Illuminations Dessert Party or Illuminations Cruise?

[aristocatz]

Which is cheaper for 20 people & which would you choose?

I am really just looking to pay for a fantastic view of Illuminations, which is my favorite thing at WDW. I don't really care much about the food or boat, whatever will cheaply give us a great view of Illuminations.

If we chose the DP, what is the cheapest package & how much does it cost?

If we chose the cruise, how many boats would we need for around 20 people in total?

Thanks!

 

[lurkyloo]

The boats for the IllumiNations Cruise hold up to 10 people and cost $319.50 each. So that's $640 plus tips for the drivers (which can be as high as $50 each). Call it $750.

A bare-bones dessert party would be $22/person plus 21% service charge and 6.5% tax for food and beverage plus, say, $250 for rental of UK Upper, which doesn't have the $75 setup fee. Also, if you get UK Upper, you should all be able to meet at the International Gateway and walk in, so that saves on transportation. Total with tax and gratuity = $833.26

If some of your guests don't have park admission, add in another $12.95 + tax ($13.79) for each of them. If you get a different venue, add in a $75 setup fee (plus tax) plus whatever the difference is in the venue-rental fee. And then you may be required to charter transportation.

I've done both, and I would take a DP over an IllumiNations cruise ANY day. Even if it cost a little more. The boats park under the bridge between UK and France, so you're set slightly back from the show and have something overhead, which can create a kind of tunnel effect depending on where in the boat you are. I felt like I was watching the show from outside the park, even though we had a pretty clear shot of it:

With a DP, you're right there on the main lagoon, right in front of the fireworks.

 

[Anne22236]

what is the best venue for an illuminations dessert party

 

[lurkyloo]

It depends on your party size and preference. Italy Isola is probably the best of the spots you can book for an IllumiNations DP, but small parties can't book it. And of the smaller venues, some have overhanging trees and/or no place to sit. So if you said you had a small party and Disney only offered you Vikings Landing or Kazbah Point, I'd ask whether it was a bigger deal to have benches or to have an unobstructed view.

 

[lpizzuro123]

I'll have to agree with Carrie on this (hi Carrie). We have never done an IllumiNations cruise but we did an IllumiNations DP the night of our wedding. We had 50 people and were in UK Lower. The location was wonderful, the desserts were great and it was so nice having everyone get together again after our wedding (our reception ended at 3:00 so everyone had time to go back to their resort and swim or relax).

Here is our favorite picture from that night. I do not think you can use this location with only 20 people but I believe you can use UK Upper which is basically the same place only a little higher.

Linda