Disney Cruise Line: Merchandise Photo Report of Castaway Cay (iPhone Cases, Shirts, Letters In a Bottle)
Earlier this week we covered the exclusive merchandise on the Disney Cruise Line, and today we will take a gander at the products on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Much like the gift shops on the Disney Wonder, it was amazing to see the wide variety of merchandise available on the island, and how much of it was actually good. I knew that I was in for a treat when the first thing I came across was the refillable mugs, and not only did they have a style similar to ones we see at the Disney resorts, but they also had plastic coconut shaped cups. Now, these coconut cups are completely impractical, as you have to separate them almost in half to put in your soda, but I absolutely loved them. There are several soda machines on the island where you can refill your mugs for free, and then you can use them on the ship as well.
There are two main gift stores on Castaway Cay selling Disney merchandise. The one closest to the boat dock is named She Sells Sea Shells…and Everything Else. As you see on the sign below, the word “Sea Shells” is crossed out. This is because the one thing you can’t bring back from any island, including Castaway Cay, is sea shells. Invariably upon returning to a ship at any port you will find a family discovering they have to give up all the shells the picked up on the beach that day. The second gift shop is located further into the island and is named Buy the Sea Shore. Pun-tastic.
While both of the gift stores carry several of the same items, there is also a wide variety of merchandise you can only get at one or the other. Buy the Sea Shore is located close to the runDisney Castaway Cay 5K starting line, and it is the only store which carries items related to that race. You do not have to have participated in the 5K to purchase the exclusive pin, shirt, or hat.
One of the items that I knew I had to have the second I saw it was the Castaway Cay letter in a bottle. You can actually mail these to your friends and family back home (which we did). Reasonably priced at $7.95, and completely unique, that’s my idea of the perfect souvenir. It also encourages you to actually hand write a note to someone, which – and trust me on this – they will truly enjoy receiving in the mail. In an age where we all receive 1,000 disposable texts and emails a day, the rare hand written note, card, or letter is more meaningful than ever.
These Castaway Cay magnets ranged between $6.95 and $7.95.
Castaway Cay iPhone cases ($34.95.)
Between Castaway Cay and the Disney Outlet Stores, I have purchased about two dozen “toothpick holders” in the last several months.
The Castaway Cay Tervis tumblers looked fantastic.
Here’s a Castaway Cay window sticker and a bottle coozie.
Castaway Cay Christmas ornament. Seeing this again, I actually regret not buying it.
This Castaway Cay collection of beach toys was $19.95.
Castaway Cay hats.
Another nice surprise on both the ship and the island was that the merchandise was similar in price to what I would expect to pay at a store in the parks, resorts, or Downtown Disney. Here is a look at some of the Castaway Cay pins available.
Next up is a whole bunch of shirts. Almost all of them cost between $21.95 and $29.95.
If anything, Stitch could have a bigger presence in the merchandise department.
This shirt features the incredible Pelican Plunge water feature on the island.
Did you really think there wouldn’t be any Frozen merch?
You gotta love this Little Mermaid shirt.
Even Castaway Cay sweatshirts for the weirdos perfectly sane people who get cold in the Bahamas.
There were a lot of Castaway Cay beach towels.
Not exclusive to Castaway Cay, but there were a whole bunch of Finding Nemo merchandise including plush and water toys.
And lastly, from the John Lasseter collection…
If you are a fan of Disney merchandise like me, be prepared to spend a good amount of money on Castaway Cay. Thank you for reading, and if you had fun, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the Pardon the Pixie Dust podcast.
Hey, I have a Castaway Cay sweatshirt…it’s not to wear there, it’s to warm my heart when I’m stuck back at home!
Great article…as they all are. 🙂 Why can’t you take the shells though? I’ve never heard of that.
I love your reports Derek. You make me laugh so much, thank you! I’m one of those weirdos who get cold at the Bahamas (been there only in October and December…). I’m definitely getting that blue sweatshirt during my next trip, no matter it’s in May 😉
Thank you for sharing. We are doing out first Disney cruise on the Fantasy in a few weeks and I think between reading this and the article on items for sale on the ship itself, I think I need to add some more money to the souvenir budget or get to Character Warehouse before we go to sneak some stuff in for the kids. The Disney outlet in Jackson, NJ used to carry some DCL stuff but now it’s primarily Disneyland.