Gorgeous weather today for the day I was most excited for, Castaway Cay. We were all looking forward to checking out Disney’s private island today, and we had so many things we wanted to do, we made sure to get off the boat right away. One of the signature events on Castaway Cay is the 5k, which is free (not a typo, this is FREE!) A lot of people participate (again, FREE!) and they basically just start a new wave every few minutes as people arrive to the starting line. When we got off the boat, we started down the walkway towards Scuttle’s Cove, the kid’s club on Castaway Cay. Yes, Disney has truly thought of everything, including a kid’s club on the island! It was a large area with shade sails over sandy spots, along with a short volleyball net and even a little bit of water to help build sand castles. We checked Aly in, then continued with our warm-up walk to the start line.
Along the way, we passed several family beaches, smoothie stands, bars, the BBQ lunch spots with covered pavilions for the picnic tables, the boating area, the floating waterslides, and rental huts for inner tubes and snorkeling gear. We finally arrived at the bike rental, which is also the start and finish line for the 5k. Seeing as how this race was going to be at a few feet of elevation, like maybe 10 feet, Chris and I were hoping for a faster than normal time so we could get our beach day started.
We showed up, signed the waiver, pinned on our numbers, and took off. At just before 9 AM, it was a warm one. Most of the run is not shaded and is run on the bike path, which is a concrete and asphalt path. We sweated our way through the “ring of fire” which is through some nice plants and trees twice, then down the (fake) airport runway and back. I got a PR (yay altitude training 🙂 ), we finished together, and were still done early enough to find some good, shaded beach chairs near the waterslides.
I walked back to pick up Aly, then we all ran to jump in the water. Or take the polar bear plunge. At least it felt that way at first! We took a few trips down the floating slides, which are very fun with a small drop-off at the end, and then came out to warm up a bit in the sun. Aly went on an epic seashell hunt (we later told her to keep only 2), she and I made some sand Mickey and Minnie art together, and then we went out on our floats for another brisk dip in the ocean.
We were all warm and sweaty by then, so it was time for another “refreshing” swim, this time with our snorkel rentals. Now, Aly had loved snorkeling in Hawaii, so I thought she would love it here as well. I was wrong. Very wrong. I had to coax her out and hold her hand as we swam out along the left side of the snorkel area. I tried pointing out various fish, while she continuously sputtered and came out of the water, thinking she was drowning. She was not (she had on a lifejacket!). I told her we could stop at the rest station, and then continue on, knowing there was a little Disney magic just a bit further. She was so upset, Chris decided to just swim back to the beach with her, but I wanted to see the rest of the area, so I snorkeled alone. I found Mickey (!), along with several large schools of fish near the shipwreck, and then flippered my way back to the beach. So, basically Chris and I did the unofficial Castaway Cay Triathlon, right?!?
Aly and I walked back to the chairs, I grabbed a few drinks for us from the Heads Up Bar, and we spent our last hour in paradise playing in the sand. We did let Aly check out the small splash pad area for a few minutes, mostly just to rinse off, and then we took the Disney tram back to the boat. ‘Till next time, Castaway Cay!!!!
Tonight was our first glimpse at Triton’s restaurant since we had eaten in Palo on what was to be our first night there. There is a large mosaic of Ariel on the back wall that is really beautiful, and the restaurant is meant to be the “fancy” one on the ship. We enjoyed some good conversation with our newfound friends at the table. The girls all colluded to hang out in the Kid’s Club together for a bit, Chris and I wandered around taking in some of the always entertaining game shows and such on the boat, and we wrapped it up early on this night. Beach days are exhausting!
