November 19, 2025 • 26 mins
This week, Krystle and Julie dive into the ultimate Disney Cruise Line showdown: Castaway Cay vs. Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. Whether you’re planning your first Disney cruise or you’re a seasoned Castaway regular trying to decide which island is the better fit for your next sailing, this episode breaks it all down with the details that actually matter.
We compare both islands across multiple categories — from beach access, layout, and transportation to cabanas, food options, cultural experiences, excursions, kids’ areas, shopping, and the overall vibe. We talk through the developed areas at Lookout Cay, the new Bahamian-forward design elements, and what’s different from the long-loved Castaway Cay experience. And yes… we get into chairs, shade, snack shacks, and exactly how far that Lookout Cay tram ride really feels.
If you're trying to decide which island is right for your family, your itinerary, or your style of vacation, this episode gives you the insider perspective you need
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Wonderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
SPEAKER_01 (00:06):
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to episode 78 of WonderLust and Wishes.
Today we're going to talkthrough Disney's private islands
to do a little head-to-headcomparison of Castaway Key and
(00:45):
the newer island lookout key atLighthouse Point.
What we wanted to do with thisepisode is we're hoping to go
through the ins and outs of bothof the islands so that when you
are looking at itineraries foror for a Disney cruise, if it
has one or the other, which onemight be the better one for you
and either your family or yourgroup that's going on the
(01:07):
cruise?
Because there are definitelysome key differences, no pun
intended, to both of theseislands.
So just to start out, um, we'regoing to talk about the basics.
Castaway Key was opened wheneverDisney cruise line first opened.
It opened in 1998 and it's aroughly a thousand acres of
(01:31):
land.
SPEAKER_00 (01:31):
Lookout Key at Lighthouse Point, often referred
to as Lookout or LighthousePoint, whatever you want to call
it, is Disney's Eleuthradestination.
It officially welcomed its firstguest on June 10th of 2024.
Disney emphasizes Bohemianculture with daily entertainment
like Rush, a junkanoo,celebration, and Disney Fun in
(01:54):
the Sun Beach Bash.
The site encompasses a peninsulaarea, often cited to be around
seven to nine hundred acres,with Disney developing a small
fraction to preserve theenvironment.
So the biggest keys is Castawayis its own island.
Lookout point is just a portionof an already booming island
(02:21):
that people live and work thereall the time.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
The other thing is that if you're a cruiser, you
know that a lot of times whenyou go to other ports, that
there will be multiple shipsthat dock on a certain day.
With these islands, the capacityis one ship.
So Disney hosts one ship per dayat each destination.
(02:46):
So you're only going to besharing the space with your own
ship.
You're not going to be sharingit with another Disney ship or
another another cruise line atall.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
Another point is the ease of access.
Both destinations have piers.
You walk off the ship.
There's no tendering.
So tendering kind of gets a badrap, especially if you have any
accessibility issues.
Um at Castaway, it's a shortwalk to the tram and it look out
K.
It's been a hot topic.
There's a long peer walk, it'sabout a half a mile to the
(03:17):
welcome area.
And then you tram or bus to thebeaches from there.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
It's definitely a lot longer.
Speaking of that, Castaway Keyis very easy.
You basically, as far as youknow, accessing the uh beach and
the island itself, you step offthe ship and maybe five minutes.
They do have a tram, but it'sreally unless you're just
exhausted or you haveaccessibility issues, it's very
(03:45):
short walk and you don'tnecessarily need it.
The tram stops at Suttles Cove,which is a kids' area, Pelican
Point, where there's family,beaches, food, and Serenity Bay,
that's where it's 18 plus.
But everything is definitelywalkable.
It doesn't feel like it's superfar away.
SPEAKER_00 (04:06):
On lookout, I just spread out a little more.
After the long pier, tramcarries you to Maprika Cove,
which is like the welcome hub orthe family cabana check-in, and
then the family beach zone withpavilions like the True True
Barbecue, the Play PlayPavilion, and further along to
Serenity Bay, which is again the18 plus area.
(04:26):
It's beautiful, but distancesare greater than Castaway.
Oftentimes I hear people whohave like a cabana don't even go
to the other side because it's ahike.
SPEAKER_01 (04:36):
And when you get off at Castaway Key, you're
basically pretty much rightthere.
Like maybe five-minute walk tothe first section where chairs
and stuff.
You obviously can continue towalk more into back into the
island and to other things, butto get to the first area,
basically the food is to theright, and then you have chairs
and things to the left.
It's like five minutes forlookout.
(04:59):
It's a half a mile pier, so it'sa little bit of a hike.
And then you have a tram ridethat's depending on if you have
to wait for another tram.
We didn't have to.
I think some of that was becauseit wasn't the greatest weather,
but um, it's still like five toten minute tram to where the
beaches are.
One of the things that wasextremely noticeable is the
(05:22):
shade.
I don't think that there's aspot, except for basically out
in the water on Castaway Keythat doesn't have shade.
Like everything is shaded,whether it's with umbrellas or
trees or both.
There's basically shadeeverywhere.
And on Lighthouse, it was so hotbecause there was no, there was
(05:47):
really no shade.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Disney has stated multiple times that Lookout Key
will gain natural shade overtime as the native plants
mature, confirming that shade isexpected to increase gradually,
but right now it is noticeablylimited.
It's still just a babyvegetation, whereas castaways
had 25 years to mature and growand gain that natural shade.
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
Yeah.
It makes it all the moreimportant that you're hydrated.
And I think a lot of times whatI've seen, and honestly, we kind
of did something similar.
