Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure

[awoltoday]

Since it is a relatively new excursion and I haven't seen any pictures posted yet, I thought I would write up a quick review of Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure on our Nov 12 '05 sailing.

I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled the Stingray excursion for 10:00AM. Mostly I think I just wanted the water to be as clear as possible when I snorkeled with the rays. Maybe I just wanted to be first. Maybe I just didn't realize how far it is from the ship to the Stingray Hut. After all, Castaway Cay is a really small island. How long could it take to walk from the ship? I never really put together that I would really have to hump it to make Castaway Ray's Stingray hut by 10:00AM. I think we were cleared to leave the boat sometime between 9:15 and 9:30, but by the time we actually got off, it was probably 20 minutes to 10. If it was just DW and I, it wouldn't have been too much of an issue. But, it did get to me when my DD6 started getting a side ache from our brisk walk. In any case, we made it in time, if barely.

But, we weren't first in the water. If you didn't know, there was a film crew aboard the Nov 12 sailing. I honestly didn't pay much attention to why they were there. If I had to venture a guess, and I would have to since I didn't listen, they were probably filming for a new 2007 promotional DVD (and probably other promotions and web material). In any case, it pays to be on the filming crew, because they were already in the water when we got there. They were a grumpy looking bunch, too. They were probably ticked that the water conditions were not perfect. It was a little murky and I'm sure visibility has been much better.

Castaway Ray's Stingray Hut is situated in the middle of the beach between the Heads Up Bar (at the far end of the family beach) and the teen beach. The hut is right down on the beach just below Castaway Joe's. The stingrays are in an enclosure right in front of the hut. The enclosure is probably 50 yards or more across in any direction. But, as they say, size doesn't matter. The stingrays spend most of their time around the two feeding platforms that are situated close to the beach.

We sat picked up our masks, snorkels, and our beautiful snorkeling vests when we arrived at the hut. Shortly after we were fitting our gear when the presentation began. The young man who is caretaker of the rays gave a nice little presentation about the rays of the area and some biological details of the stingrays in the excursion. I was a little surprised that he didn't seem more comfortable with his presentation since the excursion has been running, on and off, for a while now. He explained how he had trained the rays to come to a target, which happens to be a red Mickey cutout. He also mentioned how many rays had returned since hurricane Wilma passed through, but I forget the exact number. But, most of them have returned and there are more in training (another enclosure out further in front of the teen beach). I got a kick out of the fact that he gave statistics of the stingray population in pounds rather than the number of rays. It sort of made me feel like I was at the butcher counter in the supermarket and made me a wee bit hungry. The kids had plenty of time to ask silly questions and then it was on to the feeding!

The group was split among the two platforms. The water is not deep anywhere in the enclosure, so standing around the platform wasn't remotely a problem for anyone. The platform is actually a U shaped ramp, where the rays can swim up, around, and down. When we were properly gathered around the platform, we were instructed on how to hold our dead fish, shrimp, or squid: Hand face down on the red Mickey cutout target, with the scooby snack stuck between our fingers. They then put the target down onto the platform and quickly a stingray would come by and suck the snack away. I really enjoyed the feeding, including having the rays bumping into my legs as they swam in and around the ramp. The kids seem to really enjoy getting to touch and pet the rays as they swam through ramp. I even enjoyed the way the stingrays hung around nibbling on your fingers after they got their tidbits. They have names for most of the rays and, of course, my DD enjoyed seeing, touching, and feeling 'Big Mama' the most.

After everyone got their fill of feeding, you can snorkel about with the stingrays to your hearts content. But, after the feeding, it was a bit anti-climatic for me. It is neat to watch them swimming around the enclosure and I did hang out for a little while. I'm pretty sure that they said you could swim as long as you liked, but I had my fill pretty quickly. The water was quite shallow and not very clear and the day too short to spend it all in one spot (and they didn't serve bbq, beer, or snacks).

I'm really glad we did the excursion. I can't compare this excursion with that of Stingray City since I haven't been (yet). We all enjoy it and I may do it again next year when DS meets the minimum age of 5.

 

[WDWLVR]

Thanks for the great review and pictures!

 

[mommykeg]

Thanks so much for that detailed report! We've been talking about whether or not this would be a good excursion for our family...and now I'll be able to show the kids your great pictures so they really know what it'll be like before they decide! Pictures are worth a thousand words! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

 

[GrayFal]

What a great review!

Were you able to keep your snorkeling gear for the rest of the day after the feeding was done - or did you hand it right back?

 

[lbgraves]

Thank you for the wonderful review with pictures. DS7 wanted to do this but after reading other's reviews about Stingray City and the fact that the rays rubbed up against you more than some kids liked we decided to wait a year. You pictures let us know exactly how deep it is and the net they have inbetween you & the rays makes it look like the kids wouldn't get knocked over during the feeding at CC.

