Impressive engineering, lovely location, sand and water. It’s a tropical paradise - just not a Castaway. It’s a very different vibe and look to the original island and that’s an important distinction. Don’t expect Castaway v2. Now if you arrive on a full Wish as opposed to our Magic it may be far busier but we found it so very pleasant. THAT pier walk wasn’t near as bad as expected - but that wouldn’t be the case in inclement weather. Food could be improved, or maybe we missed a real BBQ, but it was still enjoyable and personally we didn’t have any more fly issues than say Epcot. Others mileage may vary but that’s nature and there were several pro active things in place (fans, air curtains, more glass). Even the tram ride wasn’t a disappointment especially factoring in walking on Castaway from ship to end of the family area, or taking the Serenity tram after walking from the ship. Trams were plentiful. We saw six running non stop from the entrance.
In short it far exceeded our low expectations. Could be improved but we wouldn’t alter a booking if we saw the name (unlike the Wish!). We would look forward to returning. Just don’t expect a Castaway v2.
