Cell phone question...

[DianeL]

I've been taking my phone with me the past few years with varying degrees of coverage. During stays at riverside I was able to send and recieve text message with no problems, my connection to call home though would depend on where on Riverside property I was standing even in the room. But still I could get out and hear pretty good.

This last visit we stayed at OKW, which btw is FANTASTIC!, but my connection was always choppy and text messages were problematic with sending/recieving.

We are looking at staying at OKW in the future along with Saratoga and also over by Epcot in the BC and BW villas. So my question is who has the best coverage in these different resorts. Sprint or Verizon?

I'm currently with Verizon but up for renewal in a few months.

thanks!!!! and we just LOVED our stay at OKW and didn't want to come home. course the tons of snow falling outside right now has a wee bit to do with it :-D

 

[dvc guy]

We have Verizon and have stayed at OKW many times in different buildings. Service can be spotty . We were at OKW over New Years in building 37 and the coverage waspretty good. Don't know how Sprint is, we are always able to get a signal on the patio.

 

[xlstacey]

We are currently staying at OKW and the service is spotty for sure. I mean I can have 2 bars and be standing/seating in the same spot and have no service.

 

[DianeL]

Thanks dvcguy, I'll make a note of it in case I'm still with Verizon on our next visit to OKW. For your records we were in building 26 and I had a lot of noise on the connection and texting was nil.

 

[manning]

I was in the lobby of Beach Club with a big fat 0 on the meter. Went outside and I think it went up a few bars. And that is AT@T service.

A lot of the buildings are made of steel with a lot of other types of metals. That could affect the signal. I live in a brick house that has that foam type insulation with aluminum foil backing. I have to be in a certain spot in the house to get a good signal.

It may be that more towers are needed.

 

[Gail & Joe]

I have Cingular and have never had any problems with it while on our trips to WDW.

 

[Beth]

We had terrible service with AT&T at OKW...

I switched to Sprint just before we left for OKW at the beginning of December - porting my number over. The porting process wasn't completed until we returned home, but, the phone still displayed its signal bars, and it "appeared" to be good.

I'll be at VWL this Monday - I'll be sure to try it out, then!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've gone to WDW with my cell phone under those 2 companies-Sprint and Verizon. One of the reasons I switched from Sprint to Verizon was I was getting terrible service at WDW. DH was with me and he had Verizon-no problems. So I switched to Verizon, and although it's not always great, it's probably my cell phone-it's still a big improvement over Sprint. BTW, I stayed at POR with Sprint-terrible! OKW with Verizon was fine for me in building #52.

 

[Mary Ellen]

We have Verizon and haven't had any problems. Strong signal at BWV and whenever we've needed to use the cell in the parks - not problem.

Oh - we did have problems connecting with SIL with both of us in DD, but she uses AT&T. Just don't tell anyone - she works for AT&T Wireless.

 

[Jimmac]

I've got Sprint and found problems in the rooms at OKW but on a recent trip to BWV it was better. Contract just ended and I have been planning on switching to Verizon based on home area problems with Sprint.

 

[ILPHIL]

As long as we're on the subject...anyone have experience with T-Mobile @ OKW??

 

[BWVDee]

I have had ok service at BCV--best reception was out on the balcony and have had very good reception at BWV with AT&T. Before that I had Verizons which had spotty service at the resorts but excellent reception at the parks.

 

[living la vida mickey]

I have Sprint. Spotty service in the rooms at OKW, but always good on the balcony. Hope this helps.

 

[rocketriter]

We've stayed twice at WL (not V), most recently just a couple of months ago. Both times, Verizon would not work unless I went out on the balcony, and even then it had a tendency to cut off.

 

[kweaver]

We used TMobile and Sprint with no problems at the BCV/BWV/S&D complex in October.

 

[colleen costello]

I've had Verizon through 3 trips to OKW and it depends on the building you are in. It has always helped to go outside, and once or twice I climbed a flight or two of steps and that helped. I remember I did better at Turtle pond area than at Southpoint... I think OKW must be in a crater made by a prehistoric meteorite or something...

The Wilderness Lodge is also tough. The giant roof must block signals. I could only get a call on the balcony!

 

[SimbaCub]

I had AT&T in Dec 02 and it was spotty at best in the VWL. Even out on the balcony. At the parks it was OK though. I have Cingular now and was able to use it in my room at VWL with a good signal and didn't have to go out on the balcony. Inside the main WL hotel lobby and the area in the VWL by Sturdy Branches there were no signal bars for anybody. I visited many of the resorts and found only OKW near the HH had a little trouble. If I moved around I had full signal strength. I even received a text message while riding Space Ship Earth--I always have the sound off with the vibrate mode on when inside. I have to admit it startled me as I wasn't used to having this vibrate while on a ride!! I had full strength at DD too. Based on coverage with the two carriers I have used I would stick with Cingular in the future.

SimbaCub

 

[jeanniec]

Sounds as tho we are the only people in the world with Alltel cell phone service. We have never had a problem calling from OKW inside the villa or outside. Have also stayed at BCV/BWV,VWL, HH, and from the "real" Key West on the DCL without any problems. I make long distance calls on my cell from work surrounded by computers and other equipment and have not had a problem there either.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by jeanniec
Sounds as tho we are the only people in the world with Alltel cell phone service. We have never had a problem calling from OKW inside the villa or outside. Have also stayed at BCV/BWV,VWL, HH, and from the "real" Key West on the DCL without any problems.

Jeanniec
We also have Alltell and have no problems at OKW. At VB we have to go in the Main Lobby of the Inn or outside, but we are right on the ocean there. Driving around VB-Sebastian area our cell phones work fine.

Also have no other problems at all with Alltel in other places we have been(Vegas,Phoenix,San Antonio,etc) lately.

 

[docsnort]

We are T-Mobile users and our service is very spotty at OKW as well. Our daughters spend a lot of time on the cell phone and they found that the upper floor balconies got the best reception. MK and AK reception was good, Epcot not so good. It seems that, with T-Mobile anyway, the closer you are to the outer fringes of Disney property, the better the reception.