Today in Disney History: The Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay (2024)

FAQs

What happened to the Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay? ›

The Flying Dutchman, the ship prop used for the filming of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, was on display at Cay Lagoon. As of November 2010, the Flying Dutchman is no longer at Castaway Cay. According to Disney, the Dutchman was removed and taken to another location on the island, where it was being dismantled.

It has captured the imaginations of sailors, writers, and storytellers for centuries, and its origins are shrouded in mystery. Disney removed the Flying Dutchman from Castaway Cay, their private island in the Bahamas, due to concerns about the impact it was having on the environment.

According to maritime legend, the Flying Dutchman can never be anchored, and anyone who sees the ship is doomed to sail the seven seas for eternity. Although the Flying Dutchman never existed, the story of the cursed ship became a legendary symbol of calamity for sailors.

It was a movie prop. Years of sea and wind did a lot of damage to it, because it was never intended to be a permanent fixture. It was dismantled at the end of 2010.

In real life the Flying Dutchman was a 17th century Dutch merchantman, captained by Captain Hendrick Van Der Decken, a skilled seaman but one of few scruples, and in 1680 was proceeding from Amsterdam to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies.

Gorda Cay was first settled in 1783. Gorda's airstrip (now Castaway Cay Airport) was once used as a stop in the 1930s for bootleggers and later, drug runners. Gorda Cay had also been used for filming.

The Flying Dutchman was a sea captain who once found himself struggling to round the Cape of Good Hope during a ferocious storm. He swore that he would succeed even if he had to sail until Judgment Day. The Devil heard his oath, and took him up on it; the Dutchman was condemned to stay at sea forever.

There have been many sightings over the years, although the last reported one was by a Nazi submarine in WWII. Some sightings involved the Flying Dutchman sailing quickly through calm waters while the majority of sailors have spotted it during extremely stormy weather with wind and waves crashing all around.

There aren't any hotels on the island, and guests are not allowed to stay overnight. Disney employees are another story—a reported 60 cast members (what Disney calls its employees) live on the island. Their homes are in the backstage areas that guests can't see, much less access.

The character of Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise is a fictional character and not based on a real person. While the franchise drew inspiration from various legends and folklore, the depiction of Davy Jones with a squid or octopus face is purely fictional and not historically accurate.

Did King George V see the Flying Dutchman? ›

1881: Three HMS Bacchante crewmembers, including King George V, saw the ship. The next day, one of the men who saw it fell from the rigging and died. 1879: The SS Pretoria's crew saw the ghost ship. 1911: A whaling ship almost collided with her before she vanished.

Armed with thirty-two guns and bearing the appearance of a ghost ship, the Black Pearl, albeit entirely fictional, is now the most famous pirate ship of all time.

"Splash" (1984), a smart and genuinely funny comedy, was a critical and commercial success that instantly resonated with audiences. The movie was filmed in multiple locations, but the famous scene where Madison (Daryl Hannah) meets Allen (Tom Hanks) was filmed along the beach of what's now known as Castaway Cay.

Anywhere in the ocean you can find sharks! But don't worry about this on Castaway Cay, as you swim in a area that is watched by a lifeguard all the time, No problems should happen, just swim and have fun, Enjoy your vacation!

"Splash" wasn't the only movie filmed here. Part of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was filmed on the island too! Two submarine-ride vehicles from the now-closed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage ride at Walt Disney World lie underwater in the snorkeling area.

The wreck of the ship has never been found, with the exception of an oar and a life preserver, and no bodies were ever recovered. Within a year of her disappearance she acquired a reputation as a ghost ship and became known as "The Flying Dutchman of the Great Lakes".

Before returning to the Dutchman at sunset, he entrusts the Dead Man's Chest containing his beating heart to her care. The Flying Dutchman disappears from the horizon amid the Green Flash. Will returns ten years later, where he meets Elizabeth and their son, Henry.

In the most common version, the captain, Vanderdecken, gambles his salvation on a rash pledge to round the Cape of Good Hope during a storm and so is condemned to that course for eternity; it is this rendering which forms the basis of the opera Der fliegende Holländer (1843) by the German composer Richard Wagner.

The tale of the Flying Dutchman has been spread since the 1600s with sightings even to modern times of a glowing ship of eerie light: a legendary ghost ship which is doomed to sail forever and never make port because the captain cursed God after sailing into a tempestuous storm.