Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay 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 for the cay from the Bahamian government, set to expire in 2096, giving the company substantial control over the guest experience on the island.Castaway Cay was the first private island in the cruise industry where the ship docks alongside so guests do not have to tender to land.The island is still largely undeveloped, as only 55 of the 1000acre are being used. Castaway Cay now has approximately 60 Disney Cruise Line permanent residents who keep the island running daily; the numbers fluctuate between the busy season and off season.HistoryGorda Cay was first settled in 1783. Gorda's airstrip (now Castaway Cay Airport) was once used as a stop in the 1930s for bootleggers then for drug runners.Gorda Cay had also been used for filming in 1983. The beach where Tom Hanks first encounters Daryl Hannah in Splash is on the island. Part of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was filmed on the island.