Wi-Fi hot spots,anyone?

[elcycad]

Does anyone know of any Free Wi-Fi hot spots??? I think the prices at WDW are quite high. Any tips on how to effectively manage this cost?

 

[Tower]

Does anyone know of any Free Wi-Fi hot spots??? I think the prices at WDW are quite high. Any tips on how to effectively manage this cost?

For the internet, most resorts do not have WIFI (one exception I believe is Coronado Springs in the conference area). I'll be bringing with me a wireless router for my room so that I can sit on the desk rather than on the bed to access the web. I'll check my email online at say 10:00PM after the kids go to sleep, then I'll periodically check until 10PM the following night. I'll wait again till around 10 the following night before I check email again and do the same thing again.

If anyone in my general area wants to connect to my wifi connection, they are welcome to ask for the secure password in exchange for a contribution to cover costs of the internet accessed.

 

[wdwmike59]

On our recent trip in July, we had breakfast at the Wave in the Contemporary and they have free WiFi there. I was very surprised. It worked great on my Blackberry. Our server also says it works in the lounge attached to the Wave.

 

[Mike2023]

For the internet, most resorts do not have WIFI (one exception I believe is Coronado Springs in the conference area). I'll be bringing with me a wireless router for my room so that I can sit on the desk rather than on the bed to access the web. I'll check my email online at say 10:00PM after the kids go to sleep, then I'll periodically check until 10PM the following night. I'll wait again till around 10 the following night before I check email again and do the same thing again.

If anyone in my general area wants to connect to my wifi connection, they are welcome to ask for the secure password in exchange for a contribution to cover costs of the internet accessed.

Really? your going to sell connections to your network? How would you even manage this? Kinda hard to tell where your going to end up in the hotel.

I always leave my network open while I am there. Mind you, being dvc I dont pay the 10 bucks a day.

 

[Goofypop]

I thought all of the Deluxe resorts had free Wifi in their confrence centers, don't they? If so then you may be able to get free wifi just by being close to the center because they cannot do much to control how far the signal goes past the center's walls. Obviously it will not go very far but it may allow those in The Wave to get the signal.

I'm just going to use my Andoid phone with tethering to access my email on my laptop.

 

[dis_guy]

For the internet, most resorts do not have WIFI (one exception I believe is Coronado Springs in the conference area). I'll be bringing with me a wireless router for my room so that I can sit on the desk rather than on the bed to access the web. I'll check my email online at say 10:00PM after the kids go to sleep, then I'll periodically check until 10PM the following night. I'll wait again till around 10 the following night before I check email again and do the same thing again.

If anyone in my general area wants to connect to my wifi connection, they are welcome to ask for the secure password in exchange for a contribution to cover costs of the internet accessed.

We also bring a wireless router along. The Apple Airport Express is small and works very well. Whatever you use set up security on it so you alone can use it.

Also as the PP said you can spread out your access times so you only pay half of what you might. You pay for internet in 24 hour blocks, not on a calendar day basis. So if you access the service at 10 PM like the example suggested, you have 24 hrs of use, so you can use it the again on the next day until 10 PM. This way you can use it on two calendar days and only pay for the one 24 hr block of time. If you do the same for the next two days and so on, you'll only need half as many "days" of use.

Hope this clarification was clear enough.

 

[Mike2023]

I thought all of the Deluxe resorts had free Wifi in their confrence centers, don't they? If so then you may be able to get free wifi just by being close to the center because they cannot do much to control how far the signal goes past the center's walls. Obviously it will not go very far but it may allow those in The Wave to get the signal.

I'm just going to use my Andoid phone with tethering to access my email on my laptop.

Tethering would not be an option for Canadians. Well, it would be a $1000 option. Roaming charges are ridiculous.

 

[Goofypop]

Tethering would not be an option for Canadians. Well, it would be a $1000 option. Roaming charges are ridiculous.

Yikes. $1000? Forget that. I guess $100 for our ten days wouldn't sound so bad. LOL

 

[tone.def]

Saw this in a blog. This seems fairly accurate...:
http://makingyourdisneydreamscometrue.blogspot.com/2011/06/internet-access-while-at-walt-disney.html

Internet access while at Walt Disney World
Despite the rest of the world going to WIFI friendliness or free internet almost everywhere, Walt Disney World is still one of those places where they actually want you to pay to use the internet connection!

In the parks
There is no WIFI in the theme parts. Walt Disney World does have good 3G/4G coverage at the parks and resorts. I have my iPhone with Telus and I was able to check my email and Facebook and Tweet, but beware the roaming charges! You've been warned, so don't come back, get a $500 bill and call CBC's Marketplace to help you out by putting you on their Canada's Worst cell phone bill episode.

In-Room Internet Access
In-Room internet access is available to all guests staying at Disney owned and operated resorts for a fee.
Price: $9.95 for 24 contiguous hours charged to the room account.
Technical support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (“56″ from the in-room phone)
Requirements: A Local Area Network (LAN) cable or in-room connection for your lap top (so your iPad and smartphone would be useless in this situation).

