swim out there? Or is it a bit deceptive and shallow enough for a 5'11" "kid" to walk out there. My son 19 autistic, doesn't know how to swim but is 5'11". He loves water slides but can't do deep pools.
I only saw 2 water slides and they were rather short and small?
What else is there to do? Just wondering if we are choosing the right cruise.

 

[Liastaob]

There's a water slide pavilion in the ocean that you swim out to; ride the tram to the end, it's there on your left past the Frozen smoothie stand.

 

[Liastaob]

There's a water slide pavilion in the ocean that you swim out to; ride the tram to the end, it's there on your left past the Frozen smoothie stand.

Re your second point: you definitely have to swim out there, they're in the ocean off the beach. It's pretty deep at the base.

There's a teens area on Castaway; there's also bicycling, or just walking around. It's mostly beach stuff though. You could try kayaking or those water tricycles; maybe a banana boat ride? Depends on how tolerant he is of various stimulus.

Oh, there's a glass bottom boat ride as well that might be entertaining.

Worst case, you could spend the day on the ship and he could ride the Aqua duck/mouse 100 times with minimal waiting

ETA: you can also wear a PFD out in the water if you can't swim well, they have them all over the place and the larger sizes should fit him.

 

[Burgermom]

I will also mention that the water slides can be a bit intenses, at the end when you hit the water you often plunge quite deep into the water. I think even when wearing a life jacket he may dunk at least a bit. If he dislikes putting his head in the water this could be uncomfortable for him. But perhaps others can comment more on this. It has been many years since I did the slides.
My daughter who is autistic loved the aqua mouse water slide on the ship (the one with the rafts in a tube)
In terms of booking things there are some activities that you would book ahead of time such as the glass bottom boat or paddle boat type things (just note sometimes they are cancelled if the seas aren’t ideal)
Things like inner tubes you can usually rent on the day from a stand near the beach (my kids loved these)
I hope that is helpful and that you have a great trip

 

[Burgermom]

I will also mention that the water slides can be a bit intenses, at the end when you hit the water you often plunge quite deep into the water. I think even when wearing a life jacket he may dunk at least a bit. If he dislikes putting his head in the water this could be uncomfortable for him. But perhaps others can comment more on this. It has been many years since I did the slides.
My daughter who is autistic loved the aqua mouse water slide on the ship (the one with the rafts in a tube)
In terms of booking things there are some activities that you would book ahead of time such as the glass bottom boat or paddle boat type things (just note sometimes they are cancelled if the seas aren’t ideal)
Things like inner tubes you can usually rent on the day from a stand near the beach (my kids loved these)
I hope that is helpful and that you have a great trip

Although I should also mention in terms of the aqua mouse/aqua duck on the ship, this type of water slide is not found on the Disney Magic or Wonder as far as I know, but there is some variation of it on the other newer ships as far as I know.

 

[MomOTwins]

Agree you need to swim to castaway water slides and they dunk you in—my asd kid and I skip it and ride the water slides witg no wait on castaway day as others suggested. There are inner tubes to rent—no need to book ahead but there is a small fee. Tram is free but there may be a wait at busy times. As for other activities they do have an “in da shade” area with free games like fooseball. And paid activities like stingray encounter, boats/wayercraft, parasail but you need to book those in asvance.

 

[lanejudy]

My son 19 autistic

There's a teens area on Castaway

The teen area is only up to age 17. If the son is 19 he is considered an adult and the only access to teen/kid spaces will be during posted “open house” times.

 

[Liastaob]

The teen area is only up to age 17. If the son is 19 he is considered an adult and the only access to teen/kid spaces will be during posted “open house” times.

Ahh, OK; that makes sense.

 

[Minuet888]

Re your second point: you definitely have to swim out there, they're in the ocean off the beach. It's pretty deep at the base.

There's a teens area on Castaway; there's also bicycling, or just walking around. It's mostly beach stuff though. You could try kayaking or those water tricycles; maybe a banana boat ride? Depends on how tolerant he is of various stimulus.

Oh, there's a glass bottom boat ride as well that might be entertaining.

Worst case, you could spend the day on the ship and he could ride the Aqua duck/mouse 100 times with minimal waiting

ETA: you can also wear a PFD out in the water if you can't swim well, they have them all over the place and the larger sizes should fit him.

He does ok with a life jacket on, but are you allowed to wear the life jackets on the slide? (I am assuming that is what the PFD is?)

 

[Liastaob]

He does ok with a life jacket on, but are you allowed to wear the life jackets on the slide? (I am assuming that is what the PFD is?)

Yes, sorry, Personal Floatation Device. My daughter swam up to the slides with one on and wore it down no problem.

 

[Skippyboo]

You can go to the adult beach since he is 19. The tram is free has 2 stops. Both are for the family beach . For the serenity bay ( adult beach), you get off at second stop and get a smaller tram to adult beach. You can rent bikes, floats ( inter tube or a foam lounger) the day of. The port adventures on DCL website has the various paid activities. The characters will be out meeting in the family beach area( DCL app when you are onboard will show the location and times)

Castaway is mainly beach time.

 

[sponica]

He does ok with a life jacket on, but are you allowed to wear the life jackets on the slide? (I am assuming that is what the PFD is?)

You can definitely wear the PFD on the slide, my daughter does. I think she only did the slide once though because she wasn't expecting the salt water taste in her mouth when she got down the slide (we don't go to the beach at home).