Strange Question: Balcony Door Locks?

[becka]

I am a first time (read: paranoid) mother and our upcoming trip will be our first with DS.

My original thought was that we would like to have a balcony so DH and I could relax and talk while DS was taking his nap or when he goes to bed for the night. Then I started to worry about having a balcony with a very curious little kid around.

Obviously, (since you don't hear too many cases of toddlers falling from balconies at WDW) this is probably not a problem but I was still curious about what kinds of locks are on the balcony doors.

 

[zulaya]

Trying to remember from our recent stay at the Polynesian...there was the usual lock on the handle and then there was also this metal post that inserted through the bottom of the door into the floor...if our room was the same as everyone else's, you had to give it a darn good yank to get it open and I am not a weak person - that post just fit in there tight. I don't think an 18 month old would have a prayer of a chance of getting that part open.

And even if Nathan got out there...the openings aren't very wide...he couldn't slip thru. Although there are chairs out there that he could climb upon. But you could always bring them into the room when you aren't using them if that's a major worry for you.

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

At the GF, we were on the ground floor and had french doors with regular locks.

At the AKL, there were (I think) regular locks on the sliding doors and security bolts (metal loops that closed around a metal ball). Not too sure of the details on this, but that's what I remember.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I was at The Swan this past December. I had the 5th floor.
The lock on my balcony door was broken. I really don't think a kid could slip through. At first, I didn't feel safe with a broken lock, but when I looked outside and figured out that there would have to be an unusual person to climb balconies to get into a room. I wasn't really worried, but I also don't have children.

 

[CarolA]

I used to live on the 6th floor of an apt builiding and I was always leaving the balcony door unlocked. I figured if someone wanted to climb up that high they deserved what they got. LOL.

Actually I think most of the Disney resorts have a secondary lock on the sliding door so if you locked both of them it would be pretty hard for a toddler to escape!

 

[Gillian]

AKL & BCV have an extra lock, about a foot above the regular one. Both of those resorts had child-friendly balconies as well, as long as you don't let DS climb on the table.

I thought the slats on our Polynesian balcony were too widely spaced, but it was pouring most of the (short) time we were there so it wasn't an issue. A patio might be better there.

 

[cinmell]

There were locks on the balcony doors at the GF and Contemporary.

 

[becka]

Thanks for the replies!

I think I sometimes have an overactive brain that comes up with this stuff.

I am usually so exhausted by the end of my typical WDW day that I was just wondering what would happen if DS got up in the middle of the night and tried to get outside and we didn't hear it! I probably shouldn't worry about that because he will probably be just as exhausted as us!

 

[Disneydenise]

I had a not so curious 2 YO DD at the shore who did exactly what you imagined. We were asleep and she woke up and proceeded out the sliding glass door to the beach. A woman was sitting on her porch found DD wondering the street alone at 11:30 PM alone. Thank God for that angel. The locks on the sliding doors at DW are difficult to reach for small children and the doors are very heavy. They are larger than your typical slider. She never seemed to be able to move those.

 

[taylor1293]

The locks on the doors are very difficult to open and placed up high. There is no way my 2 year old could have opened the door last year at the Polynesian.

However, she could have slipped through the railing. We were on the 2nd floor (no balcony, just railing) and DH and I were shocked at how wide apart those slots were. When we opened the door to watch the fireworks ect. we had to place the 2 bed railings up against the opening.

Pictures of other balcony railings appear as though they are properly spaced. We are staying at BWV's and AKL this summer and I have the same concerns as you .

Teresa

 

[rrhecker]

I am the mom of a child with Autism. He also is quite a Houdini. He is autistic but very smart and can figure any lock out. He is also tall.

What we always do just for added security is bring the elastic things with hooks at each end. We have always found a way to be able to hook them to something as added protection. I'm not sure what you call them but they double as ties for the luggage rack.

 

[Janet2k]

In this photo you can see the second lock on the balcony door at the AKL: click here to view photo.