I've also seen that people willgo early in the morning to look
out because it gets so hot, goearly and then have lunch, and
then basically go back to theship, or maybe even go back to
(06:32):
the ship for lunch as well.
Just spend the day out on thebeach or doing things out on the
island first thing in themorning while it's not quite so
hot.
But I think you could spend allday just lounging in a chair on
Castaway underneath an umbrellaand underneath a tree, or in a
hammock underneath the tree.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
So let's talk food.
First, we're gonna talk aboutthe food on Castaway.
So it's a barbecue lunch.
It's included with your cruisefare.
The buffet style barbecuerestaurant is cookies, barbecue,
cookies to barbecue and on thefamily beach and Serenity Bay
barbecue on the adult-onlybeach.
It serves your burgers, your hotdogs, your ribs, grilled
(07:14):
chicken, fresh fruit, salads,corn on the cob, that kind of
thing.
The hours are generally around11:30 to 2 or 2:30 for lunch
service.
Remember, there's no breakfaston the island.
Get that on the ship.
The adult-only barbecue alsosometimes offers extra items
like a steak or mahi-mahi thatthe family areas may not see.
(07:36):
My favorite soda fountains,self-served drinking stations
are available on the island.
You can get your water, yoursoda, Vyduan water, or Power Aid
stations on Castaway, just likeon the ship or in the parks.
Soft serve ice cream isincluded, and it is the standard
for Disney cruises.
While lunch is included, othersnack items like pre-packaged
(07:57):
snacks may need to be brought orpurchased.
Basically, if you need snacks, Iwould try and bring them from
the ship.
Like take a little thing ofcereal from the buffet.
The main cruise line policy onboard and on the island for the
adult beverages or bars.
There are many on island.
(08:18):
For example, the conched outbar, the sand bar, the heads-up
bar on the family beach, and thecastaway air bar on Serenity
Bay.
The bar serve frozen specialtydrinks, cocktails, beer.
These are an extra cost, justlike they are on the ship.
And then you can have a beachwaiter service on the family
beach, and you can have yourdrinks delivered to your lounge
(08:40):
chair.
You just give them your roomnumber and your name, and then
they'll add it to your account.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
And they are constantly like circling,
they're constantly like walkingaround asking if you need
anything.
So you really don't have to getup and go find them.
I mean, we were there severalhours on Castaway, and I we
probably were asked five or sixtimes.
And I did not feel at all likethey were overbearing or they
were being pushy or hovering oranything.
(09:06):
They were just walking by, youknow, and they would just walk
through and say, hey, you know,do you need anything?
And we never ordered anything,but it was very easy to do so if
you needed something.
So moving over to Lookout Key,similar to Castaway, they have
barbecue lunch.
There are three main spots (09:22):
True True Barbecue, True True 2
Barbecue, and the adults-onlySerenity Bay barbecue.
So it's a very similar fare.
They do have a little bit moreBahamian-inspired dishes, such
as Bahamian pigeon peas andrice, grilled snapper, marinated
(09:44):
limestyle plant-based islandcurry, etc., things like that.
But they also have like thetypical ribs, burgers,
rotisserie chicken, similar towhat's at Castaway.
They do have covered seating inthe pavilions.
So that was nice.
That was at least a little bitof shade on that particular
island.
They also have the soft drinkstations and soft serve as well.
(10:08):
They have a couple of differentnon-alcoholic beverages at
multiple venues, such asmangroves and go.
Similarly, if you want snacks,you really need to bring them
because they don't have anythingoutside of their lunch for the
most part.
And then they have the adultbeverages as well.
They have mangroves and go, bluehole bar, bow and ribbon bar,
(10:33):
watering hole, reef and rec bar,and sensational smoothies.
The signature cocktail is theEleuthra Euphoria.
It has premium aged rum,pineapple smoothie, and dull
whip.
I did not have one of these,though.
It sounds really good.
I don't know if you guysremember, but our day at Lookout
was a little um chaotic.
So we probably didn't experiencesome of those like fun things
(10:57):
like the signature drink.
We didn't really get to do thatas much.
But for the most part, the foodis very similar.
They have the same barbecue-ishtype food.
They have the soft serve, theyhave the bar options for adult
beverages, and then they havethe soda, basically unlimited
soda refills, which is reallynice.
(11:18):
And they do have water at thesoda refill station.
So you don't have to buy bottledwater.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
All right, let's talk about cabanas.
Castaway K offers family cabanasalong the family beach and
additional cabanas at SerenityBay.
Accounts and the pricing canvary just as a sample pricing
for the cabanas at the familybeach.
They are about$900 to$1,000 forup to six guests.
(11:46):
You can add up to 10 totalguests, and you're going to be
about$50 to$60 per extra person,ages three and above.
At the family grand cabanas,you're looking at$1,200 to$1,400
for up to 10 guests, or you canadd up to$16 at$50 to$60 per
guest.
And then the Serenity Bay area,you're looking at five to six
(12:10):
hundred dollars for up to fouradults, and then add up to 10
with the same$50 to$60 perperson.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So moving over to Lookout Key, the pricing is very
similar.
It's pretty much the same forthe most part.
When you're looking at thedifferent types of cabanas and
adding on extra guests, the oneof the biggest differences is
that the cabanas are in acompletely separate area from
where most everything is.
(12:39):
So where the shopping and wherethe main family beach is, where
the food is, where the culturalcenter is, all of those things,
if there's any entertainment,it's basically in a completely
separate space.
Most people that get a cabana onLookout Key pretty much stay in
their cabana for most of the daybecause it's just a lot to go
(13:00):
back and forth.
