Disney’s Castaway Cay Waterslide Keeps Closing, and Disney Won’t Say Why

Pelican Plunge, the floating water platform at Disney Cruise Line’s private island, Castaway Cay in the Bahamas, is closed again. It has two twisting waterslides, one open and one an enclosed tunnel, plus an oversized dump bucket and water cannons. A notice in the Navigator app says the slide is closed over the coming weeks for necessary refurbishments, and guests report last-minute closure notices.

This is not the first time. Cruise Hive reported a closure for refurbishment in August, one guest said it reopened before a mid-September sailing, and another saw it open about a week before October 24. Disney has not explained the repeated closures, said whether they stem from one issue or several, or given a timeline for full reopening.

Some guests say they learned of closures only the night before or the morning of their Castaway Cay visit, when they were already aboard. Cruise Hive suggests an exposed structure sitting in salt water likely needs more frequent maintenance than a sheltered attraction, though that is the outlet’s inference, not a Disney statement.

If you are sailing soon, plan alternatives. Riders must be at least 38 inches tall, and there is no walkway, so guests swim out to the platform; life vests are provided free. On the island there is a smaller lagoon play structure, the Spring-a-Leak splash pad, swimming, tetherball, basketball, the Monstro Point whale dig site and shopping, and the ship’s own slides usually stay open during island stops.

Sources: Cruise Hive