Castaway Cay
 | |
  Castaway Cay Location in the Bahamas  Castaway Cay Location in the Caribbean | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | The Bahamas, West Indies, Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 26°05′38″N 77°32′00″W / 26.093753°N 77.533332°W |
| Type | Cay |
| Archipelago | Lucayan Archipelago |
| Area | 1,000 acres (400 ha) |
| Administration | |
| District | South Abaco |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 140 |
Disney's Castaway Cay, or simply Castaway Cay (/ˈkiː/), is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships. It is located near Great Abaco Island and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. In 1997, The Walt Disney Company purchased a 99-year land lease (through 2096) for the cay from the Bahamian government, giving the company substantial control over the island.
Castaway Cay was the first private island in the cruise industry where the ship docks on the island, eliminating the need for guests to be tendered to land.[1]
The island is still largely undeveloped as only 55 of the 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) are being used. Castaway Cay has approximately 140 Disney Cruise Line permanent residents who keep the island running daily.[2]
History
Gorda Cay
Gorda Cay was first settled in 1783.[3] In 1844, the Pantheon encountered Gale force winds causing it to loose its sails, and for a fire to break out. The ship ran ashore near Gorda Cay, and burnt to the waterline. The crew were rescued by the Water Witch.[4] The Brig Monument of Portland was sailing to Matanzas, carrying a cargo of boards, shooks, and fish, when it "was totally wrecked on Gorda Cay." The cargo and materials were recovered, taken to Charleston, South Carolina and sold.[5]
In 1884, the ship George B. Douglass was sailing from Roatán for Nassau, when was caught in a heavy storm and developed a leak. Captain Anderson and his crew escaped in lifeboat. "Shortly after they had pushed away from the schooner she gave lurch to one said and then disappeared." The crew was drifting off Gorda Cay when they were found by the schooner Isle of June and were towed to Nassau.[6]
On Sunday, August 12, 1928, the SS Munamar owned by Munson Steamship Line, ran aground Gorda Cay and was unable to free itself. The passengers were removed Monday, August 13, by the tug boat Lady Cordeaux.[7] Monday, August 20, it was reported the ship was successfully refloated.[8]
Gorda's airstrip (now Castaway Cay Airport) was once used as a stop in the 1930s for bootleggers[9] and later, drug runners.[1]
Gorda Cay had also been used for filming. The beach where Tom Hanks first encounters Daryl Hannah in Splash is on the island,[3] and parts of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl were filmed on the cay as well.[9]
Castaway Cay
In 1997, the Disney Cruise Line purchased a 99-year lease for Gorda Cay from the Bahamian government and renamed it Castaway Cay, intending for it to be the line's private island. The company spent $25 million over 18 months of construction.[1] This included dredging 50,000 truckloads of sand from the Atlantic Ocean.[10] The pier and its approaches (a 1,700 foot channel) were constructed to allow Disney ships to dock directly alongside the island, thus removing the need for tenders to get the passengers ashore.[1]
An additional race, Castaway Cay Challenge, was added to the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend series in 2015 with the 5K race taking place on Castaway Cay.[11]
Facilities
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A post office on the island has special Bahamian postage and postmark specific to Disney Cruise Line.[1] The island is developed in the theme of a castaway community with buildings made to look as if they had been improvised after a shipwreck. The facilities are maintained like any other Disney theme park; the shops accept guests' stateroom keys for payment. Food service is operated as an extension of the cruise package. A variety of activities are available to guests including bicycle rentals, personal watercraft rentals, massages overlooking the ocean, snorkeling, parasailing, volleyball, and basketball. There are monkey bars and a rope for children to climb across set about 30 metres (98 ft) into the ocean on one beach and a slide about 25 metres (82 ft) into the ocean on another beach. There are three beaches for guests: one exclusively for families, one exclusively for cabana guests, and another exclusively for adults, called Serenity Bay.[1]
Two submarine-ride vehicles from the now-closed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage ride at Walt Disney World lie underwater in the snorkeling area.[9] The Flying Dutchman pirate ship, from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, was formerly on display in the lagoon, but as of November 2010, it had been removed and taken to another location on the island where it was dismantled.[citation needed]
Airport
Castaway Cay Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
| Serves | Castaway Cay | ||||||||||
| Location | the Bahamas | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 5 ft / 2 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 26°5′26.0″N 77°32′23.9″W / 26.090556°N 77.539972°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 MYAG Location of Castaway Cay Airport in the Bahamas | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Castaway Cay Airport (ICAO: MYAG) is a private use airport located in Castaway Cay, the Bahamas.[12]
See also
- List of islands of the Bahamas
- Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, Disney's second private island
References
- ^ a b c d e f Saunders, Aaron (October 1, 2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 76–78. ISBN 978-1848321724. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Disney Cruise Line Fun Facts". Disney Cruise Line News.
- ^ a b Fritscher, Lisa. "How Disney Cruises Started". USA Today. Gannett. Demand Media. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ "Late From Nassau, N.P." The Charleston Mercury. Charleston, South Carolina. October 26, 1844.
- ^ "Ship News". The Charleston Daily Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. April 8, 1846.
- ^ "In An Open Boat At Sea: The Schooner Isle of June Wrecked Among The Bahamas". The New York Times. November 25, 1884. p. 8.
- ^ "Munson Liner Still Aground At Gorda Cay". Bangor Daily Commercial. Bangor, Maine. August 14, 1928.
- ^ "Marine Insurance Notes: Steamships Refloated". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. August 20, 1928.
- ^ a b c Lyn, Diane (January 29, 2013). "Secrets Revealed About Disney's Castaway Cay". Today’s 101.9. CBS Local Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ "Disney's 'Deserted' Island Is Ready For Its Cruise Castaways". Orlando Sentinel. 8 June 1998. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Mauney, Matt (January 14, 2015). "Disney's private island hosts inaugural 5K challenge". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "MYAG Airport record for Castaway Cay Airport". Landings.com. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ "location of Castaway Cay Airport" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
External links
