BLT internet problems?

[deedisneydream97]

I will report it to member services, thanks for the suggestion. I agree with others that this seems to be s BLT problem, not a Disney problem. We haven't had this issue at any other resorts or the parks.

Maybe too much concrete?


Off topic....but we were down there last week at AKL....the pool was like a bath tub. Does the BLT pool ever get warm? Love the BLT but the pool is always so cold....but probably feels great right about now. We are usually there in the fall.

 

[DenLo]

Even with the concrete they could add more routers(? or whatever equipment) so the coverage would be equal all the floors. We have stayed in many high rise resorts that have excellent service.

 

[FoodieFriend]

I'm hoping things wifi will improve for my BLT stay at the end of September. I appreciate the link for commenting on the satisfaction for DVC members. I would like the ability to blog on the DISboards as we go along without having to trek to the lobby to do so. I guess my thinking about the maintenance fee would cover keeping up the wifi, but a PP mentioned it doesn't. as I've never been to the owners meetings, I guess I would know if I was there. I find it odd because the free wifi is something that's specifically available as a "perk" for all DVC members. it's definitely available at Aulani while in your room & when it wasn't working, I was able to speak to the front desk & the issue was always resolved immediately. just my personal opinions on the matter.

 

[DVCjj]

I wrote to member services this evening and said I had no Wifi problems at VWL, BCV. BWV or OKW. I also said the fact BLT is a tower shouldn't be a consideration as Wifi is no problem even at skyscrapers in Chicago.

I have, however, had very poor TV reception at various (deluxe) resorts and feel that shouldn't happen either. I don't know how BLT was on this trip because I didn't turn on the TVs.

 

[RobbW]

I wouldn't think the amount of concrete is the problem. Most hotels and resorts have individual wi-fi routers in each room, not a shared router for the floor. If BLT didn't put wi-fi routers in each room, that was a major oversight on their part.

 

[stormer]

I wouldn't think the amount of concrete is the problem. Most hotels and resorts have individual wi-fi routers in each room, not a shared router for the floor. If BLT didn't put wi-fi routers in each room, that was a major oversight on their part.

The guy who came to fix our TV said the router was not in our room. He showed us where it would be if it was. He also said there is one for every six rooms. Not sure if that is accurate, but what he told us.

 

[stormer]

Maybe too much concrete?


Off topic....but we were down there last week at AKL....the pool was like a bath tub. Does the BLT pool ever get warm? Love the BLT but the pool is always so cold....but probably feels great right about now. We are usually there in the fall.

The pool has been great. It is refreshing. We started our trip at the Hard Rock and the pool was way too warm.

 

[citivas]

We are checking into BLT tonight for 8 nights. Our bad luck that the first hurricane to hit Florida in over a decade is now forecast to go right through Orlando this coming week. So we may be rained in a couple days. Can't control the weather. But if we were rained in, having good Internet will be critical.

My question is, should we get there and find the Internet as unreliable or useless as some others have recently experienced, does Disney ever allow someone to switch resorts? I booked these rooms 9 months ago and didn't know about the poor Internet. Researched everything else to death. But we seriously would have stayed elsewhere had we known. Planning to live with using our phones as mobile hotspots if we're out all day and just need internet a couple hours a day, but that would be prohibitive if we're stuck in the room all day. And if the issue is that they don't have enough router capacity, then everyone else will be rained in too and we'll all be over-capacitating their system.

 

[DVCjj]

I am sorry to hear bad weather is on the way during your trip. When I was at a few days ago, I couldn't get wifi at all on my Ipad Mini 2 which does not have Data and can only use wireless. (I should have bought Mini 3)

But I WAS able to always get the internet via my iPhone AT&T Data plan. It irritated me because I used all my Data and kicked in more (for a price of course) from AT&T.

Wanted you to know that I DID have internet access....just not wifi...... if that helps at all.

If that still bothers you, I would call to see if changing is an option.

 

[disneynutz]

We have had internet issues at all of the resorts, not each visit. The routers are not in each room but it isn't always a signal strength problem, it's a very slow connection that is the biggest issue.

Bill

 

[stormer]

I am sorry to hear bad weather is on the way during your trip. When I was at a few days ago, I couldn't get wifi at all on my Ipad Mini 2 which does not have Data and can only use wireless. (I should have bought Mini 3)

But I WAS able to always get the internet via my iPhone AT&T Data plan. It irritated me because I used all my Data and kicked in more (for a price of course) from AT&T.

Wanted you to know that I DID have internet access....just not wifi...... if that helps at all.

If that still bothers you, I would call to see if changing is an option.

Yes, same here. We cannot use the free wifi in the room at all, but we can use our phones as hot spots and it works fine. With four people we are using more data than our plan allows though. My kids go to the lobby every night for a little it and can get wifi there.

 

[citivas]

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.

 

[princeprincess]

I just returned from a 3 week split stay last week, where we finished off staying at our home resort BLT. We had a room right beside the elevators, with a router in our room and we still had basically zero wifi service. On our first day randomly some service techs showed up to fix the problem, we hadn't even called them. They said BLT was piggybacking off of the Contemporary and it wasn't enough with the amount of people using devices. They did a couple of things, we had a very slow connection after they left but more then we had previously. Fast forward to the next day, no connection at all. I called front desk, they transferred me to their IT department said some one would come back. Returned from park still no wifi, my husband called and asked for a room transfer to one with wifi, they said they'd get back to us and never did. I even tried the wifi at 1:30am and 5:30am when most people would be sleeping with no success. I have stayed at BLT 4 times now and until this last time have never had a problem with wifi. We also stayed at WL and BCV this stay with no wifi issues at all.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I wouldn't think the amount of concrete is the problem. Most hotels and resorts have individual wi-fi routers in each room, not a shared router for the floor. If BLT didn't put wi-fi routers in each room, that was a major oversight on their part.

I have not seen any hotels that have individual room wi Fi routers. Homes don't have that either and it isn't taking advantage of wifi to have that type of design so I wouldn't call it an oversight. However, I do think the system was spec'd incorrectly.

 

[citivas]

Checked in. I connected to wi-fi and ran a speed test five times. It averaged 0.05mps, when it worked at all. 3/5 times it "timed out" and couldn't get any result To put that into perspective, when it even works that's 1/1,000th the speed of my home wi-fi and 1/3,000 the speed of my office wi-fi. It's also 1/225th as fast as using my mobile phone connection instead. It is actually slower than you could get with old-fashioned dial-up phone line modems before the age of wi-fi and broadband. I don't think I have been in a hotel anywhere in the world I have traveled with that slow a connection since they started offering ethernet-based Internet.

Happy with the room location and condition. And too late to do anything right now with the kids tired so we'll see how it goes. But it's really poor of Disney to accept this condition. I would understand if they were acknowledging they had a problem and were working on it. But to try and claim it works is sad.

 

[DebbieB]

I wish they wouldn't have taken out the wired internet. I'm sure there are people who would have paid for it to get a good speed. I can't remember how much it was for non-members, I believe members got it free. I know I checked into the Hilton LAX a couple of weeks ago and they charged $12.95 for wireless. I didn't pay because I'm a Hilton Honors member and booked online. I believe there was an option to get higher speed for a fee.

 

[citivas]

I wish they wouldn't have taken out the wired internet. I'm sure there are people who would have paid for it to get a good speed. I can't remember how much it was for non-members, I believe members got it free. I know I checked into the Hilton LAX a couple of weeks ago and they charged $12.95 for wireless. I didn't pay because I'm a Hilton Honors member and booked online.

For $850 a night I shouldn't have to pay extra for good wi-fi. That said, if I had to pay to get it, I would have paid $30/night if necessary.

 

[dwight16]

Ok just got back from from a week had a room on floor 5 on the side with out the walkway. Internet was non existent. I got better service on my phone with one bar. Even downstairs was suspect but worked for normal web surfing 100 minutes for. 1.5 gb movie download for the plane home. It was a joke better service in the parks.

 

[Goofy DVC]

We were at BLT in July and the room was great except we had no internet service our entire stay. Shared the issue with multiple people but no resolution. When we returned home, I decided to buy a hotspot. I guess you could say I gave up, and have come to the conclusion that it's just not going to get better. In addition, I do a lot of business travel, so the hotspot ensures me a good connection, better speed, and better security. I've noticed with all of my business travell, Internet access and issues seems to be a common problem with many hotels. However, my internet access experience at BLT this July was the worst. Strange in that I've had very few issues at any of the other DVC resorts. Even BLT wasn't that bad when we stayed in July of 2014. But the again, we were on the top floor. Maybe that had something to do with it??? One thing is for sure, they need to fix it!

 

[RobbW]

I have not seen any hotels that have individual room wi Fi routers. Homes don't have that either and it isn't taking advantage of wifi to have that type of design so I wouldn't call it an oversight. However, I do think the system was spec'd incorrectly.

Sorry. I was just basing that on the past few hotels/resorts we've stayed at (non-Disney resorts on non-WDW trips). Each of the past three hotels had individual wi-fi routers in each unit. The last hotel actually had a card on the counter in the kitchen bragging about the individual routers and explaining how to connect to them. Usually they are attached/hidden behind the main TV somewhere.

I don't have any first-hand experience with BLT since I've never actually stayed there before. However, IIRC, I believe AKV has individual routers in each unit, as I think I remember seeing the actual router in our room.