French Island vs. Lower UK?? Pictures and/or suggestions??

[flowerbelle]

Hi everyone! I have my desert party currently scheduled at the lower UK right now, and I've heard of bunch of brides who have done this but I'm having a hard time finding their pictures. How does this (lower UK) compare to French Island (upper or lower)?? They are both the same rental fee...we are probably going to be having about 50 guests, maybe more??? Do you have pictures of your dessert party on French Island? Does anyone have opinions on whether one or the other is a better location for a dessert party (for firework pictures, etc..)?? Any advice and pictures of your dessert party and the fireworks would be very helpful!! THANKS SO MUCH!!

 

[Skylarr29]

I would go with the French Island. That is where we had ours. I am not sure about the lower UK but I think more than 50 people might be pushing it. Both are great locations though ( I have been to dessert parties at both). The French Island has beautiful planters with different seasonal flowers and it is just gorgeous! I might have some photos in my TR link in my siggie but since we don't have all of our photos back yet I'm not sure.

 

[lurkyloo]

Personally, I think UK Lower has a better view - it's closer to the fireworks. It's also set further back from the path so you don't get lookyloos, and it's a more open space than French Island Upper, which has big planters in it. French Island Lower is more open, but still set further back from the globe/center of IllumiNations.

Some people have reported experiencing smoke and ash at UK Lower when the wind blows the wrong way, but French Island is right next door, so it may experience this too - not sure...

Here are some shots from our DP at UK Lower:

Views of UK Lower from Rose & Crown:

Some pix of the French Island:

Disney pic of French Island Upper Terrace:

'Nother Disney pic (those must be holiday fireworks cuz I've never seen them in IllumiNations!):

View from French Island Lower:

View from Upper:

Stealth pix from when we walked by a French Island DP the other night:

 

[Bride-to-be]

We are using french upper. Its nice because there are a lot of big planter things that people can sit on and there are flowers which add a nice touch to the decor. This isn't as good of a picture as Lurkyloo's and I am sorry its so big - but hopefully it will help!

French lower I don't have any pictures of but its more of a u shape around the upper terrace and there are no planters so you can only have the cocktail tables and chairs.

Also one thing you should be aware of. The entrance to french lower is on the side of french upper. So all of those people pass by you (or you pass by them if you have the lower) but its off to the side enough so I didn't think it was a concern for us.

 

[QueenofPrideRock]

Personally, I think UK Lower has a better view - it's closer to the fireworks. It's also set further back from the path so you don't get lookyloos, and it's a more open space than French Island Upper, which has big planters in it. French Island Lower is more open, but still set further back from the globe/center of IllumiNations.

Off-topic, but I totally thought that said "lurkyloos" instead of "lookyloos"... perhaps because I just finished catching up on your wedding-crasher trippie, I don't know....

 

[lurkyloo]

Yeah, French Island Upper makes it a LOT easier for Lurkyloos to stalk your dessert party (witness those last two pictures I posted...)!

 

[MegKate]

Yeah, French Island Upper makes it a LOT easier for Lurkyloos to stalk your dessert party (witness those last two pictures I posted...)!

LMAO - guess where I was just moved to! Should I be expecting one extra for the dessert party?

 

[flowerbelle]

Thanks for sharing!!! Lurkyloo, your pics are BEAUTIFUL!! I do love the planters at the French upper--if I'm having a December wedding, I wonder what kind of flowers they'll have??? Hmmm....probably chrysantheums, maybe? Anyhow, I'm more interested in the BEST FIREWORKS display though...because one of the main reasons I'm doing the dessert party (other than dessert) is to have those amazing once in a lifetime pictures with us in our wedding attire and the fireworks behind us. Where is the best for these types of shots??

 

[lurkyloo]

LMAO - guess where I was just moved to! Should I be expecting one extra for the dessert party?

And how!

Anyhow, I'm more interested in the BEST FIREWORKS display though...because one of the main reasons I'm doing the dessert party (other than dessert) is to have those amazing once in a lifetime pictures with us in our wedding attire and the fireworks behind us. Where is the best for these types of shots??

I have seen the fireworks from parties at UK Lower, UK Pubside (basically the Rose & Crown), French Upper (OK, for these I was at the top of the stairs, but I swear I wasn't stalking a wedding!), Morocco, and Italy Isola.

To me, Italy and UK Pubside tie for best view, with UK Lower a close second.

Italy Isola has a minimum guest count of 100, but there is a smaller area to the left, Italy West Plaza, that holds 20-60 and has basically the same view.

 

[adisneygal]

We were a group that had smoke and soot in UK Lower. The view was great though and everyone loved the privacy.

A few nights later, we were near French Terrace and again had smoke and soot.

Unless you can predict which way the wind will go, it is a gamble on where you book but so worth it either way. It was one of the best parts of the day.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[chipscinderelly]

We had French Upper for our welcome party DP and really enjoyed the location quite a bit. Many of our guests sat on the planters to watch the fireworks (we had tables/chairs as well) and we were lucky not to get smoked out.

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

We had UK lower for our dessert party and didn't have any problem with smoke or soot; just rain. The view was great and your guests can sit on the benches they have in place which is nice.