So if you're going to do anyshopping, or maybe if you wanted
to see a particular show orsomething, you may want to start
there and then go to the cabanaor go to the cabana and then
time it where you're coming backand you're leaving where you can
do some of those activities.
So just to round up the pricing,the Family Beach cabanas or
(13:21):
Mabrika Cove, again, they'reabout the same as Castaway.
It's 900 to 1,000-ish dollarsfor six guests.
And then if you want to, you canadd up to 10 guests.
And when you add on each guest,it's$50 to$60 per extra guest.
The grand family cabanas, theyare like$1,200 to$1,400 for up
(13:43):
to 10 guests.
You do have the ability to addup to$1,600.
And that again is like$50 to$60per extra guest that you add on.
In the Serenity Bay, which isthe adults-only area cabanas,
those are like five to sixhundred dollars for up to four
adults.
And similarly, it's a$50 to$60per extra guest if you want to
(14:05):
add up to 10.
They do also have a grandserenity cabana for the
adult-only area.
That is closer to$1,000 for upto 10 adults.
But all of these are extremelydifficult to get.
Like Crystal said, if you are afirst-time cruiser, your success
(14:25):
is going to be based on yourcastaway club status.
For concierge guests, they areable to book.
You're basically able to bookwhenever everything else opens
up for port adventures.
That's whenever you have theability to book a cabana.
For concierge, that's at 125days.
For platinum, it's 120 days.
(14:47):
For gold, it's 105 days.
For silver, it's 90 days.
And then for first-timecruisers, it's 75 days.
So basically, for concierge andplatinum, you have a pretty good
likelihood of getting a cabana,especially if you log on at
midnight and you're ready to goas soon as your window opens,
you're going to probably get thecabana.
(15:08):
For gold and silver, theirs arelow.
They're pretty low.
It kind of drops off afterplatinum.
It doesn't mean that you can't,but for the most part, you're
probably not going to get one.
And for first-time cruisers, youpretty much just don't think
that you're getting a cabana.
SPEAKER_00 (15:27):
Like you're probably not getting one.
Never say never because if it'slike an older ship that has less
concierge state rooms, you canalways be waitlisted and you
might look out.
I've heard of that happening,but it's very rare.
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
You just have to stalk the app.
Definitely be on as soon as yourwindow opens up.
You know, you never know, likeCrystal said, maybe it pops up.
But if you log on when yourwindow opens at midnight and
there's nothing available, thenjust continue to stock the app
between the time your windowopens and the time you're
sailing.
You may potentially getsomething.
(16:03):
I didn't even try to get one,even though I mean I was a
first-time cruiser for Disney,but I didn't try to get one
because it was like a thousanddollars.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
I'm true to like a sailing like yours that hits
both islands, if you'd have agreater chance because doubt
everybody's gonna get one atboth stops, maybe one or the
other.
SPEAKER_01 (16:26):
So you have like double the likelihood.
Um, I actually do thinksomething at one point did pop
up, but like I said, it was likeI'm pretty sure it was like
twelve hundred dollars.
Whatever one it was, it wastwelve hundred dollars.
And that just wasn't in ourbudget to do something like
that.
Although it would have beenreally nice, especially on I
could see be castaway for sure,having a cabana is probably the
(16:48):
way to go if you have thebudget.
SPEAKER_00 (16:50):
Sit there and have them bring your lunch to you.
You can get sand toys for thekids.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And you have the shade until itgets until that shade grows up,
vegetation, that naturalvegetation grows up and there's
more shade, the cabanas have tobe amazing because you're not
sitting out roasting in the sun.
Speaking of excursions, so wejust talked about when your
excursion window opens.
We kind of talked about this, Ibelieve, when we did my kind of
(17:15):
trip wrap-up, but Castaway Keyhas a lot more of the excursions
like the Stingray Adventure,Parasailing, snorkeling, those
kinds of things.
And they also have the 5K thatis official, and you do get a
medal if you run the CastawayKey 5K.
(17:39):
They also have bike rentals, youknow, that kind of thing.
Lookout is more geared towardsnature, also has bikes, kayaks,
nature walks, that it has a lotof cultural themed tours on the
island.
They also have a path for the5k, but it is not official.
(18:00):
So if you run the 5K on thatisland, do not expect a medal
because my mom was sorelydisappointed that she ran it and
when she finished, there was nomedal.
And it's because it's notactually official yet.
SPEAKER_00 (18:15):
I know she's not the only one.
Avid Castaway runners have beenupset because it keeps saying
it's like it's coming, it'scoming, but yeah, she was quite
salty for good reason.
All right, let's talk about someof the entertainment aspects,
some of the highlights atCastaway.
You have the pelican plunge,it's the floating slides and
(18:35):
splash feature.
You have to swim out and climbup.
Probably not best for thetoddlers, maybe older kids and
adults.
There is the Spring Leak splashpad, it's freshwater for those
littles.
And then you also have ScuttlesCove, it's a supervised kids'
area.
You have your teen hideout andin the shade games pavilion,
then frequent character meet andgreets in their tropical
(18:57):
outfits, and then you have yourlike famous Mount Rustmore.
Yeah.
These picture ops.
You can't miss that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:05):
I don't know why we didn't see any characters.
And we, I mean, we obviouslywent right, we were right there,
and I just never saw any, ormaybe I just wasn't paying
attention.
I have no idea, but we did notsee.
We saw people taking pictures atthe Mount Rust Moor, but not any
characters.
SPEAKER_00 (19:21):
That's a bimmer.
SPEAKER_01 (19:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
Such cute outfits.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yeah.
Lookout key.
You have probably noticedthere's a lot more of the
Bahamian culture in the thingsthat they do.
So they have the culturalheartbeat rush, a junkanoo
celebration at the GoombayCultural Center.
They also have, when they're notdoing that, they have at the
Goombay Cultural Center, theyhave activities pretty much all
(19:45):
day for the kids to do.
It's kind of like a giganticgazebo area.
And if you've seen any of thereels or you know, videos of the
island, like that's where you'llsee the dancers to make better
outfits on.
Yeah, yeah.
They have Disney Fun in the Sun,Beach Bash with games at the
Play Play Pavilion.
They also have Rush Out, GushOut, family water play area with
(20:08):
slides and sprays, and thenSebastian's Cove for Littles
with, and they do have youthcounselors there.
And then, of course, they havethe beach area.
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
Let's talk about my favorite thing, Chapin.
On Castaway, you have yourclassic island merch at she
sells sea shells.
Sorry.
That's so rude of them to callit that.
And everything else is what it'scalled.
And by the seashore.
Lookout K, they blend Disneysouvenirs with local artisans at
(20:40):
Disney Kings and Treasures ofEleuthra, gray for culturally
grounded keepsakes.
I've been eyeing their littlegrass bags with the Disney
characters on them.
SPEAKER_01 (20:51):
Oh, you should have told me.
I would have could have gottenyou one.
Ease of access.
I don't want to say that Lookoutis not accessible because it is.
They have options.
They have a golf cart that willtake you down the pier if you
need it.
But for sure, Castaway has isbetter.
Like if you're looking forsomething that's more accessible
and not quite as um, it's not ashard to get from place to place
(21:15):
in castaway.
It's literally right off theboat.
And then look out, it's justprobably 15-20 minutes to get to
where the beach is or to whereall the things are.
SPEAKER_00 (21:27):
So if we had to pick by traveler type, families with
small kids, probably castaway iseasier just because strollers
and little legs, pelican plunge.
You have spring leak, quick foodaccess, lookout caves, fantastic
too.
Just plan for the long pier andtram time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:44):
And they do actually have little wagons that they
line up when you get off theship at lookout because they
probably learned the hard way.
That they they needed them forpeople that have little kids
that are not going to be able todeal with the half-mile trek
across the pier.
For culture seekers andphotographers, Lookout K for
(22:07):
sure, the colors of the Jicanooshow, the architecture of the
whole space, and then also youhave the lighthouse itself and
the nature trails that arebeautiful.
And you know, once thevegetation grows back up, it's
really going to be a nice spotfor everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (22:24):
For adults who want quiet, since both islands have
Serenity Bay with adult cabanasand barbecue, Castaway is
simpler to reach, but Lookouthas stunning beach scapes, a
pink sand, a little bit moresecluded feel if you go deeper
into the adult area.
So you probably can't go wrongwith either one.
SPEAKER_01 (22:41):
And I would agree that Lookout probably is a
little bit more secluded feel.
And that's a pop that's apositive for somebody that's
looking for that seclusion.
It's just for people that arelooking for the convenience of
everything being close together,it's not as much.
For activity junkies, Castawaystill has the upper hand when it
(23:02):
comes to just classic watersports and port adventures, plus
it has the 5k that I where youactually get the medal.
Lookout offers the more likenatural trails and things.
SPEAKER_00 (23:16):
Some tips for both islands.
If you are looking for chairsand fade, the farther you walk
down the beach, the more openumbrellas you'll find.
Most people grab the first onesthat they find.
So the close ones are usuallytaken first.
SPEAKER_01 (23:29):
For food allergies, I didn't really speak a lot
about this episode, but I havein previous ones, you can
pre-order your food from theship.
So your dining team that youhave the entire time you're on
the ship every night, you canpre-order your lunch for the
next day if you're going to beon a Disney island.
But if you don't, you still havethe option to go.
(23:51):
There's a specific section whereyou go to order your food if you
want to order something from anallergy menu.
It just makes it very convenientfor you to be able to just walk
up and say, hey, my name is suchand such, and I was in room XYZ,
and they already have it readyand they start your order for
you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
We already mentioned this with cabanas, but book as
soon as possible when yourwindow opens, making sure you're
paid in full by the time yourwindow opens, we'll ensure that
and just make sure you have allyour documents and everything
uploaded so you're not missingout.
SPEAKER_01 (24:19):
For lookout key, plan to get off the boat earlier
and spend the morning while it'snot as hot.
And because of the distance,just make sure that you're
hydrated and you're prepared forthe half mile walk.
If you do have accessibilityissues, you just need to make
sure that someone is aware sothey can take you on the golf
cart instead.
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
So to kind of wrap it all up, if you want maximum
convenience in a classic DisneyBeach Day, choose Castaway.
SPEAKER_01 (24:47):
If you're looking for more Bahanian culture and
something that's kind of new andfresh, and you don't mind the
longer trek to where all of theaction is, then you would be
happy with Lookout Key.
We would love to hear yourexperiences if you have visited
one or both of these islands.
(25:08):
From my perspective, based on myexperience, which I, you know,
obviously I always throw thatout as a caveat.
This is my experience.
Not everybody has the sameexperience.
And I do want to do this againso that I can, I'm hoping to
have a better experience atLookout, but I'm for sure Team
Castaway.
It just seems like even if wehad not had bad weather and had
some of the chaos, I still thinkCastaway just felt like more of
(25:32):
our vibe in general, or my vibeat least.
And but we would love to hearyour opinion on what your
experience has been.
And if you have not experiencedeither one, we would love to
make that happen for you and getyou booked on a cruise and get
these two islands on youritinerary.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
You really can't go wrong with either one.
I'm excited that Disney isexpanding their islands and
giving us more options.
SPEAKER_01 (25:57):
Thank you so much for listening, everybody.
We hope you have a phenomenalweek.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Bye.
SPEAKER_01 (26:13):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Wonderlust
and Wishes.
SPEAKER_00 (26:17):
If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to
subscribe and leave us a reviewon your favorite podcast
platform.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting
to be explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
Welcome to Wonderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
SPEAKER_01 (00:06):
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to episode 78 of WonderLust and Wishes.
Today we're going to talkthrough Disney's private islands
to do a little head-to-headcomparison of Castaway Key and
(00:45):
the newer island lookout key atLighthouse Point.
What we wanted to do with thisepisode is we're hoping to go
through the ins and outs of bothof the islands so that when you
are looking at itineraries foror for a Disney cruise, if it
has one or the other, which onemight be the better one for you
and either your family or yourgroup that's going on the
(01:07):
cruise?
Because there are definitelysome key differences, no pun
intended, to both of theseislands.
So just to start out, um, we'regoing to talk about the basics.
Castaway Key was opened wheneverDisney cruise line first opened.
It opened in 1998 and it's aroughly a thousand acres of
(01:31):
land.
SPEAKER_00 (01:31):
Lookout Key at Lighthouse Point, often referred
to as Lookout or LighthousePoint, whatever you want to call
it, is Disney's Eleuthradestination.
It officially welcomed its firstguest on June 10th of 2024.
Disney emphasizes Bohemianculture with daily entertainment
like Rush, a junkanoo,celebration, and Disney Fun in
(01:54):
the Sun Beach Bash.
The site encompasses a peninsulaarea, often cited to be around
seven to nine hundred acres,with Disney developing a small
fraction to preserve theenvironment.
So the biggest keys is Castawayis its own island.
Lookout point is just a portionof an already booming island
(02:21):
that people live and work thereall the time.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
The other thing is that if you're a cruiser, you
know that a lot of times whenyou go to other ports, that
there will be multiple shipsthat dock on a certain day.
With these islands, the capacityis one ship.
So Disney hosts one ship per dayat each destination.
(02:46):
So you're only going to besharing the space with your own
ship.
You're not going to be sharingit with another Disney ship or
another another cruise line atall.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
Another point is the ease of access.
Both destinations have piers.
You walk off the ship.
There's no tendering.
So tendering kind of gets a badrap, especially if you have any
accessibility issues.
Um at Castaway, it's a shortwalk to the tram and it look out
K.
It's been a hot topic.
There's a long peer walk, it'sabout a half a mile to the
(03:17):
welcome area.
And then you tram or bus to thebeaches from there.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
It's definitely a lot longer.
Speaking of that, Castaway Keyis very easy.
You basically, as far as youknow, accessing the uh beach and
the island itself, you step offthe ship and maybe five minutes.
They do have a tram, but it'sreally unless you're just
exhausted or you haveaccessibility issues, it's very
(03:45):
short walk and you don'tnecessarily need it.
The tram stops at Suttles Cove,which is a kids' area, Pelican
Point, where there's family,beaches, food, and Serenity Bay,
that's where it's 18 plus.
But everything is definitelywalkable.
It doesn't feel like it's superfar away.
SPEAKER_00 (04:06):
On lookout, I just spread out a little more.
After the long pier, tramcarries you to Maprika Cove,
which is like the welcome hub orthe family cabana check-in, and
then the family beach zone withpavilions like the True True
Barbecue, the Play PlayPavilion, and further along to
Serenity Bay, which is again the18 plus area.
(04:26):
It's beautiful, but distancesare greater than Castaway.
Oftentimes I hear people whohave like a cabana don't even go
to the other side because it's ahike.
SPEAKER_01 (04:36):
And when you get off at Castaway Key, you're
basically pretty much rightthere.
Like maybe five-minute walk tothe first section where chairs
and stuff.
You obviously can continue towalk more into back into the
island and to other things, butto get to the first area,
basically the food is to theright, and then you have chairs
and things to the left.
It's like five minutes forlookout.
(04:59):
It's a half a mile pier, so it'sa little bit of a hike.
And then you have a tram ridethat's depending on if you have
to wait for another tram.
We didn't have to.
I think some of that was becauseit wasn't the greatest weather,
but um, it's still like five toten minute tram to where the
beaches are.
One of the things that wasextremely noticeable is the
(05:22):
shade.
I don't think that there's aspot, except for basically out
in the water on Castaway Keythat doesn't have shade.
Like everything is shaded,whether it's with umbrellas or
trees or both.
There's basically shadeeverywhere.
And on Lighthouse, it was so hotbecause there was no, there was
(05:47):
really no shade.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Disney has stated multiple times that Lookout Key
will gain natural shade overtime as the native plants
mature, confirming that shade isexpected to increase gradually,
but right now it is noticeablylimited.
It's still just a babyvegetation, whereas castaways
had 25 years to mature and growand gain that natural shade.
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
Yeah.
It makes it all the moreimportant that you're hydrated.
And I think a lot of times whatI've seen, and honestly, we kind
of did something similar.
I've also seen that people willgo early in the morning to look
out because it gets so hot, goearly and then have lunch, and
then basically go back to theship, or maybe even go back to
(06:32):
the ship for lunch as well.
Just spend the day out on thebeach or doing things out on the
island first thing in themorning while it's not quite so
hot.
But I think you could spend allday just lounging in a chair on
Castaway underneath an umbrellaand underneath a tree, or in a
hammock underneath the tree.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
So let's talk food.
