My biggest regret of the whole thing was accidentally picking the cruise that included Daylight Savings Time, and I never regretted it more than getting up to run the Castaway Cay 5K. I actually did my best to sneak, and get ready without waking Jay, because I was going to let him sleep, but he woke up and insisted on coming with me. We packed our swim suits in a bag and off we went, very late. We met up with Melanie, Scott, and my Mom, who were also very late. All the other runners were gone when we got to the start line, so we went off on our own.
Mom told us to go ahead and she’d go at her own pace. Jay, Melanie, Scott and I took off together. We stayed together as a group for the first five or ten minutes, and then Jay and I dropped our speed. Even with all the races I’ve done, Scott could run circles around me on a good day, and my only goal for today was finishing. I didn’t care how slow it was.
We passed Lauren and her dad part way through the course and we waved. You basically have to run part of the course twice, and then it doubles back on itself to the finish. That detail will be important in a minute.
Jay and I had brought our Zootopia running outfits, just because why run in anything else? I had meant to put signs on the back that covered up “hustle” so it said “It’s Called a Wedding Sweetheart”, but I ran out of time. The Cast Member at the water station absolutely loved our outfits, and pretended to be the sloth Flash every time we saw him.
In my vows, which I said the day before, I had said “I will never cross a finish line without you holding my hand again.” and I meant it. One little problem, we didn’t realize the little line in the sidewalk was the finish line. We didn’t see a finish line at all. So, we already messed that up, whoops.
Zym was there waiting to take our picture… with my mom. I don’t care how slow we were going. No way she should have finished before us.
Turns out my Mom did the most Mom thing possible. She didn’t realize the course looped back on itself. She’d even asked the Cast Members where to go, and they sent her to the finish line. So, she finished the race in record time because she accidentally cheated. I’m still laughing about it.
We hadn’t wanted to go all the way back to the boat to change, so we ducked into the nearest restrooms and changed in there. Then we went to get in line for Mickey. I had wanted to see Stitch, but he was all the way back at the boat too, and it just wasn’t worth the effort.
We wound up getting to see Mickey and then jumped right back in line for Minnie, because she was switching with him soon. Robby wandered up while we were in line, and he went with me to see Pluto, while Jay headed back to the ship to get his phone so he could contact his parents.
Robby, Mom, Zym and I headed out to try to find more of our friends, and then to try to get Jay to meet us for lunch when he was done. Reception on Castaway Cay isn’t great, so our Navigator apps were fairly delayed, and that turned into a whole ordeal. I understand the cuteness of naming your two food places “Cookies” and “Cookies Too”, but if you have people who have never been to Castaway Cay, it turns into a problem. I kept telling Jay I was at Cookies Too and he thought I meant at Cookies also, so he didn’t realize we were in two different places.
We finally managed to get a group together at Cookies Too for lunch. Jay, me, Mom, Zym, Robby, Melanie, Lacey, Tess, Patrick, Scott, and Morgan. I had wanted to eat at the Serenity Bay Barbecue because they were supposed to have steaks, but I got out voted. The food was okay. Nothing amazing, but it wasn’t bad either. We finished up and headed towards the water.
I had prepaid for the Castaway Cay Getaway Package that included float rental, snorkel equipment, and bicycle rental. I wanted to test the water before I redeemed our stuff, and I’m glad I did. IT WAS FREEZING. Zym told me to hold onto the vouchers and try going to Guest Services on the ship. Everything is marked non-refundable, but every provided excursion had been cancelled due to wind, so we had a decent chance at it. I shoved them in my bag, and dragged Jay into the water for pictures.
We didn’t even make it to our knees. It was just way too cold.
Jay headed off to meet his parents at Serenity Bay. Patrick, Scott, Tess, Morgan, Lacey and I took a bunch of pictures on the beach and with the boat.
Then I suggested heading back to the ship, on the logic the pool water would be warmer than the ocean. The Skipper Squad wanted to explore the island a little more, and my Mom, Robby, and Melanie wanted to get some sun. So, we decided to meet at the adult pool later, and Zym, Lacey and I headed for the gift shops on our way back to the boat. The Castaway Cay branded merchandise is exclusive to the island, but I couldn’t find anything I really wanted. I had seen a Castaway Cay Spirit Jersey online, but the only ones I could find on the island said Disney Cruise Line. If I was going to buy one of those, I might as well buy it on the boat.
Back to the boat we went, straight to the adult pool. It wasn’t empty, but it certainly was warmer.
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the adult pool, and with the exception of two trips to the Aquaduck. I rode once with Jay and once with my Mom. IT WAS SO COLD. It was really cool, especially the part that slows down to let you look at the ship, but it was FREEZING compared to the water in the pool.
We pretty much had the adult pool to ourselves. Malcolm and my Dad were even hanging out with us, even though they weren’t in the water. However, it wasn’t that it wasn’t crowded. People would get in, and then leave after about five minutes because we’re loud.
Oh well. I should feel bad about this, but I don’t.
I tried to go to the swim up bar at the end of the pool, even though I was shaking in the wind. I stared at the menu, but didn’t see anything I recognized, so I asked the bar tender, “What do you have that’s vodka based?”
“Vodka, not much…” Then he trailed off and took a phone call. By the time he was off the phone, I was back in the water. It was too cold to not be in the water, and I didn’t want alcohol that badly.
Fourteen people from our wedding party had a reservation at Palo at 6:00 pm. Originally it had started as just Jay and I, then the five people in the Platinum cabin were going because they got it free, then someone else asked about it, and we wound up opening it to everyone. Not everyone wanted to pay the extra $40, understandably, and it worked out so we had exactly the maximum amount of people you could have for the semi-private room at Palo. Awesome!
So, we hung out in the water until around 4:00 pm, and then Jay and I headed back to our room to start getting ready. Well, we had quite the surprise in the elevator! Mickey stepped in, holding hands with a little girl, and we got to ride the elevator with Mickey.
“Mickey, I’m so sorry, can you please turn around so I can take a picture for my Mom?”
See ya next week for Palo!
