Credit: DisneyDuring a recent sailing of the Disney Wish, authorities evacuated a guest via helicopter from Disney Cruise Line’s private island, Castaway Cay. Here’s everything we know about the emergency response.
Medevac From Disney Castaway Cay
On Monday, Reddit user u/codenameoxcart shared their experience witnessing a medevac (medical evacuation) from Disney Cruise Line’s original private island, Castaway Cay. The passenger shared these photos of the helicopter and its crew, but did not photograph the patient or the Disney cast members who assisted them:
Castaway Cay Medevac
According to the social media user, the affected passenger was medevaced from Disney Castaway Cay due to suspected heat stroke. Disney cast members and paramedics transferred the patient from a Disney-owned stretcher to the helicopter’s before the aircraft transported the patient to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for treatment.
“Taking nothing away from the individual needing assistance, but it was pretty damn cool to see the logistics behind something like this that you don’t see every day,” the Reddit user wrote. “…Medevac crew had 2 pilots and 2 paramedics/EMTs. Pilots got a good photo op with the Wish in the background while waiting for the transfer.”
The Redditor later explained that Disney Cruise Line cast members reassured everyone on board after informing them about the delay while respecting the privacy of the patient and their family.
“Captain did well to inform everyone and the safety team looked on it,” they commented. “It was a pretty eventful cruise for the crew in that regard.”
Another passenger who witnessed the incident aboard the Disney Wish noted that paramedics struggled to lift the stretcher into the helicopter because of a tricky staircase.
“I was on that sailing too! And watched the whole thing unfold while eating a soft serve from Deck 11,” said u/efferstine. “Made me wonder why they had steps going up to the helipad instead of a ramp, they looked like they struggled getting the stretcher up.”
The incident occurred during the three-night Halloween on the High Seas sailing of the Disney Wish, which departed Port Canaveral, Florida, on September 11, with a stop in Nassau, Bahamas, on September 12, another stop at Disney Castaway Cay on September 13, and debarkation in Port Canaveral on September 14. Given the sailing timeline, the medevac occurred on Sunday, September 13.
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