First, we're gonna talk aboutthe food on Castaway.
So it's a barbecue lunch.
It's included with your cruisefare.
The buffet style barbecuerestaurant is cookies, barbecue,
cookies to barbecue and on thefamily beach and Serenity Bay
barbecue on the adult-onlybeach.
It serves your burgers, your hotdogs, your ribs, grilled
(07:14):
chicken, fresh fruit, salads,corn on the cob, that kind of
thing.
The hours are generally around11:30 to 2 or 2:30 for lunch
service.
Remember, there's no breakfaston the island.
Get that on the ship.
The adult-only barbecue alsosometimes offers extra items
like a steak or mahi-mahi thatthe family areas may not see.
(07:36):
My favorite soda fountains,self-served drinking stations
are available on the island.
You can get your water, yoursoda, Vyduan water, or Power Aid
stations on Castaway, just likeon the ship or in the parks.
Soft serve ice cream isincluded, and it is the standard
for Disney cruises.
While lunch is included, othersnack items like pre-packaged
(07:57):
snacks may need to be brought orpurchased.
Basically, if you need snacks, Iwould try and bring them from
the ship.
Like take a little thing ofcereal from the buffet.
The main cruise line policy onboard and on the island for the
adult beverages or bars.
There are many on island.
(08:18):
For example, the conched outbar, the sand bar, the heads-up
bar on the family beach, and thecastaway air bar on Serenity
Bay.
The bar serve frozen specialtydrinks, cocktails, beer.
These are an extra cost, justlike they are on the ship.
And then you can have a beachwaiter service on the family
beach, and you can have yourdrinks delivered to your lounge
(08:40):
chair.
You just give them your roomnumber and your name, and then
they'll add it to your account.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
And they are constantly like circling,
they're constantly like walkingaround asking if you need
anything.
So you really don't have to getup and go find them.
I mean, we were there severalhours on Castaway, and I we
probably were asked five or sixtimes.
And I did not feel at all likethey were overbearing or they
were being pushy or hovering oranything.
(09:06):
They were just walking by, youknow, and they would just walk
through and say, hey, you know,do you need anything?
And we never ordered anything,but it was very easy to do so if
you needed something.
So moving over to Lookout Key,similar to Castaway, they have
barbecue lunch.
There are three main spots (09:22):
True True Barbecue, True True 2
Barbecue, and the adults-onlySerenity Bay barbecue.
So it's a very similar fare.
They do have a little bit moreBahamian-inspired dishes, such
as Bahamian pigeon peas andrice, grilled snapper, marinated
(09:44):
limestyle plant-based islandcurry, etc., things like that.
But they also have like thetypical ribs, burgers,
rotisserie chicken, similar towhat's at Castaway.
They do have covered seating inthe pavilions.
So that was nice.
That was at least a little bitof shade on that particular
island.
They also have the soft drinkstations and soft serve as well.
(10:08):
They have a couple of differentnon-alcoholic beverages at
multiple venues, such asmangroves and go.
Similarly, if you want snacks,you really need to bring them
because they don't have anythingoutside of their lunch for the
most part.
And then they have the adultbeverages as well.
They have mangroves and go, bluehole bar, bow and ribbon bar,
(10:33):
watering hole, reef and rec bar,and sensational smoothies.
The signature cocktail is theEleuthra Euphoria.
It has premium aged rum,pineapple smoothie, and dull
whip.
I did not have one of these,though.
It sounds really good.
I don't know if you guysremember, but our day at Lookout
was a little um chaotic.
So we probably didn't experiencesome of those like fun things
(10:57):
like the signature drink.
We didn't really get to do thatas much.
But for the most part, the foodis very similar.
They have the same barbecue-ishtype food.
They have the soft serve, theyhave the bar options for adult
beverages, and then they havethe soda, basically unlimited
soda refills, which is reallynice.
(11:18):
And they do have water at thesoda refill station.
So you don't have to buy bottledwater.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
All right, let's talk about cabanas.
Castaway K offers family cabanasalong the family beach and
additional cabanas at SerenityBay.
Accounts and the pricing canvary just as a sample pricing
for the cabanas at the familybeach.
They are about$900 to$1,000 forup to six guests.
(11:46):
You can add up to 10 totalguests, and you're going to be
about$50 to$60 per extra person,ages three and above.
At the family grand cabanas,you're looking at$1,200 to$1,400
for up to 10 guests, or you canadd up to$16 at$50 to$60 per
guest.
And then the Serenity Bay area,you're looking at five to six
(12:10):
hundred dollars for up to fouradults, and then add up to 10
with the same$50 to$60 perperson.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So moving over to Lookout Key, the pricing is very
similar.
It's pretty much the same forthe most part.
When you're looking at thedifferent types of cabanas and
adding on extra guests, the oneof the biggest differences is
that the cabanas are in acompletely separate area from
where most everything is.
(12:39):
So where the shopping and wherethe main family beach is, where
the food is, where the culturalcenter is, all of those things,
if there's any entertainment,it's basically in a completely
separate space.
Most people that get a cabana onLookout Key pretty much stay in
their cabana for most of the daybecause it's just a lot to go
(13:00):
back and forth.
So if you're going to do anyshopping, or maybe if you wanted
to see a particular show orsomething, you may want to start
there and then go to the cabanaor go to the cabana and then
time it where you're coming backand you're leaving where you can
do some of those activities.
So just to round up the pricing,the Family Beach cabanas or
(13:21):
Mabrika Cove, again, they'reabout the same as Castaway.
It's 900 to 1,000-ish dollarsfor six guests.
And then if you want to, you canadd up to 10 guests.
