BLT internet problems?

[barrysprot36]

We had similar problems last month at Bay Lake Tower. After two days of complaining at the front desk, we were given a Hot Spot to use in our studio. The wifi was a lot better after that.

We found we got brilliant wifi connection at the bus stop.

 

[stormer]

FWIW, this is enough of a concern for me that I called the front desk just now to ask about it, figuring if they acknowledged an issue I might deal with trying to transfer preemptively. They put me on hold for a while, came back and said that according to their techs there HAD (past tense) been a recent issue but that it is now fixed and they assured me that Internet would work in my room... I'm not gullible enough to assume that's definitely correct, but just passing it on for those still staying there.

I wish it was fixed, but we are still here and it still doesn't work. We are checking out today. I will follow up with an email when we get home.

 

[citivas]

Internet continues to be nonexistent here. I spoke to the one of the greeters who "welcome home" you when you go through the lobby and they acknowledged its a systemic issue at the hotel and said whoever told me they were the front desk at the Contemporary when I called before I flew in and said it was fixed was probably "not being honest" about being at the hotel and gave a generic answer despite claiming to have checked with tech support. They said the only thing i could do was call tech support and make my concerns known on the exit survey. I spoke to tech support who promised to reset the router but said they highly doubted it would help because they knew there were issues at the BLT, Contemporary and Animal Kingdom Lodge and there was nothing they could do about it, but that long term they were working on it.

So far I have gotten by using my phone's mobile hotspot but I am probably going to get a major bill for extra data use. The view from the room is awesome (I am in one of the higher floor xx16 rooms) which at least placates us for now...

 

[EvilDrPorkchop21]

We had similar problems last month at Bay Lake Tower. After two days of complaining at the front desk, we were given a Hot Spot to use in our studio. The wifi was a lot better after that.

We found we got brilliant wifi connection at the bus stop.

Oh wow thats interesting. The devices that need to be upgraded are the AP's, (Access points, not annual pass for you Disney acronym whores). Concrete certainly isn't helping, but if you guys are saying you're getting good signal strength, then its simply a bandwith issue between the AP's and the primary building router. This shouldn't be that expensive of a fix, as long as the infrastructure was installed correctly to allow future upgrades. Odd that this is such a new resort having problems, doesn't seem fair for DVC dues to pay for this, considering they've already done it 'right' at other locations.

 

[deedisneydream97]

The view from the room is awesome (I am in one of the higher floor xx16 rooms) which at least placates us for now...

Notice the photo in my avatar....it was taken a few floors below you. I love it when the car alarms go off during wishes in the cast member parking lot. Often wonder if the owners know what happens there every night.

Sorry about the continuing internet problems. I don't use it much when there, but know how annoying it can be. We were having major issues at home....too many of us using too many devices. I upgraded our speed (mps's??...I don't know) and moved the router into the upstairs hallway and have not had any problems since.

Maybe they should not have disconnected the wired option.

Enjoy the rest of your stay.

 

[holden]

We were in a GV in August and had horrible WiFi reception...room 8502.

 

[citivas]

FWIW, and I have no idea what they did, but the in-room Internet is okay tonight. Not terrific, but at least usable. Knocking on wood because I'm not sure how long it will last. But for now...

 

[DMKEDM]

We were at BLT 8/26-8/30/15...basically no internet access (it would come up sloooooowly every 10th or 12th attempt, and last maybe 2 minutes--essentially NO service)...a tech came to fix and replaced the in-room wifi router and said that wasn't going to solve the problem (he was right)...said the problem is w/a coaxial cable coming into the building (no clue if that's even close to correct)...all five days we were there they said "we're working on it"...DS used his smartphone/data plan for access; I used an aircard (data plan)...on Day Two w/out service (after at least 3 phone calls and one tech visit), I went to the lobby to ask if anything could be done (at that point I didn't know it was a building-wide problem; had been told it was a problem w/our villa and also told to go to the lobby to use the computer cuz it's a separate system in the lobby and that system worked well...going to the lobby worked for DS; wasn't a good option for me, tho)...

Anyway, the manager I spoke to at BLT acknowledged the issue and apologized and gave us a credit against our bill to compensate us for the data plan usage/charges...maybe if everyone went to speak to a manager and asked for compensation for data plan charges Disney would figure out a way to fix the problem? It could get very expensive very quickly to pay for a whole building's guest data plan charges!

I was very happy w/the manager's treatment of me...I'd thought to get a different villa (didn't know at the time it was the whole building; had been told it was our villa), or maybe some points back...so getting cash (or credit against our bill at check-in) was, I thought, very generous. I'm giving that BLT manager an A for finding a resolution that made me happy...I'm pretty well tethered to my computer/internet access because I bring my work w/me when I go to Disney, so getting reimbursed (and then some) for the extra data charges I incurred was a welcome response...

Hope people keep us posted if/when BLT internet access starts to work...because until it does, BLT will be off my list of resorts to visit...I do really like BLT so that would make me sad...but I really do need internet access (if I want to keep getting paid by my clients, and I do!)...

We're at BCV now, where the internet works perfectly and all is good...I posted elsewhere, BLT gets an A because the BLT manager really did resolve my problem, and BCV is getting an A++!!!

 

[citivas]

Second day in a row of tolerable connectivity at the BLT. I don't want to jinx it but I am cautiously optimistic they fixed some fundamental issue. Either that or they aren't operating near capacity.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Are we saying we are okay with BLT raising annual dues to increase our connectivity? I too have reasons to be connected, but I would never depend on resort internet for my needs regardless of where I stay. Portable options through my carrier are always the most dependable. And, let's face it, connectivity options become better and cheaper almost by the day, so I see this as a temporary issue that will correct itself as technology continues to improve and become affordable. Personally, I would never alter my reservation plans just because of internet availability, but hey, everybody's different.

