Disney Cruise Line is expanding a youth sports initiative across the Bahamas that has been operating largely out of most guests’ awareness, and the scope of what is being built in communities across the islands by August 2026 is worth knowing about. The Play Project launched in 2024, when Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point opened on Eleuthera, and has already demonstrated meaningful results in its first year. The expansion now underway takes the initiative significantly further in terms of geographic reach, facility scope, and organizational partnerships.
What The Play Project Has Already Done
In its first year, The Play Project focused on South and Central Eleuthera, working with local communities to revitalize play spaces at six primary schools. Those schools are P.A. Gibson, Deep Creek, Tarpum Bay, Rock Sound, Wemyss Bight, and Green Castle. More than 230 Disney VoluntEARS worked hands-on alongside Bahamian officials, teachers, and students during the build and dedication phases. The initiative has created more than 32,000 hours of annual play for local children, a number that captures the ongoing impact of the improved facilities rather than just the one-time effort of creating them.
What the Disney Expansion Covers
The expanded Play Project will bring upgraded facilities to Eleuthera, Nassau, and Abaco. This includes refurbished baseball fields, basketball courts, and track-and-field facilities. This year’s completed work includes resurfaced baseball fields at Tarpum Bay and new playgrounds at Emily G. Petty and Emma E. Cooper schools in Eleuthera. Community build days in Abaco and Nassau are planned for this summer, with completion targeted by August 2026.
Each location is directly connected to Disney Cruise Line’s operations in the region. Eleuthera is home to Lookout Cay. Nassau is where all Disney Cruise Line ships are registered. The Abaco Islands sit next to Disney Castaway Cay, with some port adventures and travel to South Abaco.
The ESPN and Buddy Hield Partnerships
The expansion brings ESPN into The Play Project through its Take Back Sports initiative. The initiative aims to reverse the decline in youth sports participation by removing financial barriers and providing free programming. The partnership adds programmatic support to the physical facility improvements Disney Cruise Line and love.fútbol are delivering on the ground.
In Nassau, Disney Cruise Line is partnering with the Buddy Hield Foundation to improve the sports facilities at Woodcock Primary School. The project culminates in a basketball tournament hosted by Bahamian NBA star Buddy Hield, adding a local cultural significance to the initiative that goes beyond just upgrading the facilities. For students at Woodcock Primary, the combination of enhanced sports facilities and a tournament led by one of the most successful athletes their country has produced is an incredibly meaningful experience.
Why This Disney Initiative Matters
The Play Project represents a dimension of Disney Cruise Line’s relationship with the Bahamas that exists entirely outside the resort gates and private beach experiences. Most guests associate with these sailings. The communities in Eleuthera, Nassau, and Abaco are not backdrop locations for Disney’s Bahamian operations. They are places where people live, where children go to school, and where Disney’s sustained physical presence creates both opportunity and responsibility. The initiative’s first year demonstrated that the commitment was real. The expansion demonstrates that it is growing.
By August 2026, students across multiple islands will have access to upgraded sports facilities. The facilities will be built with significant Disney investment and community collaboration. Most guests sailing past these islands this summer will never see any of it from the water. That does not make it any less worth knowing about.
