And the award for Best Balcony goes to...?

[jbock]

Hi all,

Ok this hopefully is quick and easy, and as always I thank you for all of your wonderful insights:

I'm planning a trip and thinking of doing a split stay monorail resort / boardwalk area. Currently I have 7 days @ BWV 1BR as a placeholder or if I can't figure out a different plan. I am pretty familiar with the resorts in those areas but wondered if anyone knew which resorts in those two locations have:

1.) A guaranteed balcony? (Do any have that?)
2.) A decent size balcony suitable for 2 adults to hang out while child sleeps inside. (I mean to ask something where we'd be happy hanging out for a bit in the evening and wouldn't disturb his sleep. Not that we'd just sit on a balcony day and night and ignore our kid.)

I know I said we are currently @ BWV - it doesn't have to be a villa.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think BWV is an excellent choice. You already have the extra room (living room) built into the floor plan plus you will have two balconies - one off the master bedroom and one off the living room. I also love having the kitchen and washer/dryer when traveling with young kids as we can keep their drinks/snacks on-hand really easily and do laundry at the drop of a hat.

You would also have a balcony at BWI, YC or BCV (love the 1-and 2-bedroom villas there!), but, IMHO, since you already have the BWV 1-bedroom, I would keep that in the EP resort area.

In the MK/monorail resort area, I would look at rooms at GF or the main tower at CR. At GF, you will get a balcony or patio and at CR you will get a balcony. I would highly recommend, however, if it's in the budget, to do a 1-bedroom at BLT or, even more preferable (IMHO) at VGF. Again, you will already have the separate living room space and the balconies. VGF has the most beautiful rooms on property (again, IMHO!) and the villa building there is very quiet - I just find it so lovely there. Plus GF will have a splash pad for the little one.

If you want a guaranteed balcony in the EP/MK resort areas, I would just avoid BC and Poly as balconies at those resorts are not guaranteed.

 

[jbock]

You would also have a balcony at BWI, YC or BCV (love the 1-and 2-bedroom villas there!), but, IMHO, since you already have the BWV 1-bedroom, I would keep that in the EP resort area.

Thanks - yep I think I will leave BWV on for at least half the stay. BCV 1BR was avail but was an extra ~$80/night when I looked and normally I might think Stormalong Bay could be worth it, but the trip is late June ('20) and I'm thinking there will be all sorts of rules and restrictions there, if it's even open. (Speculative, I know..)

In the MK/monorail resort area, I would look at rooms at GF or the main tower at CR. At GF, you will get a balcony or patio and at CR you will get a balcony. I would highly recommend, however, if it's in the budget, to do a 1-bedroom at BLT or, even more preferable (IMHO) at VGF. Again, you will already have the separate living room space and the balconies. VGF has the most beautiful rooms on property (again, IMHO!) and the villa building there is very quiet - I just find it so lovely there. Plus GF will have a splash pad for the little one.

Yes, I would love to do BLT - it is available during that time, but I need to do some convincing of the other decision maker that it's worth it. We are also concerned about having access to a kitchen as we're unsure what the restaurant situation will be then. Of course IMO it's heads or tails if the parks (& resorts) are open at all, but I hold on to hope it'll be "open enough". We've got plane tix, we've got dis tix, let's do this!


As for VGF - I have stayed at GF, not VGF. I would very much like to do so. I have never seen availability there but that's probably b/c I'm not checking rack rate & VGF seems to never qualify for DV, & other discounts.

 

[Shellyred8]

We like doing MK/EP resorts split stays. We usually do BWV and BLT. I also like Wilderness Lodge (CCV/BRV). Unless you happen to get a 1st floor room, I think both of those have balconies for all of their rooms.

 

[Sue M]

Best balcony imo is GF. Guaranteed balcony or patio. Most are lovely views as GF hasn’t split up for more the pool and marina views like Poly just did. At GF they are still standard views.

 

[crazy4wdw]

For me, it would be a Magic Kingdom view room in the Contemporary Tower. Nice sized balcony, view of the MK, Poly, Grand Floridian, and Seven Seas Lagoon. Also fantastic view of MK fireworks.

 

[keishashadow]

IMO balconies at WDW are a bit over-rated unless you have no issue with heat/humidity/bugs. They are so nice to enjoy but, other than my AM cuppa coffee and a quick goodnight to try to catch fireworks, we rarely use them.

We own at BWV, the boardwalk view balconies can be noisy. We like to book the ones facing the ‘green’ boardwalk lawn. Those facing the entrance have lots of auto noise, especially if near the scooter unloading area.

Have only stayed at BCV a few times, it’s a tough grab. There are a few rooms with a nice FW view of Epcot, but mostly foliage It’s all about SAB for us but I wouldn’t want a pool view room there.

My favorite balconies are in CR proper, followed by a standard/but MK view at the villas.

2nd is any savannah room at AKJ, some nice ones at Kidani

Poly is an all around favorite, we were supposed to have a partial view. Sorta, if we leaned over the railing, but still a lovely resort. The villas are especially nice as to the split bathroom.

