2 and 5 year old..... balcony room?!

[DisneyMom2000000]

Considering booking a balcony room but nervous because of the ages of my children. Do the doors have child safety locks?

 

[Dug720]

There is definitely a lock at the top. So unless your 2 or 5 year old is over 5 feet, they're not opening it if you have it locked.

Bottom line though is always supervise your kids - especially where the balcony is concerned.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Yes there’s a lock that was maybe around eye level to me, and I’m 5’7. We cruised in a balcony room with 1 year old and 4 year old no problem. Mostly DH and I used it when the kids were sleeping. The door needs to stay shut so it’s not like the kids were just wandering out there either.

 

[Ladybugx87]

Totally fine as others said. Keep door closed anytime you’re not out there. I always tell my girls (now 8 & 3) that #1 rule of balcony is no kids allowed on it without adults.

 

[Shanti]

Yes, there is a strong latch and a 5 year-old can't reach it. At least not without some seriously determined furniture acrobatics...

 

[MomOTwins]

Yes, there is a strong latch and a 5 year-old can't reach it. At least not without some seriously determined furniture acrobatics...

My two year old once made it to an upper level kitchen cabinet that even I can barely reach. That had to have been some serious toddler ninja warrior moves. Soo.... oops, we may be in trouble for our balcony this cruise.

 

[arlopop]

We cruised the first time with a 6, a 4, and a just turned 3 year old with a balcony. I was initially concerned, but it was fine. The doors are heavy and hard to open. And we made sure we kept it locked. It never was an issue.

 

[southerngirl528]

As others have said, it would be near impossible for a young child to get out the door of a verandah room if both locks are secured. There are TWO locks. As Arlopop said, the doors are heavy, and they ARE. One must turn the door handle (at normal door handle height) into a different position as well as unlock the much higher knob type lock that is about shoulder height on me as I recall, & I'm 5'7". IF you keep the heavy door securely closed and both locks LOCKED, all should be just fine.

Oh! And just so you know, the height of the railing on the ship is quite high. Chest height for me. And I don't think there are any verandahs that don't have plexiglass over the railings so little ones cannot get toe holds to climb up like a ladder. (plus the plexi blocks excess wind)

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

Yes to all of the above. We've only sailed on the Dream, but FWIW I think that the standard door latch + higher adult latch + heavy door + plexiglass over the balcony rails = not a huge amount of worry for a 2 and a 5 year old. Of course there's no substitute for parental supervision, but unless you have tiny little ninja children in your family it would take some serious, prolonged, audible work for little ones to get out of your stateroom, up onto the balcony furniture, and over the railing. Our younger DS was 6 on our first cruise and couldn't even open the door to the balcony without help. Older DS was 8 -- plenty old enough to have a good grasp of safety rules -- and still had to work to get out onto the balcony on his own. If you keep the door closed and locked when you're not out there you should be fine.

 

[bumbershoot]

My two year old once made it to an upper level kitchen cabinet that even I can barely reach. That had to have been some serious toddler ninja warrior moves. Soo.... oops, we may be in trouble for our balcony this cruise.

Assuming you’d leave him alone in the room long enough for him to move furniture around and get up that high, then he’d have to figure out the mechanism AND then find the strength to actually open the door. The doors aren’t easy to open. I’m strong, but the doors require some real oomph to open.

Oh! And just so you know, the height of the railing on the ship is quite high. Chest height for me. And I don't think there are any verandahs that don't have plexiglass over the railings so little ones cannot get toe holds to climb up like a ladder. (plus the plexi blocks excess wind)

Yep.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Thank you all! No ninjas here!

 

[lorimay]

I have a hard time opening those doors.

 

[darnheather]

The question might be how much time will you spend on a balcony with two little ones? At that age I honestly wouldn't spend the money. There is so much to do that once they get back to the room they will be exhausted.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

The question might be how much time will you spend on a balcony with two little ones? At that age I honestly wouldn't spend the money. There is so much to do that once they get back to the room they will be exhausted.

I found the verandah to be a sanity saver with my toddler- it was fantastic to be able to sit outside & read or talk during nap time & bedtime without worrying about disturbing her-

I always wake up about 30-45 min before her so watching the sun rise with a good book was one of my highlights

 

[DietCokeMommy]

The question might be how much time will you spend on a balcony with two little ones? At that age I honestly wouldn't spend the money. There is so much to do that once they get back to the room they will be exhausted.

We actually spent a lot of time on our balcony with little kids. During nap time DH and I would go out there (2ish hours in the afternoon), and we also went out there for an hour or so at night after they went to bed.

 

[Chemist]

The only problem we had with our escape artist (age 3) was that he could slide underneath the dividers between our balcony and the one next door.

Naked!

(They are so fast!)

 

[bumbershoot]

The only problem we had with our escape artist (age 3) was that he could slide underneath the dividers between our balcony and the one next door.

Naked!

(They are so fast!)

Oh my...

 

[Capt_BJ]

Disney has been operating cruise ships for how many years now?

20+

how many reports of children falling off the ships can you find?

Drunk adults falling off cruise ships .. YES ....

kid off a Disney - or any other - I challenge you to show one ......

 

[southerngirl528]

Drunk adults falling off cruise ships .. YES ....

Great point!

Every time I've read a story about some soul "falling" from a cruise ship, I always wonder how much alcohol or other mind altering substance(s) were involved as one would have to TRY to get over the high railing on most ships, and most certainly DCL ships. I'm pretty tall and those railings are chest high to me. No way I could "accidentally" fall over a rail that high.

 

[Dug720]

Great point!

Every time I've read a story about some soul "falling" from a cruise ship, I always wonder how much alcohol or other mind altering substance(s) were involved as one would have to TRY to get over the high railing on most ships, and most certainly DCL ships. I'm pretty tall and those railings are chest high to me. No way I could "accidentally" fall over a rail that high.

Yeah... There are really only 3 ways you're going to go overboard on a ship.

1 - You are doing something stupid like sitting on a rail for a selfie or climbing from balcony to balcony (under the influence of alcohol/drugs or not).
2 - You are thrown overboard by someone intending you harm.
3 - You intend to kill yourself and therefore jump.