Castaway Bay, December 19-21, 2004

***Overall, great time...***

We (my boyfriend Dave, his parents, and I) arrived at Castaway Bay on Sunday, Dec. 19 at approximately 5 pm. First impression: WOW. The theming is all-out and in your face as soon as you walk in. When you enter the building, to the right and in front of you there is a huge model of a wrecked ship with a mermaid at the front. It's covered in tropical plants, animals, etc., and kind of gives you the impression that it was there for a while and nature is now taking over. Directly across from the entrance is a huge window overlooking the water (great view). To the left, there is a small gift shop with a palm leaf-thatched roof. If you turn down the hallway to the right, you will find stairs to the upper levels of the building and also the main desk area. The main desk has a really neat counter surface that gives the impression of shells and sand under glass. The carpet used in the hallways is beige and has a rippled-sand pattern.

A friendly employee stacked our bags on a cart and took them upstairs for us. We had room 324, which has a queen size bed in one room and two full size beds in an adjoining room (here I will note that Castaway Bay has only two connecting but separate rooms available in the entire hotel; ours was not one of them but it worked out fine). The room had a bathtub/shower, mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, dressers, and three closets. There was also a TV for each room. It was quite comfortable. Being female, I was amused to see that the rooms are stocked with Bath & Body Works products for the complimentary soaps. Someone in the General forum mentioned something about being disappointed with the lack of theming in the rooms; while there wasn't much of a "lost paradise" theme to our room at all, the colors were of an upbeat, tropical nature, but not garish enough to make it hard to relax. Certainly the room was exceptionally clean and cozy.

After we got settled in, Dave and I wandered downstairs to check out the fun. Being video game addicts, we had to investigate Crabbie's Quarterdeck Arcade. It's located to the left of the entrance to the waterpark. The theming continues there with coral-reef patterns on the carpet that glow under blacklights; it makes for a neat atmosphere. Much to our happiness, there were two DDR cabinets, and some other amusing games as well. If you have time to kill, you can easily waste it on a few games of The Fast and the Furious; I don't normally go for racing games, but for some reason that one is a blast (the cars look sweet, too). Other games include skeeball, a nifty Super Mario Brothers pinball machine, Mazan, and of course a random assortment of redemption games. The place was packed with guests having a good time; it's in a great location with windows looking out at the water park. We stuck with the DDR; look for the names Dave and Lisa on the high score chart. ^_~ The nicest thing about the arcade is the fact that the Point has finally gone modern and does away with tokens; you buy a card (reusable) that you can load with a certain number of chips, and then slide the card through a slot at whatever game you're wanting to play, just like at a Gameworks or Dave and Buster's. Just less things you have to carry around while you're wandering the hotel.

Feeling hungry, we settled on dinner at Mango Mike's, a restaurant on the first floor. At this place, you can either choose to eat at the buffet, or order from a menu of familiar Pizza Hut items (at quite reasonable prices, too). The first night we were in the mood for pizza, so we had a nice deep dish with tons of cheese and pepperoni. Excellent. A shout-out here to a waiter who is self-named "Mango Zachary"; he wasn't our waiter but his great attitude and excellent guest service were visible from everywhere in the restaurant.

After that, it was time to head for the water park. While you're at Castaway Bay, you have to wear a wristband that has an 8-digit barcode on it. This barcode is your ticket into the water park, and you can have it scanned as many times per day as you like. (Lose the wristband and it's a $15 replacement fee, but don't worry, these things are nigh indestructible -- they don't get wet and soggy, even after being attacked with soapy water in the bath, and certainly take a while to get off once the fun is through). You can rent small lockers for the entire day at the reasonable price of $8 (you receive $5 back for returning your key on time). There are also larger lockers with a slightly higher price.

The pictures on Cedar Point's website don't give the water park enough credit -- it is *that* amazing firsthand. The tiniest details are included in the theme, from a huge model of a shark hung by the tail (great photo opportunity) to the huge palm trees bending over the pools, treasure chests (for what I'm assuming is park or employee storage), models of buoys, paintings of clouds against a bright blue sky, and of course that *amazing* rock wall, which not only shows up behind the wave pool but also circles around the hot tub area as well. Check out the beautifully done wood (cedar?) ceiling as well. Very nice. The most amusing thing we discovered about the water park on the first night is that the hot tub has an outdoor extension. This leads to hilarity when you're sitting there with actual icicles growing on your hair while the rest of yourself is submerged in bathtub-temperature water.

