Credit: DisneyIt’s been an impressive year for Disney Cruise Line. Earlier this year, Disney Cruise Line announced that two new ships are in production to be based out of Port Canaveral. Then we saw the debut of Captain Minnie Mouse, which has a been a hit with guests onboard the ships. Disney Cruise Line also announced earlier this year that with the expansion of their fleet would come a second private island in Bahamas.
In March, we shared that Disney had purchased Lighthouse Point from the Meritage Hospitality Group an acquisition that would bring an additional 190 acres under the Disney Cruise Line name along with employing a number of Bahamians and seeing aside land for conservation efforts on the site. Since this announcement, however, some opposing groups have created websites and online petitions in an effort to stop Disney’s expansion in the Bahamas.
Those who support “Stop Disney,” the group that created a Change.org petition against this purchase, point out that with numerous locations across the Bahamas to dock cruise ships, doing so at Lighthouse Point does not make the most sense in their eyes. The group reports that the plan to construct a port among the center of the property (thereby creating a half-mile long pier) would endanger coral on the reefs beneath the construction. They also believe that so far there aren’t any economic benefits to local communities Bahamas from the addition of Disney’s second island.
The addition of Disney Cruise Line’s second island would increase port calls in Nassau by approximately 30-40%, and as Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis mentioned during the March announcement, no construction on Disney’s end would begin until a full Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Plan is approved.
What do you think of Disney’s decision to develop Lighthouse Point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source: cruiseradio.net