And when you add on each guest,it's$50 to$60 per extra guest.
The grand family cabanas, theyare like$1,200 to$1,400 for up
(13:43):
to 10 guests.
You do have the ability to addup to$1,600.
And that again is like$50 to$60per extra guest that you add on.
In the Serenity Bay, which isthe adults-only area cabanas,
those are like five to sixhundred dollars for up to four
adults.
And similarly, it's a$50 to$60per extra guest if you want to
(14:05):
add up to 10.
They do also have a grandserenity cabana for the
adult-only area.
That is closer to$1,000 for upto 10 adults.
But all of these are extremelydifficult to get.
Like Crystal said, if you are afirst-time cruiser, your success
(14:25):
is going to be based on yourcastaway club status.
For concierge guests, they areable to book.
You're basically able to bookwhenever everything else opens
up for port adventures.
That's whenever you have theability to book a cabana.
For concierge, that's at 125days.
For platinum, it's 120 days.
(14:47):
For gold, it's 105 days.
For silver, it's 90 days.
And then for first-timecruisers, it's 75 days.
So basically, for concierge andplatinum, you have a pretty good
likelihood of getting a cabana,especially if you log on at
midnight and you're ready to goas soon as your window opens,
you're going to probably get thecabana.
(15:08):
For gold and silver, theirs arelow.
They're pretty low.
It kind of drops off afterplatinum.
It doesn't mean that you can't,but for the most part, you're
probably not going to get one.
And for first-time cruisers, youpretty much just don't think
that you're getting a cabana.
SPEAKER_00 (15:27):
Like you're probably not getting one.
Never say never because if it'slike an older ship that has less
concierge state rooms, you canalways be waitlisted and you
might look out.
I've heard of that happening,but it's very rare.
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
You just have to stalk the app.
Definitely be on as soon as yourwindow opens up.
You know, you never know, likeCrystal said, maybe it pops up.
But if you log on when yourwindow opens at midnight and
there's nothing available, thenjust continue to stock the app
between the time your windowopens and the time you're
sailing.
You may potentially getsomething.
(16:03):
I didn't even try to get one,even though I mean I was a
first-time cruiser for Disney,but I didn't try to get one
because it was like a thousanddollars.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
I'm true to like a sailing like yours that hits
both islands, if you'd have agreater chance because doubt
everybody's gonna get one atboth stops, maybe one or the
other.
SPEAKER_01 (16:26):
So you have like double the likelihood.
Um, I actually do thinksomething at one point did pop
up, but like I said, it was likeI'm pretty sure it was like
twelve hundred dollars.
Whatever one it was, it wastwelve hundred dollars.
And that just wasn't in ourbudget to do something like
that.
Although it would have beenreally nice, especially on I
could see be castaway for sure,having a cabana is probably the
(16:48):
way to go if you have thebudget.
SPEAKER_00 (16:50):
Sit there and have them bring your lunch to you.
You can get sand toys for thekids.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And you have the shade until itgets until that shade grows up,
vegetation, that naturalvegetation grows up and there's
more shade, the cabanas have tobe amazing because you're not
sitting out roasting in the sun.
Speaking of excursions, so wejust talked about when your
excursion window opens.
We kind of talked about this, Ibelieve, when we did my kind of
(17:15):
trip wrap-up, but Castaway Keyhas a lot more of the excursions
like the Stingray Adventure,Parasailing, snorkeling, those
kinds of things.
And they also have the 5K thatis official, and you do get a
medal if you run the CastawayKey 5K.
(17:39):
They also have bike rentals, youknow, that kind of thing.
Lookout is more geared towardsnature, also has bikes, kayaks,
nature walks, that it has a lotof cultural themed tours on the
island.
They also have a path for the5k, but it is not official.
(18:00):
So if you run the 5K on thatisland, do not expect a medal
because my mom was sorelydisappointed that she ran it and
when she finished, there was nomedal.
And it's because it's notactually official yet.
SPEAKER_00 (18:15):
I know she's not the only one.
Avid Castaway runners have beenupset because it keeps saying
it's like it's coming, it'scoming, but yeah, she was quite
salty for good reason.
All right, let's talk about someof the entertainment aspects,
some of the highlights atCastaway.
You have the pelican plunge,it's the floating slides and
(18:35):
splash feature.
You have to swim out and climbup.
Probably not best for thetoddlers, maybe older kids and
adults.
There is the Spring Leak splashpad, it's freshwater for those
littles.
And then you also have ScuttlesCove, it's a supervised kids'
area.
You have your teen hideout andin the shade games pavilion,
then frequent character meet andgreets in their tropical
(18:57):
outfits, and then you have yourlike famous Mount Rustmore.
Yeah.
These picture ops.
You can't miss that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:05):
I don't know why we didn't see any characters.
And we, I mean, we obviouslywent right, we were right there,
and I just never saw any, ormaybe I just wasn't paying
attention.
I have no idea, but we did notsee.
We saw people taking pictures atthe Mount Rust Moor, but not any
characters.
SPEAKER_00 (19:21):
That's a bimmer.
SPEAKER_01 (19:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
Such cute outfits.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yeah.
Lookout key.
You have probably noticedthere's a lot more of the
Bahamian culture in the thingsthat they do.
So they have the culturalheartbeat rush, a junkanoo
celebration at the GoombayCultural Center.
They also have, when they're notdoing that, they have at the
Goombay Cultural Center, theyhave activities pretty much all
(19:45):
day for the kids to do.
It's kind of like a giganticgazebo area.
And if you've seen any of thereels or you know, videos of the
island, like that's where you'llsee the dancers to make better
outfits on.
