Welcome to Castaway Cay

UPDATE (October, 2010)

-- It's been almost two years (!?) since we were last at Castaway Cay, and Disney has expanded the facilities there in anticipation of their new additions to the Disney Cruise Line.  Check out this post from the Disney Parks Blog for some highlights.

 
This is part of a series about cruising on the Disney Magic. Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour.



Before we conclude our tour of the Disney Magic, let's stop for a visit on Disney's private island - Castaway Cay (pronounced "key").

Located in the Bahama Islands, Castaway Cay serves as an exclusive port of call for the Disney Cruise Line.

The upper-right portion of this map shows the island's location:

Here's a view of the island, as seen from our stateroom on board the Magic:

Castaway Cay offers guests a remote, island getaway. Beaches, bicycles, boats, and other simple pleasures beckon.

The hi-res version of this map gives a good overview of Castaway Cay's layout and activities:

I'll spend the next few posts exploring select parts of the map. 

Miyazaki in Epcot

Miyazaki's Ponyo opened in the US last week (limited release).

I was fortunate enough to go see it on Friday. I'm a fan of his work (including the Pixarian-directed English language dubs), and I loved Ponyo. Check out the review over at Imaginerding.com.

In honor of Ponyo's US release, here's a image I captured of Miyazaki plush on sale at Epcot's World Showcase in November of 2005:

Questions for the blogosphere: Have there ever been Miyazaki walk-around characters in a Disney park? Should there be?

Disney Magic - More Shipboard Details

I'd like to wrap up our shipboard tour of the Disney Magic by peeking at a few more of the many Disney details.

(Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour).

As one might expect, Mickey's presence is never far away:

This sign may feel familiar to people who have spent time on *other* Disney watercraft:

Many of the design touches help reinforce the theme of "cruising in grand style", such as this next example, which I'm posting especially for George and Andrew:

Many of the passageways display wonderful Disney artwork. Take a look at what's on display near the Neverland Club:

And then there's this little gem on deck five -- a collection of several bits of trivia called "Disney Cruise Line Seaworthy Facts:

A good deal of the artwork is related to the sea, or "magic":

"Film poster from Walt Disney's King Neptune 1932"

"From Walt Disney's film Magician Mickey 1937"

I hope you've enjoyed exploring the Disney Magic along with me. I'm including that last piece of artwork as a preview of our next destination: