We have had one fiver with an "L" shaped island and now one with a stand alone island. Both had opposing slides and both still had access to frig with slides in. For us the island (with double sink) is a must. If standing at the sink you are not staring at a wall or looking out a little window, you are still able to view the 42" television.
Since the living room/kitchen is over 19'x12' with slides out I am not sure what you would do with a huge empty space in the middle of the kitchen without the island.