Yeah, yeah.
They have Disney Fun in the Sun,Beach Bash with games at the
Play Play Pavilion.
They also have Rush Out, GushOut, family water play area with
(20:08):
slides and sprays, and thenSebastian's Cove for Littles
with, and they do have youthcounselors there.
And then, of course, they havethe beach area.
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
Let's talk about my favorite thing, Chapin.
On Castaway, you have yourclassic island merch at she
sells sea shells.
Sorry.
That's so rude of them to callit that.
And everything else is what it'scalled.
And by the seashore.
Lookout K, they blend Disneysouvenirs with local artisans at
(20:40):
Disney Kings and Treasures ofEleuthra, gray for culturally
grounded keepsakes.
I've been eyeing their littlegrass bags with the Disney
characters on them.
SPEAKER_01 (20:51):
Oh, you should have told me.
I would have could have gottenyou one.
Ease of access.
I don't want to say that Lookoutis not accessible because it is.
They have options.
They have a golf cart that willtake you down the pier if you
need it.
But for sure, Castaway has isbetter.
Like if you're looking forsomething that's more accessible
and not quite as um, it's not ashard to get from place to place
(21:15):
in castaway.
It's literally right off theboat.
And then look out, it's justprobably 15-20 minutes to get to
where the beach is or to whereall the things are.
SPEAKER_00 (21:27):
So if we had to pick by traveler type, families with
small kids, probably castaway iseasier just because strollers
and little legs, pelican plunge.
You have spring leak, quick foodaccess, lookout caves, fantastic
too.
Just plan for the long pier andtram time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:44):
And they do actually have little wagons that they
line up when you get off theship at lookout because they
probably learned the hard way.
That they they needed them forpeople that have little kids
that are not going to be able todeal with the half-mile trek
across the pier.
For culture seekers andphotographers, Lookout K for
(22:07):
sure, the colors of the Jicanooshow, the architecture of the
whole space, and then also youhave the lighthouse itself and
the nature trails that arebeautiful.
And you know, once thevegetation grows back up, it's
really going to be a nice spotfor everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (22:24):
For adults who want quiet, since both islands have
Serenity Bay with adult cabanasand barbecue, Castaway is
simpler to reach, but Lookouthas stunning beach scapes, a
pink sand, a little bit moresecluded feel if you go deeper
into the adult area.
So you probably can't go wrongwith either one.
SPEAKER_01 (22:41):
And I would agree that Lookout probably is a
little bit more secluded feel.
And that's a pop that's apositive for somebody that's
looking for that seclusion.
It's just for people that arelooking for the convenience of
everything being close together,it's not as much.
For activity junkies, Castawaystill has the upper hand when it
(23:02):
comes to just classic watersports and port adventures, plus
it has the 5k that I where youactually get the medal.
Lookout offers the more likenatural trails and things.
SPEAKER_00 (23:16):
Some tips for both islands.
If you are looking for chairsand fade, the farther you walk
down the beach, the more openumbrellas you'll find.
Most people grab the first onesthat they find.
So the close ones are usuallytaken first.
SPEAKER_01 (23:29):
For food allergies, I didn't really speak a lot
about this episode, but I havein previous ones, you can
pre-order your food from theship.
So your dining team that youhave the entire time you're on
the ship every night, you canpre-order your lunch for the
next day if you're going to beon a Disney island.
But if you don't, you still havethe option to go.
(23:51):
There's a specific section whereyou go to order your food if you
want to order something from anallergy menu.
It just makes it very convenientfor you to be able to just walk
up and say, hey, my name is suchand such, and I was in room XYZ,
and they already have it readyand they start your order for
you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
We already mentioned this with cabanas, but book as
soon as possible when yourwindow opens, making sure you're
paid in full by the time yourwindow opens, we'll ensure that
and just make sure you have allyour documents and everything
uploaded so you're not missingout.
SPEAKER_01 (24:19):
For lookout key, plan to get off the boat earlier
and spend the morning while it'snot as hot.
And because of the distance,just make sure that you're
hydrated and you're prepared forthe half mile walk.
If you do have accessibilityissues, you just need to make
sure that someone is aware sothey can take you on the golf
cart instead.
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
So to kind of wrap it all up, if you want maximum
convenience in a classic DisneyBeach Day, choose Castaway.
SPEAKER_01 (24:47):
If you're looking for more Bahanian culture and
something that's kind of new andfresh, and you don't mind the
longer trek to where all of theaction is, then you would be
happy with Lookout Key.
We would love to hear yourexperiences if you have visited
one or both of these islands.
(25:08):
From my perspective, based on myexperience, which I, you know,
obviously I always throw thatout as a caveat.
This is my experience.
Not everybody has the sameexperience.
And I do want to do this againso that I can, I'm hoping to
have a better experience atLookout, but I'm for sure Team
Castaway.
It just seems like even if wehad not had bad weather and had
some of the chaos, I still thinkCastaway just felt like more of
(25:32):
our vibe in general, or my vibeat least.
And but we would love to hearyour opinion on what your
experience has been.
And if you have not experiencedeither one, we would love to
make that happen for you and getyou booked on a cruise and get
these two islands on youritinerary.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
You really can't go wrong with either one.
I'm excited that Disney isexpanding their islands and
giving us more options.
SPEAKER_01 (25:57):
Thank you so much for listening, everybody.
We hope you have a phenomenalweek.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Bye.
SPEAKER_01 (26:13):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Wonderlust
and Wishes.
SPEAKER_00 (26:17):
If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to
subscribe and leave us a reviewon your favorite podcast
platform.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting
to be explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
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