Marina at GF for dessert party?

[B714210]

Hi everyone,
My daughter just reserved the Marina at GF for her dessert party. Has anyone used that location for their DP on here? She would love some feedback of pros/cons. Any photos would be wonderful as well!

 

[Wazzo]

Hello!!

PROS:

You're at the Grand Floridian!
You don't have to pay a viewing fee for Wishes from the GF.
The minimums might be cheaper than Epcot? (Hopefully someone can verify this for you!)
The GF bakery can come up with some extra options and yummy treats!

Possible CONS/General Info:

At the GF you have to pay extra (if you want) to pipe in the music for Wishes. Also, your view is of the side of the castle, so the fireworks seem to be a bit away from the castle. We watched it from there, and I wasn't as in love with the show as from the MK itself. BUT, you may still love it, so check out YouTube for videos of Wishes from the Grand Floridian (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkZGOEFaCx8).

I talked about it with my planner, and she talked me into Epcot for one major reason: Illuminations' schedule is set, and is much more likely to go ahead regardless of weather. Wishes' schedule can change up to two days in advance depending on weather and park guest counts, and she warned me that any changes in shedule can be a nightmare to inform your guests of. So, I chose Epcot to make my life easier... there are more chances of it happening even in bad weather, and the schedule won't change last minute!

PICTURES:

I don't have any pictures of the marina, but here is an interesting aerial shot of the Grand Floridian. I think the marina would be in the red circle right in front of Gasparilla:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/RoboWDW/Silly Stuff/GF-FW-Narcoo-BE_072708.jpg

I do have a picture of Cinderella's Castle from Sago Cay Pointe, which is a bit closer to the MK than the marina:

HTH!!

 

[lurkyloo]

What she said!

Also, there are no venue-rental fees for the Marina and Sago Cay Pointe. The food and beverage minimum for the Marina is $1,500. Sago Cay Pointe is $500. The Marina holds 20-120 people.

Here are some Marina pix:

 

[B714210]

Thank-you, thank-you! My daughter did consider both Illuminations and Fantasmic, but because she is getting married on the beach at GF, was drawn to watch Wishes from there. I watched the utube video, and I am so pleased that you can see as much as you can, I was actually expecting not to be able to see all of it. The photos are great- do you know if she has the marina reserved will that mean it is closed to the public? I just want to be sure there are enough tables and chairs available and random people aren't walking through. Unless they are Diser's of, course, then come on in!

 

[lurkyloo]

Yes - you can't see it in that first pic of mine, but they put up a low temporary fence around your party so people can't wander through. And there's a setup fee that covers bringing in enough tables and chairs.

 

[Wazzo]

I just want to be sure there are enough tables and chairs available and random people aren't walking through. Unless they are Diser's of, course, then come on in!

That's very nice of you! We'll be there!