After spending an hour or so exploring the water park (we didn't do the slides right away), we checked out the rest of the hotel. One thing I would want to point out here for guests on a budget is that snack prices are the usual Cedar Point rates (read=kinda pricey). Solution: stop at Wal-Mart or Meijer on 250 before heading in and load up on snacks and drinks for your room. However, free water and buy-one, get-one free donuts, as well as a variety of other tasty treats at reasonable prices, are available at Edd'n'Eddy's Snack Shop on the first floor.

After collapsing from an evening of amusement, we turned on the TV. Here I will note the lack of channels the hotel had to offer. I think there were less than ten, including CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel, PBS, HBO, TNT, WGN, and ESPN. There also were two hotel information channels, a games channel (pay to play), and a pay-per-view channel. I was hoping for a better selection, and kind of wondered where the kids' channels went (for parents with families).

The second day was as fun-filled as the first. We alternated between the arcade and the water park the entire day. A shout-out here to one of my favorite past Soak City Admissions employees, Nichole, who was full of smiles doing admissions for Castaway Bay. The Tropical Tube Slides (the ones that extend outside the building) are *awesome* and incredibly fast. The green one is completely dark all the way through and speeds up unexpectedly, the yellow spins you around at lightning speed, and the pink one twists and turns before a huge drop right near the end. I could spend hours on those slides alone, especially with a near walk-on wait the entire time. The best part, however, was Rendezvous Run. I haven't been on a water slide that actually scared me since that freakishly high-speed one at Disney's Blizzard Beach (sorry, the name escapes me). This thing has *two* areas where the tube drops and then rises in hill fashion, and it is lightning fast. You ride in yellow two-person tubes that look like roller coaster cars, and hold on to small black straps as you ride. The wait for our first ride was about six minutes, but I imagine it can be a bit longer at different times of the day. Any wait at all is *worth it*. You have got to get on this thing. The wave pool is also a blast; while it didn't seem as wide or as deep as the Soak City wave pool, it was still great for getting completely soaked. There are also children's areas with basketball and climbing toys, an infant/todder pool area, and of course that incredible structure with the bucket on top similar to the one at Soak City. This time, however, there's no bell warning you when it's time to get soaked...this makes for lots of laughs. Castaway Bay provides complimentary towels for guests to dry off with after all the action, but they are tiny. If you want to risk bringing your own beach towels, go for it (or just use several of the tiny ones). Check out the *huge* flat TV on the wall above the basketball area as you're lounging around. The pixels are at least as big as quarters.

After the insanity of the water park, if you want to head away from the noise but still want to soak, there is a small hotel pool separate from the water park located on the first floor down the hall to the left of Crabbie's arcade. This has a view overlooking the water and is a quiet place to swim or just relax in the hot tub.

For dinner the second night, we returned to Mango Mike's to try out the buffet. I don't know about you, but when I think of "buffet," I think of variety, perhaps Old Country Buffet-style. Sadly, this wasn't it, and I shouldn't have expected it because of the place's size. However, for approx. $13 (adult price), there should have been a but more to choose from than a garden salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, chicken soup, chicken, fish, meatballs, spaghetti, white sauce, two kinds of veggies and dessert. Not to say it wasn't tasty (because it certainly was), but I guess I was hoping for a bit more. Mango Mike's might be better to feature a different kind of menu.

A few other random things I noticed...
-- the place was decked out for Christmas: Santa sat near the entrance (in sunglasses, of course), greeting the kids, and there were beach-themed wreaths, garlands and Christmas trees about.
-- Camp Castaway, a day camp for kids with games and crafts.
-- character appearances by Snoopy and the gang (and Snoopy looks so cute in his new beach outfit).
-- daily activities aimed at kids and families: cookie and gingerbread house decorating, a dance party, family movies and storytime with Snoopy.
-- a Caribbean-themed bar (upstairs) with a view of the water for the adults.