WIFI
WIFI is offered at select Disney Resorts and parts of ESPN Wide World of Sports. You can use the WI-FI on Laptops, PDA, and Apple products.
Requirements: Wireless Interface Card (WIC) which can be purchased in the resort’s business center.
Price: $4.99 for the first 60 minutes or $9.95 for 24 contigious hours

Resorts that offer WIFI for free:
In the convention areas, you can snag some WIFI

Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Main Lobby area
• Stone Harbor Club Concierge Lounge
• Stormalong Bay Pool area

Disney’s Boardwalk Resort
• Convention Center Hallways/Common Areas
• Resort Lobby
• Main Swimming Pool Area
• Concierge Lounges
• Bellevue Lounge

Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Front Desk sitting area
• 14th Floor Concierge sitting area
• Outer Rim Bar
• 1st Floor Convention Center Lobby
• 2nd Floor Convention Center Lobby
• Feature Pool

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
• Main Hotel Lobby
• Convention Center Lobby
• Feature Pool
• Francisco’s Lounge

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• 1st Floor Lobby including the Tea Room
• Convention Center Lobby
• 4th Floor Concierge sitting area

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Main Lobby
• Concierge sitting area
• Convention Center Lobby
• Stormalong Bay Pool

 

[mbb]

We head for McDonalds if we're offsite.

Easy stop on our way "home" from a day at the parks, for a milkshake and fries and free wifi too

 

[elcycad]

Thanks..that's a great tip...any other off-site areas for Wi-Fi?

 

[Tanooki]

I got myself a Virgin Mobile Mifi device on Ebay and, by adding a 50$ top-up card in my account, I have unlimited access to the Internet for a month. There are no monthly fees, it's a pay-as-you-go system. On the plus side, we get to use it in the car while we drive down there (it's a 2-day drive) and we can have up to 5 devices accessing the Net through it. Of course, I had to actually buy the Mifi (±100$) and I can only use it in the US but I think it's a great investment that we can use for all our trips, considering the 10$/day fee to access from onsite.

Can't wait to see if the thing works as well as I've been told. We'll see in 11 days...

 

[pxlbarrel]

Hmmm... I just recently started travelling with ONLY my iPad instead of lugging my laptop around. But now, when I think of it, I would need to lug my laptop down to the resort since they're mostly cabled in the rooms. That's a real pain ... especially for my back if I have to carry the laptop AND my cameras in my backpack.

 

[MaryannF]

Just got back on Aug. 4. DD is doing an on-line course and needed to check in with her instructor and check her e-mail for an assignment. We went to Panera Bread To use the free wi-fi...
Vineland Avenue (#4165)
8600 Vineland Avenue
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 842-1300 - Phone
(407) 842-1301 - Fax

Had a snack and sat in a booth while checking e-mail and logging on to the college website. Easy and convenient and our snack was delicious. Afterwards we went to the outlet mall down the road...
Orlando Premium Outlets - Vineland Ave
8200 Vineland Avenue
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 238-7787

 

[ccudmore]

Hmmm... I just recently started travelling with ONLY my iPad instead of lugging my laptop around. But now, when I think of it, I would need to lug my laptop down to the resort since they're mostly cabled in the rooms. That's a real pain ... especially for my back if I have to carry the laptop AND my cameras in my backpack.

In case you have a 3G iPad, be aware that (at least with Rogers) there are no US data plans for the iPad. All 3G usage on the iPad is considered data roaming and you will incur large roaming charges (I learned this the hard way a couple months ago). If you want to use your 3G iPad, get an AT&T micro-SIM and use that in the iPad instead.

 

[thehowells]

i understand disney is a business, but the wi-fi is one thing that drives me nuts
every $6 a night hotel has wi-fi now

 

[jba2]

I purchased a Virgin mifi from ebay as I thought it was a great idea as suggested by a previous poster. I received the mifi and I can't unlock it. Virgin Mobile USA said that they can't unlock it and it must be returned to the store where it was originally purchased along with the original receipt. I am now dealing with ebay's resolution department. I'm still going to get a mifi but this time from a Walmart.

 

[bankr63]

In case you have a 3G iPad, be aware that (at least with Rogers) there are no US data plans for the iPad. All 3G usage on the iPad is considered data roaming and you will incur large roaming charges (I learned this the hard way a couple months ago). If you want to use your 3G iPad, get an AT&T micro-SIM and use that in the iPad instead.

I just got an e-mail from Rogers pushing their new data roaming plans for the US. Prices are still pretty high, but they apparently allow you to cap your usage, so that you don't get hit with an unexpected bill. I have an Android, but assume the packages are the same for iPhones/Pads.

The "for information" link from the e-mail is:
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/add-ons/travelwithyourphone?tab3_content&submenu3

An example rate is $50 for a 10MB 1 week pass (smallest 1 week pass, they have single day passes too), which would do for e-mail checking (if no one sends you big attachments). Checking my monthly usage, my phone seems to run about 2MB per day average, so I would probably shut off a couple of apps, and be careful with my usage. You can also apparently order these on the fly, so you can get more while down there.

 

[Tanooki]

I purchased a Virgin mifi from ebay as I thought it was a great idea as suggested by a previous poster. I received the mifi and I can't unlock it. Virgin Mobile USA said that they can't unlock it and it must be returned to the store where it was originally purchased along with the original receipt. I am now dealing with ebay's resolution department. I'm still going to get a mifi but this time from a Walmart.

I was the one who suggested it and I'm very sorry it didn't work for you but it does for me All I had to do was provide a US zipcode (a friend of mine allows me to use her address for mailing purposes) and it works very well, I'm at WDW right now, using it to write this very message!

I was coming back to let you all know how well this works but I guess it's not always the case...

 

[SmilingGrump]

I was the one who suggested it and I'm very sorry it didn't work for you but it does for me All I had to do was provide a US zipcode (a friend of mine allows me to use her address for mailing purposes) and it works very well, I'm at WDW right now, using it to write this very message!

I was coming back to let you all know how well this works but I guess it's not always the case...

Thanks for letting us know it's working out! I might just have to invest in one of those, though I might just get a new one so there's no potential issues.