WLV facing the lake doesn’t have much of a lake view, especially with new villas waterside, but it’s always been peaceful place to chill.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Hard to beat the Poly Bungalow "balconies". Absolutely breath taking. I could have just sat there all day without visiting the parks.

 

[maxiesmom]

Swan and Dolphin.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

For all the things you are looking for and monorail/park access my vote would be VGF. When we stayed in a 1 BR we did exacted that; had beverages after hours on balcony while kids slept. I absolutely loved the resort as well (pools, amenities, feel) and it was clutch being on the loop. Enjoy!

 

[L&Lfan]

This was our Dolphin balcony view last November. I’m not saying it was the best but boy, do I wish we were there now!

 

[MushuHill]

Bay Lake Tower with a theme park view. You can turn the tv to a station that plays the music to the fireworks and watch them from your room.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

A Poly TPV room with a balcony is what made us fall in love with WDW as a destination when we took our first trip with DS then 4 years ago. Those moments of peace and downtime during naps or early bedtimes, while still seeing/feeling/hearing the buzz and excitement of MK and the Seven Seas Lagoon fit us perfectly. Absolutely love it.

But as others have noted, some Poly TPV rooms don’t have a balcony. We’ve had great luck with requests over the years, but it’s always a risk.

For us, the next best option is a CR TPV room balcony.

Happy planning!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The best balcony (porch) at WDW is OKW one bedroom or larger.

This one is an older photo. The full sized table (not just a little side table) and chairs are now metal instead of plastic.

 

[TJA]

Hi all,

Ok this hopefully is quick and easy, and as always I thank you for all of your wonderful insights:

I'm planning a trip and thinking of doing a split stay monorail resort / boardwalk area. Currently I have 7 days @ BWV 1BR as a placeholder or if I can't figure out a different plan. I am pretty familiar with the resorts in those areas but wondered if anyone knew which resorts in those two locations have:

1.) A guaranteed balcony? (Do any have that?)
2.) A decent size balcony suitable for 2 adults to hang out while child sleeps inside. (I mean to ask something where we'd be happy hanging out for a bit in the evening and wouldn't disturb his sleep. Not that we'd just sit on a balcony day and night and ignore our kid.)

I know I said we are currently @ BWV - it doesn't have to be a villa.

For the monorail resort portion of your stay, honestly, DH and I have enjoyed balcony time at all 3 of those resorts.

The balcony that gave us the quietest and most beautiful view was our lagoon view room at GF - no people traffic, all water and boats, and looking to the left we saw the Castle and fireworks. I believe all rooms at GF have a balcony, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. Bonus: most rooms have good views too/non parking lot.

The CR tower has either MK view for fireworks (but also parking lot at same time, thus our favorite time to sit on the balcony was at night), OR the other side of the tower is actually our favorite because we enjoy the overall view better water/parade/serenity. I *think* all rooms have balconies.....

Possibly our all-time favorite balcony room in Disney is TPV/LV at Poly, either 3rd floor or 1st floor, for the exact same reasons as @GADisneyDad14 posted above. In thinking back to all of our stays there, one of my favorite memories is being on our balcony after July 3/4 fireworks and just taking in all of the buzz/excitement combined with the peaceful lull of water and music. At those moments in time, I remember thinking I was the luckiest person alive to be experiencing that. One glitch is that you have to request a balcony (most 2nd floor rooms do not have one, but 1st and 3rd floors do). We've been relatively lucky over the years getting that request.

 

[Disneypapa]

Another vote for the balcony at OKW overlooking foliage and golf course.

 

[mrsswat]

for a monorail resort my vote is BLT/CR - facing the lake!! SOOOO peaceful almost any time of day. Several nights my DH and I have stayed out there till wee hours of the morning with a nice bottle of wine!! I would rather have that view than the MK because of the parking lot!! Absolute fav??? OKW!!! (1 br and larger) Sheer size and always a relaxing view. A+++ in my book

 

[Deb & Bill]

for a monorail resort my vote is BLT/CR - facing the lake!! SOOOO peaceful almost any time of day. Several nights my DH and I have stayed out there till wee hours of the morning with a nice bottle of wine!! I would rather have that view than the MK because of the parking lot!! Absolute fav??? OKW!!! (1 br and larger) Sheer size and always a relaxing view. A+++ in my book

Our first stay at BLT was on the inside of the C. We had a pool/lake view. During the day, it was so noisy with the pool parties. At night, the fireworks and Electric Water Parade noise would reverberate off the walls. Last time we stayed at BTL, we had a villa on the outside of the C and it was much quieter.

 

[gryffindor]

Loved our Magic Kingdom view from the Contemporary. Felt like we were right there, truly inside the magic. The only issue with the balcony was it had a lot of bird poop. There was some rain so it washed away, but it takes away from the magic just a tiny bit.

 

[nursejackie]

We had a lovely view from our BLT balcony of the lake and monorail, it was very peaceful.