Overall, our stay at Castaway Bay was *amazing*. There was so much for us to do (and want to re-do) that we didn't have time to get bored. It's certainly a place where the kids can come and have a blast but also where adults can have fun and find some relaxation, too. I really see it is a family-friendly place, with a little something for everyone. Our trip included two nights, one full day, and in that time, we were able to do everything we wanted without feeling rushed. I can see going two full days without getting worn out or bored; after that, a bit too much repetition might be pushing it. There were a few minor details that I've mentioned that could probably be tweaked, but hey, the place is new and I know will only get better. The employees were extremely friendly and helpful and it seems like those in charge of the various operations at Castaway Bay are really pulling out all the stops to make this place a success.

If you're tossing back and forth the idea of a vacation at Castaway Bay -- GO FOR IT. You won't be disappointed.

Nice TR, Lee! You provided usefull info for this next month visitor!

MrScott

Good review!:) And I will back you up on the body slides being some of the fastest. A Must do for anyone who goes!!

Thanks for the great review!

I'm going for my 22nd birthday on january 12-13, and with youre great desciption I am looking forward to it now more than before!

Lisa. Now. . .come on.

"Being female, I was amused to see that the rooms are stocked with Bath & Body Works products for the complimentary soaps."

Wouldn't that have been just as effective if you had said "Being conscientious of personal hygiene, I was amused to see that the rooms. . .?"

I am one male who is looking forward to the festive soap products. . .good soap and personal cleanliness is appreciated by both sexes. :)

My trip is scheduled for the first week of January!!
*** Edited 12/29/2004 11:19:49 PM UTC by LIVE ENTERTAINMENT***

Great, I'm going to smell like a flower. I can't wait! (sarcasm)

Oh dear. Didn't mean to offend any male Bath and Body Works fans with the comment about the soap. ^_~ I guess I just didn't think that many guys used Bath and Body Works stuff, I guess. Heh. The more people -- male and female -- that buy and use things from there, the longer that wonderful, good-smelling store will stay open. So please, enjoy, one and all! ^_^

That "Huge flat TV" is a $1 million Sony Video wall. Obtained by CF in a recent park purchase you may have read about.. ;)

I wonder what that was :)

Thanks Lee! I'm EAGERLY awaiting my visit to Castaway Bay on the 13/14 for my 25th birthday! Escaping the snow of Ontario for a moch Caribean resort on the door step of my absolute favourite place on Earth sounds like the ultimate birthday celebration!

Besides which, Walt mentioned in his trip report that they serve "Dragster Hoagies"... what more could you ask for? (aside from Dippin' Dots of coarse, but you can't have everything)

Happy New Year everyone!

Jay

Just curious Lee.. do you remember what mixxes of DDR they had?

I'm feinding for some "Speed over Beethoven" on Extreme..

As unfamilar as I am wih DDR I know they had Beethoven. I watched some guy pass it with just about all perfects.

Rob, they had two Extremes. Whee!! And "Speed Over Beethoven" is a great song, by the way.

But unfortunately, the memory card slots didn't work in the one that had them. This resulted in some hilarity when we brought up the problem to the employees...

US: Um, we noticed the memory card slots in that DDR machine over there aren't working. Can you let someone know so they can take a look at it?

EMPLOYEE 1: Memory card slots? The DDR machines don't have memory card slots. (to other employee) Those DDRs don't have memory card slots, do they?

EMPLOYEE 2: (who is out of uniform, and was playing DDR earlier) Nope, they don't have those.

EMPLOYEE 1: See, I told you. Those DDRs don't have memory card slots.

US: Yes they do. See those blue and pink areas under the screen on the machine to the left? Those are the slots for the cards.

(The two employees squint and blink at the machine in confusion...)

EMPLOYEE 1: Er, okay, I guess you're right. We'll get right on that, yeah...

I guess I can't be too annoyed that they didn't know since you have to have a Japanese home version of Extreme to get the arcade link file anyway, and that 's not common ^_^, but it was so funny because they thought Dave and I were completely out of our minds... Ha ha.

Good luck with the DDR. Go for the AAAs!

On the giant flat screen, what do they show on it? News? or what.

Kid stuff. Looked nice, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time watching it because it was geared towards those under the age of 12.

MrScott

When I was there they had the Browns game on. Sat on the side of the activity pool and watched them get completely disgraced.