Serenity Bay + Pelican Point
Getting on the tram to Serenity Bay was a bit confusing to us at first, but it ended up being a simple transfer – we’d take one tram a little bit further into the family beach, and then from there, we’d get on a smaller tram that went back and forth from Serenity Bay. I liked the tram ride to Serenity Bay a lot, actually. We got to zoom down the airstrip until we made it to our final destination.
The fun stopped there, lol. I do not have photos of Serenity Bay but I can assure you it was anything but picturesque.
Serenity Bay was the opposite of the family beach. The family beach was fun, vibrant, sunny, temperate, with crystal clear and smooth waters. Serenity Bay was gray. The sky was gray and cloudy, the sand was gray and blowing everywhere with tons of wind kicking up. Even the “white” loungers everywhere were a dingy gray and even though there was no shade, the umbrellas remained closed because it was too windy for them to be open.
Everyone seemed to be struggling with the wind, and while some people tried to pull the beach chairs up to the water to dip their feet and enjoy a drink, those people were struggling with how bad the ocean floor was here. It was really rocky and uneven, and it didn’t help that the water was choppy. I saw more than one person fall trying to get up from their chair.
Dad and I decided to go into the water while Grace & mom sat and talked in the loungers. I actually did love the water on this side of the island! The family beach didn’t have any surf to it. Personally, when I’m in the ocean, I prefer the waves. I think it’s so much fun to bob up and down with the ocean, I could swim in water like that all day long! In fact, I think I spent more time in the water here than I did at the family beach.
Eventually, dad and I noticed people walking towards the buffet and wondered if lunch was being served. We got out of the water and dried off a bit before the four of us made our way over to Serenity Bay BBQ.
Poor Grace decided she had had enough of Castaway Cay. She struggles with some pretty severe anxiety and I think Serenity Bay was too much for her between the heat, the wind, and frankly, how depressing it felt there. A tram was just pulling up, and she decided that she was actually going to head back to the ship. I was a little nervous when she said this because it felt like such a long way back on an island we had never been to, but she had her phone and I knew Disney wouldn’t do her dirty, so we let her go and told her to feel better. Mom, dad & I were all really hungry, so we decided we’d have lunch and head back to the family beach afterwards.
Like all the food on the ship, lunch on the island at Castaway Cay is complimentary. We found a table to drop our bags off and grabbed a plate! The menu was your typical BBQ fare – ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad, lots of fresh fruit.
And like I said, the best part about the Serenity Bay BBQ is that unlike the two family beach BBQs, you can get cooked-to-order ribeye steaks!
Here are my plates, I got some ribs, chicken, cornbread, two of Castaway Cay’s famous chocolate chip cookies, and of course – my medium-rare ribeye!
Everything actually was really, really good. I was surprised that the ribeye lived up to the hype! It is pretty thin, but it was seasoned & cooked perfectly and I loved that char. Also, the COOKIES. They also lived up to every ounce of hype. So chewy and delicious! Everything else on the plate was pretty good, but those two were the stars. Mom & dad loved their meals, too! It was a really satisfying lunch, which we desperately needed.
As soon as we were done eating, we packed up our bags and booked it to the tram that was pulling up.
So… we won’t be going back to Serenity Bay. Ribeye? Great for Disney buffet steak but you will live without it. I also think the buffet here may have been less crowded than the ones at the family beach, so there’s some upside there, but I don’t think either of these “pros” are worth lugging your bags to Serenity Bay. Between the wind, the painful & rocky ocean bottom, the lack of shade and the lack of really anything beautiful or interesting – it is a shockingly depressing place to be.
We were very eager to get back to the family beach and continue having a great day!
As soon as we got off the tram at “Pelican Point,” our spirits lifted again as we returned to Disney magic and sunshine. We put our bags back down on some chairs in a different corner of the family beach and back into the calm & crystal blue water we went.
Worth mentioning about traveling on the Magic – we never felt like we were battling for chairs on Castaway Cay. I know this is a huge problem with the bigger ships, and the one (1) thing about the Fantasy I’m concerned about. But a smaller ship meant less passengers, and less passengers meant plenty of seating to go around!
My favorite part of this part of the beach was the view of the boat. Look at what a stunner she is. We literally sat in the water for another hour and just gushed over how beautiful the ship was and how beautiful the island was and how perfect this day was.
Dad, eventually, was ready to dry off and sit down for a bit. Mom and I wanted to go to the bar at Pelican Plunge. (Okay, maybe we asked him to watch our bags, but in our defense, he was gonna be sitting with them anyway!)
Heads Up was the name of the bar at Pelican Plunge/Pelican Point, which is the area of Castaway Cay where you’ll find the waterslides for all ages.
The Heads Up bar, like everything else on the island, was very cute. It was your typical tiki bar, with plenty of themed drinks and souvenir cups. There is a drink on Castaway Cay that’s legendary, so I indulged in a very rare boozy beverage – the Konk Kooler.
(Well, of course I got it in the fun coconut cup!)
It seems like the Konk Kooler is a Pina Colada with an extra shot of rum on top. I thought this was delicious! I had to drink it very slowly to not get sick, but it was so sweet and refreshing. Very tropical, very Castaway Cay-chic.
Mom got a vodka cranberry and we made our way back to dad.
Dad announced that he was ready to go back to the boat, so we grabbed our belongings and started heading back. He got a head start on mom & I, we kind of meandered around Pelican Point a bit to do some shopping and enjoy the island for just a little bit longer.
Mom got some shirts for her, Grace, and dad, and I think she also found a pin she wanted. I went for the beach ball mouse ears and two shirts (the photo of the other one isn't loading but it's orange and has Mount Rustmore on it!):
She wanted to stop for some ice cream, so we walked up to the ice cream machine at Cookie’s BBQ. She got a classic vanilla/chocolate twist and I got some fruity twist – I think it was strawberry/mango today? And it was good.
The one thing I really wanted to do today was take a photo in front of Mount Rustmore, and a stranger was kind enough to take one for me while mom went to the bathroom:
From there, we walked to the tram stop and took the tram back to the front of the island, where we showed our drivers licenses & KTTW cards before heading back on the boat. CMs had cold towels waiting for us as we walked up the pier, which was such a thoughtful detail!
Thus, after a quick security check on the boat, our day at Castaway Cay ended.
Honestly, it was a perfect day, regardless of Serenity Bay. Castaway Cay is FABULOUS, maybe my new favorite place on earth. I am not a beach person by any stretch, but there is true Disney magic embedded in this little island in the Bahamas. I think it was just fun to be in a space that was so lovingly crafted by imagineers that wasn’t a theme park! I loved snorkeling, sleeping on the hammock, enjoying the lunch buffet, and sipping on a Konk Kooler the most. Next time I go, I’ll skip Serenity Bay and make it a priority to meet the characters in the morning.
I can't be trusted with the Senses people, I'll be racking up charges to the stateroom before I know it!