 

[DIS NURSE]

Hi awoltoday! We, too, enjoyed that great excursion.....just at the 3 pm time slot (the latest you can do it). I recommend that, since we were not hurried at all and, in fact, stood around talking with the Sting Ray folks and asking lots of questions about what it is like to live on CC! It was up close and personal....our kids got to stay on that great sandy beach and play until about 4:15.....we were one of the last people off CC and it was awesome!

DIS NURSE
P.S. Didn't we have a great time on that fabulous boat Nov 12-19th?

 

[awoltoday]

Thanks so much for that detailed report! We've been talking about whether or not this would be a good excursion for our family...and now I'll be able to show the kids your great pictures so they really know what it'll be like before they decide! Pictures are worth a thousand words! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I think it's a great little excursion for CC. And it's not terribly expensive or time consuming. I DID spend a great deal of time preparing my DD6 for the excursion, trying to prepare her for holding "bait" and having the stingrays bump into her legs so she wouldn't freak when it happened. She only freaked a little when a stingray "bit" her, so I guess I did okay.

What a great review!

Were you able to keep your snorkeling gear for the rest of the day after the feeding was done - or did you hand it right back?

Nope, we didn't get to keep the gear! We had to turn them in on the way out as they give you your souvenier button. They didn't give us fins for the excursion either - just a mask and snorkel.

Thank you for the wonderful review with pictures. DS7 wanted to do this but after reading other's reviews about Stingray City and the fact that the rays rubbed up against you more than some kids liked we decided to wait a year. You pictures let us know exactly how deep it is and the net they have inbetween you & the rays makes it look like the kids wouldn't get knocked over during the feeding at CC.

I don't think there would be any chance of a child or anybody else getting knocked over. The rays simply brush up against you. There is a much better chance of getting tickled than knocked over It was funny too - The stingrays would sometimes bump into our legs trying to get in between two people and they would just keep bumping into your leg until you moved out of their way.

Hi awoltoday! We, too, enjoyed that great excursion.....just at the 3 pm time slot (the latest you can do it). I recommend that, since we were not hurried at all and, in fact, stood around talking with the Sting Ray folks and asking lots of questions about what it is like to live on CC! It was up close and personal....our kids got to stay on that great sandy beach and play until about 4:15.....we were one of the last people off CC and it was awesome!

DIS NURSE
P.S. Didn't we have a great time on that fabulous boat Nov 12-19th?

I don't think I would do the 10:00AM again, but any other time would be fine. There was no feeling of hurry DURING the excursion, even at 10AM. And like I mentioned, you can pretty much snorkel as long as you like. We really had to hustle to get TO the excursion by 10:00AM, though. And we never even saw the shuttle while we were walking!

And, YES, we had a great group on our boat! Glad to see you made it home safely!

 

[zeke11]

Just a bit more input on the stingray --

do keep an eye on your kidlets! my son (9yo) actually got "sucked" by a stingray! One came up behind him and attached itself to his calf and he was left with a bruise. My dd (19yo) had one of them suck her finger into its mouth and "crunched" it with those bony plates. No permanent harm done in either case, but both my kids were a bit freaked out by the experience.

Kris

 

[thegales]

We just returned from the November 23 Wonder, and were able to do this excursion. I think your write up accurately captures the excursion.

We booked the 11:00 am excursion. This allowed us time to get off the boat, get some chairs, DDs had a quick swim, then we headed over. The Stingray Hut is at the far end of the beach, so do make sure you allow adequate time for the walk. Everyone who had prebooked this excursion were there by 11:00 am, so I do not think 11:00 is too early (I agree with awoltoday, that 10:00 am would be too early.) They split us up in three groups, not spliting up any families, and they had three feeding stations.

After the formal feeding, there is plenty of time for snorkeling. You could stay as long as you want (going over the formal hour allocated). But as previously stated, after a bit of snorkeling most people found an hour to be a good time length.

These CM's are some of the people who live on the island, as they need to feedings and trainings each day. This gives some of them way too much time for practicing sand castles .While the Stingray was a good excursion, they could almost create a new excursion on the art of building sand castles.

I would recommend this excursion for any one interesting in getting up close to the stingrays, but want a low impact excursion (well except for the walk to the Stingray Hut).

A final word, the ship's photographers now come and take photos during the feeding time. We saw some very nice pictures, although we did not buy any of ours.

 

[SeaSpray]

Excellent review and pictures! Thanks so much!! I am really looking forward to this on our cruise next summer. Thanks for mentioning about the times; I think we'll choose 11am or later. Nice to know they send the ship's photographers; I'll have our digital camera with us, but I like professional shots too because that way we can all be in the pic.

Does anyone know if they allow people to go with you to take pictures, who are not doing the excursion? Would they let them stand on the beach and just snap pictures, or do you have to have a ticket for the excursion to even get that close?? Thanks again!

