There is probably no shading on the dock due to the desire to keep as much sunlight as possible hitting the water. That is the reason the pier is so narrow as well. The sea floor being shaded too much is an issue.
It goes to the same thing as the reduced width of the pier - shading of submerged and benthic resources. There are seven species of coral that are endangered, along with seagrasses, sponges, reef worms, and hard bottom that are protected habitat. Shading from the pier will already damage or eliminate those resources directly beneath it, and additional structures that block sunlight will then amplify those impacts outside of the footprint of the pier. The near shore shallow areas also contain numerous coral reefs - in fact, Disney would have been made to relocate corals that fell in the footprint of the pier as part of the construction process. Dredging is a killer to these near shore habitats, even when it is just adjacent to them. The silt and other sediment carried on currents will always flow to the dredged area, causing changes in water quality and light penetration. That is why there is little to no benthic habitat adjacent to the CC pier, or for that matter, at Coco Cay, or any other of the dredged docking piers that the ships port at.
I don’t recall any shading at the castaway cay dock
I understand that, but if you don’t like the ports there’s not much you can do to change it other than complain on a Disney forum.
I don't see many people saying that or indicating that. What people are indicating is they want a private island experience similar to Castaway Cay, and those things aren't why Castaway Cay is so popular. You can get sun and sand at any beach in the Caribbean, often a lot more conveniently than at LC.
Exactly my point. If you want that, go to Castaway. There are options. LC does not need to be Castaway 2.0
Castaway is less available to cruisers due to Lookout Cay, because half of the cruises go there instead, and most of the cruises for certain ships. It reduces the overall DCL offerings.
The Wish is continuing to sail to CC. I’m confused by the no short cruises going to CC statements. I guess if you don’t like the Wish that’s a double blow.Disney is ADDING the Treasure and with it 77 ADDITIONAL cruises on the Treasure to CC, none of which go to LC.
And that brings the total to 458 currently available cruises to Castaway Cay ranging from 3 nights to 13.
Anyone can go to Castaway Cay. With 458 available cruises to CC, nothing is stopping anyone. As has been pointed out ALL the Disney ships in the Caribbean are continuing to go to CC, ALL the Disney Experiences (holidays, marvel) include CC. Enjoy!
Yeah, my kids and I tried to walk from Boardwalk hotel to HS once. Which is considerably shorter that Epcot to HS. In february, when the weather was warm but not boiling. We ended up carrying them on shoulders half the way because they couldn’t handle it. My back still aches at the memory. We have never repeated the experience, opting instead to take the boat ride. In fact, I saw a lot of guests on video carrying kids on shoulders. You’d think Disney would remember it’s a family friendly line.
This is the way.
How in the world would you go to WDW if you can’t walk half a mile. Not counting mobility scooters. You can also use scooters on a cruise.
I can do that without booking a Disney cruise
trust me when I tell you you can’t offend me. I have a thickest skin ever lol. If you’re on the treasure, I promise I’m buying you awell since you asked so nicely
depends on what you mean by defending. I realize if anyone here accepts realities of physics or governing laws that contradicts what someone else wants they are labelled a disney apologist but in this case I agree, more shading would be helpful. And colorful shading would certainly add to the festive feeling. Can't agree more.
but you and me agreeing (or complaining) aint going to accomplish anything (except maybe stroke our egos) so being a pragmatist I am first interested in what I need to do to adapt (my personal list so far is bring a solar umbrella (which looks a lot like marketing to me), big floppy hat, sunglasses, extra water, neutral density filters for my camera, tips for the golf cart drivers). I know some will say we shouldn't have to adapt, we are paying so much! but isn't there a saying about grace and not sweating what you cant change but focus on what you can?
being the curious type I am inclined to dig into the 'why's' of something as an indicator of likelihood to change in the more distant future than what effects me now (this might be where complaining helps), and here numerous things come to mind, potential hurricane damage (maybe not for a 100 feet of structure, but a half mile, how do you put that up and take it down fast?!), potential law suit risk (its the times, if you don't put it up securely and it comes down on a passenger...), and cost (which ties in to making it sturdy). yep I know, greedy disney wanting to make a profit from their already expensive cruises, but budget is a consideration. But for me and cruising the ship is the destination not just the port. Maybe the port is the cherry on top, but the cake is the ship. so how much money do I want Disney to dump into the port and pass on the cost to me the consumer? If it was all about the port we would fly to grand cayman for example (which if you havent, you should, great place, any cruise doesnt do it justice). I realize not the same for everyone. Now I also realize just asking why makes it look like I am defending. Nope. Just prefer to understand than just criticize.
And then I look to history as a predictor to the future. Disney has a so so track record with putting up shade. I would love to see more in areas we routinely stand and wait (brutal for some reason at animal kingdom waiting to get in for example, better at Epcot). Bus stops tend to be more shaded at the resort hotel areas than value, but that might be just my perception. And yes, cruises are expensive but both CC and LC are not designed to be spas , but durable (maybe LC a bit more than CC), and so there are budget cuts. I would like to see more shade at both places, but I am not holding my breath. My guess is disney is waiting for trees to grow. yes I know. boo hiss. does solve a few problems at once.
Anyway, I need to go order some neutral density filters. thanks for reminding me.
edit. My treasure goes to CC too! maybe we are on the same cruise and could share a beer or two? wouldn't that be peachy. you could complain. I could defend. (my apologies if I crossed a line, I meant that more as a joke, but my sense of humor is an acquired taste at best).
edit 2. just read that shade on the pier can be bad for coral. I should have known that! learning is good (dont forget the sun moves in the sky so shade wont always be above the concrete).
.8 mile is closer to a full mile than a half mile.
Where are you getting 0.8 miles from, though? The DCL Blog mapped it out at 0.47 miles here: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2024/06/disney-lookout-cay-at-lighthouse-points-open-trestle-pier/
Multiple vloggers have clocked it on their apple watches at about that distance. It appears the blog is measuring the straight line distance between two points on a map, rather than the length of the curve plus the walk to/from ship and tram stop at either end.
I walk waaaaaaay more than 5 miles at WDW. Just walking from the bus stop to your room might be a half a mile. A half a mile or even a mile is not that far. When we go to Disneyland the closest offsite hotels are 0.5 to 1.2 miles away from the front gate and thousands of people do it each day without complaining.
The measurement clearly includes the curve. It is missing the very small distance from the ship to the start of the curve and the very small distance from the end of the curve to the tram stop. There's no way that those distances are 0.33 miles when the curve itself is 0.47 miles, though.
