Characters at Castaway

[88golf88]

Need some strategy/advice on how you visit with the characters while on Castaway. The one stop that we made at CC, we wanted to make sure we got off the ship early (right at 8:30) to secure our spot on the beach, but they don't bring the characters out until 9:15/9:30. Do you just get off the ship later? Do you drop the beach stuff and run back? Or is it better to hang at the beach for the morning and then hit the characters around 12:00 before you eat?? I realize that you can choose any of these options, just wanna see what has worked for others!! Thanks

 

[Partyof4LA]

We rushed off ASAP to secure spots our first trip. We met a few characters near the beach later that day. I didn’t like rushing to start our day. It just didn’t set a good tone for the rest of the day. The lines to Debark were long. Sidewalks were crowded and slow moving and the trams were full.

But the next two cruises, we didn’t rush off the ship. We enjoyed breakfast at cabanas, went back to the cabin to grab our things and brush teeth, then got off the ship without waiting in long lines. We caught a few characters right as we debarked, at the post office, and on the way to the beach. And we met captain jack along the way too. We still found a great spot with two loungers under an umbrella and were able to relax and enjoy the rest of our day without worrying about the characters. They do have a short dance party around lunchtime with characters.

 

[MomOTwins]

We always disembark right at 8:30 too and I've always seen characters on the walk to the beach. Maybe they show up early?

The ease of getting loungers will vary considerably depending on which ship class you are on and how full the cruise is. We've only ever sailed on the Dream, and the loungers in the front few rows (which I like so I can keep an eye on the kids while they play in the water and keep an eye on my stuff while I'm in the water) were definitely gone by 9am. I imagine if you are on one of the older ships it is probably not so bad because same number of loungers + much lower ship capacity.

 

[pixiedustedme]

We never rush off the ship (once we even waited until after lunch) and we never have a problem getting a lounger with an umbrella. These are further back, so if you want to be right next to the water, then you might need to rush off, but otherwise, you don't. And this is in reference to the Dream and Fantasy ships.

Just adding that so that newbies don't panic unneccessarily about lounger availability.

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

We waited until the time in the Guide that the characters were going to be at the Post Office and the Rocks. Then we went back and forth getting Daisy at one then Minnie at the other. Then back to the Post Office for Donald and then Mickey at the Rocks. Then we wandered over to the Beach and then Serenity Bay and were there about 30m before lunch. Since we are not beach folks this worked out perfectly for us.

 

[88golf88]

Thanks!! I know logic says not to rush off the ship, especially being people that wont lay on the beach for more than a few hours. Waiting to get off sounds great now, lets hope we stick to it!