 

[thegales]

Does anyone know if they allow people to go with you to take pictures, who are not doing the excursion? Would they let them stand on the beach and just snap pictures, or do you have to have a ticket for the excursion to even get that close?? Thanks again!

You know, I have been thinking about this same thing.

I don't have an official answer, but here are my thoughts:
They would allow it...
There is no cost to Disney to have another person there on the beach (i.e., you don't get on a boat, no food is involved.)

They would not allow it...
The current process is you give your ticket at the front of the Stingray Hut, and they give you a snorkel, mask and vest. I had my own snorkel and mask, so they just gave me the vest. You then go around the back to hear the talk. The next step is to walk into the water to do the feeding. You do not need the snorkel and mask to do this. I do not know if they require you to have a vest on at this point, as you are only in a foot of water. It is only after the feeding that you may decide to go snorkeling.
So if you had a person who was just observing, that person could very easily sneak down and do the feeding, and Disney loses that revenue (please know that I am not saying this is your intention, but I am looking at this through Disney's eyes trying to maximize their revenue.)
Another thought as to why they might not allow an observer is that a portion of the excursion cost goes to Disney's Wildlife Fund (I don't know the exact name of the fund, but you get a button). I would think they would want everyone who is there to contribute to the fund.

So in summary, call them and ask.

If they say no, have the person go with you anyway, and ask again at the hut. If they again say no, there are the beaches on both sides of the Stingray area (family on one side, teen on the other). The observer can always enjoy the beach while the others are doing the excursion. And if you have a telephoto lens, you still might get some good pictures.

 

[SeaSpray]

LOL! Thanks for that well thought out reply, lifeof!! It was very full of insight

Believe me, we would NOT want to deny Disney any revenue, we are share holders. And if some of the proceeds from this excursion go to a wildlife fund, then even better

I am hoping to get DH and DSs to do this excursion with me, and therefore we'd all be there to snap pictures of each other, but I honestly don't know if they'll want to get into the water with the stingrays at all, NONE of them are even beach people, let alone stringray people. If it comes down to it, I have no problem buying a ticket for DH so he can stand on the beach and snap pictures.

You did bring up a good point though; part of this excursion includes listening to a speech by the trainer, and DH (or whoever) would be benefitting from that part of it, if he were close enough to snap pictures (telephoto lens aside ). lol

I think I will book DH and myself for this, and if he doesn't want enter the water, he can stand on the beach and snap pictures.

 

[Choc_marg]

Just had to pipe in as another non-beach person. I am the DW of the OP and I do NOT like the beach at all. It is OK for a day, but seems like a waste of time to me & I usually get sunburned anyway. Too much sand to get in my clothes, etc. BUT, I completely enjoyed CC & the stingray excursion. It was very interesting to me. I loved feeding them and being able to touch & feel the rays. I never would have thought so going in. So, your DH might surprise you (or himself)

 

[Kastaway-Kurt]

How much does this excursion cost?

 

[*love*2*shop]

YES you can go take pics of your family during this,My daughter ( 4) was even given BEach toys to play with while we watched my hubby * son..they were SUPER about it..YES you can WATCH & take pics!!

 

[Briege]

My DD 9 and I just did this excursion on the 11/27 Wonder. It was $35 for ages 10 to adult and $29 for ages 9 and under. It sure was quite a walk after you got off the tram. We had booked for 10am and had no idea it would be so far and it was difficult to find as it is not marked on any of the island maps yet. I had to ask a few people for directions along the way. Also, my daughter was recovering from a broken ankle and was still limping quite a bit so it took us some time to get there. We missed the talk but were still able to do the excursion. On the way back from the Stingray Hut to the area of the First Aid Station I was able to have a Golf Cart transport us back as my daughter just couldn't face the walk again. The staff were very accomodating with this.

The Stingray adventure was great. My daughter had initially been apprehensive about doing this excursion and coming up close to the stingrays, but once we got in the water she just loved it. Feeding them was great. When they were realeased from the feeding area and swimming about the lagoon, they kept out of your way and it was hard to catch up with them. The photographs taken by the ship's photographer at the feeding station were great. They had the date on it and Castaway Cay Sting Ray Adventure printed on the frame. It was a very nice picture.

I would recommend this excursion to everyone, it was so much fun.

Briege

 

[lilo62]

How much does this excursion cost?

I would love to know the answer to this too!

And.. are you allowed to "swim" with the rays w/o snorkel equip?

 

[Briege]

You don't have to use the snorkle equipment. We ended up swimming beside them most of the time, but my daughter probably snorkled more than I did.

Briege

 

[wannabecruiser]

thank you for posting this, I was thinking about booking this and now I am sure I will.

 

[lbgraves]

We just did this on the 12/9/06 cruise and I expected to be in knee deep water like in the pictures here. We wound up in water above my waist and the kids had to be held in order to pet the rays. IDK why this was changed but thought that it might make a difference to some.