A Few Thoughts about Lighthouse Point and Why You Need to Visit

In 2016, Disney Cruise Line plotted its next move.

Management understood that the popularity of Castaway Cay wasn’t going away anytime soon.

So, Disney sought a second private island it could pair with Castaway Cay.

The purpose of the new location was twofold. It’d give cruise guests a second option, and it’d reduce the stress on Castaway Cay.

While the process of acquiring a second island didn’t go smoothly at first, the delays played to Disney’s benefit.

In March 2019, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) purchased the land that would become Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

Development of this private beach required more than five years of TLC, but the effort proved worthwhile.

Lookout Cay opened to widespread acclaim, albeit with a couple of high-profile criticisms.

I wasn’t among the first guests to visit this location, although several other MickeyBlog contributors did.

In early April 2025, I finally visited the private beach. Did it live up to the hype?

Here are a few thoughts about Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

Addressing the Criticisms

Let’s start with a couple of lingering criticisms about Disney’s new private island.

When guests visited Lookout Cay for the first time, they quickly highlighted two negatives about the space.

One struck me as alarmist as nature and dramatically overblown. The other complaint concerned me, though.

As a refresher, here’s an article I wrote last June. And here’s the central issue:

“This island paradise has a fly problem. During the preview, the open-air restaurants were leaving food unprotected.

“The guests from the event questioned the thought process there and stressed that the flies were a problem.”

At the time, I emphasized that the problem was fixable, going so far as to describe the flies as “a non-issue.”

I’m always a bit nervous when I put myself out there like that, but it underscores how much faith I have in Disney.

As usual, the company rewarded my faith. Before I visited Lookout Cay, I asked Cast Members about the problem.

Obviously, I was on the lookout (no pun intended) for flies during my visit. Folks, I saw exactly one.

Now, I should emphasize that it was a windy day, which may have played a factor.

Still, based on my experience, Disney has long since solved the fly issue at Lighthouse Point.

I’ll note that a complete stranger from my cruise posted their detailed experience on Reddit.

They mentioned that they saw a handful of flies, but they considered the discussion overblown as well. So, it’s not just me.

As for the other criticism, well…

About the Bridge

Another section of my June article covered the sizable walk from the cruise ship to Lookout Cay.

To Disney’s credit, the company prioritized conservation. Cruise ships dock by a bridge safely away from the beach.

This lovely sentiment comes with a bit of an ask for tourists.

When we disembark from the ship, we must walk to the island. Here’s what that looks like:

I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a haul. As Mammoth Club indicates, the walk takes about ten minutes, give or take a bit.

As I mentioned last June, you won’t notice it as much on your way to the island. Your excitement will carry you.

On the way back to the ship, well, you’re already a bit fatigued. So, it can be a lot.

Last summer, I mentioned that the bridge lacked chairs, places to call for help, or necessary accessibility tools.

I’m happy to report that Disney has since addressed all these concerns, which the Mammoth Club video demonstrates.

Disney runs shuttles on the bridge for those who would struggle with the walk. Also, seats are plentiful along the bridge.

Even better, Disney has added water fountains at a couple of spots, something I appreciated and used on my return trip.

Still, while Disney has improved the bridge experience, it’s still a bit oppressive for a vacation. This one still needs improvement.

On the bright side, once you reach the beach area, a shuttle will take you wherever you want to go.

Thus, you won’t have to walk much – or at least not for significant lengths of time – once you reach shore.

About the Private Island

Other than the walk, literally everything else about Lookout Cay is paradise. I’m not even joking.

We’d heard that the water was breathtaking, but you really have to see it to believe it.

More than a week later, I’m still dreaming about it. This place is Heaven on Earth.

Disney has populated the space with brightly colored, smaller buildings.

You’ll find merchandise, bars, and foods here, all of which are worthy of your time.

Disney treated us to a drink at Sandsational Smoothies, and it was an exquisitely thick variant of a Dole Whip called the Mango Float. Would recommend.

As for the merchandise, we learned too late that some of the refillable mugs sell out quickly. Sorry, Stitch. We tried!

The bathing and play areas in the family-friendly section of Lighthouse Play delighted me.

We could hear the raucous laughter of children virtually everywhere, as they excitedly explored every nook and cranny.

Disney also hosts Sebastian’s Cove, a children’s play area, which proved more popular than the character greetings.

There are plenty of climbing opportunities and water play areas here as well.

Since we traveled without children, we took a different approach by heading straight to the adult-only section of the island.

My heart will remain on that beach indefinitely. The combination of warm sand and gorgeous ocean water nourished me.

On this particular day, the water was a bit choppy, which made it less than ideal for swimming, not that I let that stop me.

My wife happily grabbed a chair under an umbrella – there’s a comically large number of them – and read while I got sunburned.

Both of us agreed that we could hang out at the beach at Lookout Cay every day for the rest of our lives. It’s that good.

Island Miscellany

Something I appreciate about Lookout Cay is that showers and bathrooms are readily available.

So, it was easy for us to switch into our swimsuits during our visit, although, with the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn’t advise it.

Instead, you should just put on your bathing suit before you leave the ship. It’s less stuff for you to carry.

Similarly, there’s no reason to bring your own beach towel(s). Cast Members hand them out at the beach.

When you bring your own, you wind up needlessly lugging around wet towels.

Circling back to the showers, their ubiquity means that you can jump in the ocean whenever you want.

Once you’re done, you can easily wash the sand off your body and out of your hair.

As for the food, I’ll be honest that this experience wasn’t ideal. We made some mistakes here.

Our kindly server for rotational dining wanted to take care of my dietary needs and sent in a special order at True-True Too BBQ.

He didn’t send it to the adults-only restaurant, which would have been our preference.

When we arrived at True-True Too BBQ, it was the heart of lunchtime, and the lines were long for what I wanted.

When I asked the server for the special order, the person had no idea what I was talking about. So, I just ordered there.

By the time I’d done what I thought was needed, my wife had already ordered and eaten most of her lunch.

Due to the timing of our meal and the fact that we were in the family-friendly area, we couldn’t find a seat.

These are negligible issues in the greater scheme of what I consider a perfect day. I’m just relaying what happened.

My Thoughts about Lighthouse Point

The most honest, transparent thing I can say about Lighthouse Point is that I cannot wait to go back.

Seriously, we’re looking at cruise itineraries right now. It’s a given that we will return at some point over the next 18 months.

Preferably, we want a cruise that stops at Castaway Cay as well, as we may have liked it even better.

That’s a discussion for another day, but it reinforces the fact that Disney has cornered the market on private islands.

Both DCL locations are ideal spots to lay down your burdens and spend the day luxuriating in the sun.

At Lighthouse Point, Disney has already fixed virtually all of the minor quibbles from last summer.

The fact that Disney accomplished that in less than a year is telling.

Lookout Cay will only get better from here, and it’s already a 10/10, No Notes experiences.

If you’re on the fence about booking a Disney cruise, consider this a full-throated endorsement of an exotic island escape.

You deserve it, and Disney will treat you like royalty.

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