 

[hakepb]

Are we saying we are okay with BLT raising annual dues to increase our connectivity? I too have reasons to be connected, but I would never depend on resort internet for my needs regardless of where I stay. Portable options through my carrier are always the most dependable. And, let's face it, connectivity options become better and cheaper almost by the day, so I see this as a temporary issue that will correct itself as technology continues to improve and become affordable. Personally, I would never alter my reservation plans just because of internet availability, but hey, everybody's different.

Unless Disney IT took it over, I think a contractor provides the Internet connectivity.

If it's a contract, I would expect DVC management to escalate problems until the contractor lives up to the terms of the deal.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Unless Disney IT took it over, I think a contractor provides the Internet connectivity.

If it's a contract, I would expect DVC management to escalate problems until the contractor lives up to the terms of the deal.

You're absolutely correct. But, most contracted IT firms gaurantee provision of hardware that provides great service averaged over the day. My guess is that there are many hours of the day that are off peak and only a few that are peak. To gaurantee 100% cable quality connections at the most peak times would cost a fortune (for now) which in turn would be passed on through our annual dues. It's the same at our homes, at some times our connectivity is better than at other times (causing our Netflix to reload!)

 

[beccasmom]

We stayed at BLT from 8/16 through 8/21. We were on the 8th floor and had a great view. But the WIFI was very spotty. We ended up using my iPhone hotspot and for the short bursts of time for which we needed it, it was sufficient.

 

[disneynutz]

Unless Disney IT took it over, I think a contractor provides the Internet connectivity.

If it's a contract, I would expect DVC management to escalate problems until the contractor lives up to the terms of the deal.

Disney had a network, TV, telephone vendor that had offices and sat dishes behind the MK. They re-bid the TV to DirecTV, (now AT&T) the non resort cellular and Wi-Fi to AT&T, and the resort Wi-Fi to another vendor. We don't know what the terms of the contract are and what if anything can be done under the terms of the contract to improve service. DVC accepted Disney's resort contracts and vendor as they do for software and everything else resort related. DVC has little if any power to get things fixed on their own.

Bill

 

[Strikan]

Does anyone have an update on whether this is still an issue? We have a 2 week trip planned at the end of May to BLT and I will need a good connection to do some work while the kids are having fun.

 

[DVCjj]

Does anyone have an update on whether this is still an issue? We have a 2 week trip planned at the end of May to BLT and I will need a good connection to do some work while the kids are having fun.

Nov 30 - Dec 2 - I was at BLT in a studio in room 8234 (12th floor? - can't remember as it's an odd arrangement) and shockingly the Wifi was great. In October in approximately the same area , it was non existent and I complained when I got back.

The odd part was when we transferred Dec 2 - 5 from BLT to BCV, it was BCV that was non existent 50% of the time.

All so random it's frustrating.

 

[DVCjj]

We were at BLT 8/26-8/30/15...basically no internet access (it would come up sloooooowly every 10th or 12th attempt, and last maybe 2 minutes--essentially NO service)...a tech came to fix and replaced the in-room wifi router and said that wasn't going to solve the problem (he was right)...said the problem is w/a coaxial cable coming into the building (no clue if that's even close to correct)...all five days we were there they said "we're working on it"...DS used his smartphone/data plan for access; I used an aircard (data plan)...on Day Two w/out service (after at least 3 phone calls and one tech visit), I went to the lobby to ask if anything could be done (at that point I didn't know it was a building-wide problem; had been told it was a problem w/our villa and also told to go to the lobby to use the computer cuz it's a separate system in the lobby and that system worked well...going to the lobby worked for DS; wasn't a good option for me, tho)...

Anyway, the manager I spoke to at BLT acknowledged the issue and apologized and gave us a credit against our bill to compensate us for the data plan usage/charges...maybe if everyone went to speak to a manager and asked for compensation for data plan charges Disney would figure out a way to fix the problem? It could get very expensive very quickly to pay for a whole building's guest data plan charges!

I was very happy w/the manager's treatment of me...I'd thought to get a different villa (didn't know at the time it was the whole building; had been told it was our villa), or maybe some points back...so getting cash (or credit against our bill at check-in) was, I thought, very generous. I'm giving that BLT manager an A for finding a resolution that made me happy...I'm pretty well tethered to my computer/internet access because I bring my work w/me when I go to Disney, so getting reimbursed (and then some) for the extra data charges I incurred was a welcome response...

Hope people keep us posted if/when BLT internet access starts to work...because until it does, BLT will be off my list of resorts to visit...I do really like BLT so that would make me sad...but I really do need internet access (if I want to keep getting paid by my clients, and I do!)...

We're at BCV now, where the internet works perfectly and all is good...I posted elsewhere, BLT gets an A because the BLT manager really did resolve my problem, and BCV is getting an A++!!!

BLT was 100% great 3 weeks ago (12th floor) and BCV was just awful to the point of non existent 50% of the time.

Go figure.

 

[vakamalua]

It is 2015 (almost 2016)!!! There is NO reason why any company in the Hospitality business should not be providing 100% free and excellent wifi to all its paying guests (cash or DVC points).

Based on our long history with all Disney tech, they cut corners and provide poor and inconsistent tech service to guests and users of their various websites. If small boutique hotels all over the world and big budget chains across America can do it properly, why not Disney? And why don't dissatisfied Disney customers demand it?

 

[tazleiten12]

Stayed at BCV a couple days ago, wifi so-so in living area and could not get a strong enough signal to get online in the Master bedroom. We are in a 2 bedroom on the 12th floor of BLT right now and have a strong signal in all the rooms.

 

[MouseyMin]

I just got back from BLT, and the wifi was fine. I think I read somewhere that they finally fixed it.