Do you bring your laptop to WDW?

[mamapajama]

Okay.since the kids are getting older, we all seem to be fighting for computer time. I was thinking about buying a laptop because I don't really have desk space for another desktop. Plus, the one I'm looking at has a CD-RW & a DVD drive so we can use it as a portable dvd player too.

Questions: Do you bring your laptop to WDW?
What do you use it for?
How do you access the internet from the hotels & how much does it cost?

TIA

Elise

 

[Princess Wannabe]

I don't take my laptop with me (I'm afraid of it getting 'misplaced'!), but I do download alot of information into my handheld, and I take that with me....It goes into the parks each day, as it has our PS numbers, our itineraries, as well as advice & notes from Tour Guide Mike, and menus from Deb. If it gets lost, ouch! But not as big as an ouch if my laptop got misplaced!

 

[valleygirl]

We bring our laptop with us whenever we travel. Mostly we use it as a portable DVD player but we've also looked up the local access numbers for our internet service provider so that we could go online if we wanted to once we reached our destination. Mostly we never had the desire to go online while we were on vacation. Our newest laptop has an aircard which provides a cellular internet connection so we can access the internet wherever and whenever we want.

 

[sunny04]

My husband is a computer person....so we take his laptop and he has a wireless internet card from work that he uses, so I don't know about cost in the hotel rooms. We download our digital pictures to the laptop every night so we can clear the camera to take more pictures. DH also checks his work email on it and occasionally surfs the web during our down time. But basically it is used for our pictures. We also have it to watch DVDs in the car on the trip (it takes about 10 hrs. for us to get there) but we usually don't watch them cause it's just the two of us, no kids to entertain.

 

[timandlesley]

I take my laptop because I teach college courses online so I need it nightly. It also came in handy on the plane, my son was able to watch DVD movies on it and it made the flight VERY easy. We stayed at POP last year and it was great because it fit in the safe easily. We plugged in to the port under the table in the room and accessed dial up for AOL, it was just a local phone charge, so 75 cents each call, no big deal. BE CAREFUL though, AOL has numbers listed that are local that are really long distance from the resorts, be sure to get the REAL local numbers from the front desk before logging on.

Lesley

 

[TxDisneyFan]

Hi,

Both DH and I took our laptops. He took his so the kids would have a dvd player in the truck. I took mine so each evening I could transfer my digital pics from the memory card to my computer and have a fresh card each day. We were there for 10 days and filled up the card most every day. That way when I got home, I picked the best to copy to a CD and went to Sam's Club to print 200 pictures of our trip. We knew we wouldn't have any internet connection (stayed at Ft Wilderness campground). We did go to Disney Quest one day and used their computer in the restaurant to get to our email. Just one word of caution, if you use any public access computer, be sure you log off the computer so no one can use the back button to view the previous pages and get access to your private email and such.

If we do go this Christmas, I'm sure we'll take the laptop with us as we'll probably stay at one of the resorts that have internet access.

I thoroughly enjoy my laptop at home. I have a wireless card and router and can sit anywhere in the house to use it. I'm not locked into one room and a chair.

Hope I didn't ramble on....but I'm afraid I did.

 

[DebbieB]

I bring my laptop on longer vacations. I use dialup for AOL, 35 cents per local call for DVC members, 75 cents for non-members. It's not as fast as broadband but it's sufficient for what I use it for. I don't want to pay $9.95 a day for broadband. I bought a cable lock at Best Buy and tie it around the end table in the living room in a DVC 1 bedroom for security.

 

[RoseRoni2]

I will be bringing my laptop, becuause of my digital camera so I can download each days pictures. Also I am a grad student and have papers to write so I will try to work on them when my dd5 is asleep.

(NICE PLAN WE WILL SEE IF IT WILL WORK)

 

[lfeikert]

I take my laptop because I teach college courses online so I need it nightly.
Lesley

This caught my attention. I recently received my Master's from University of Phoenix Online and wondered if perhaps you were one of my instructors!!??

I also plan to take my laptop in order to download digital pictures and hopefully email a special photo each day back to grandparents to show them what fun the kids are having.

 

[joshsmom]

NO WAY MAN!!! I'm SO happy to leave it at home and just be a mommy, a daughter, a friend, and a kid for a week!!! Work doesn't need me (trust me!) and I don't want to worry about it while I'm there. I know some people (like some mentioned above) need to have theirs with them. I'm just happy that I don't have to have mine with me!! I'll miss the DIS though!!! I'll have A LOT of catching up to do when I get back!! (Of course I don't know if I'll have time when I get back--I'll be planning my next trip!!! )

 

[BroganMc]

I always take my laptop when I travel but rarely use it. Mostly it is there for downloading digital pictures (and makes viewing much easier on a big screen). I can playback slideshows for the family on down days.

I also use it for carrying and swapping my entire digital library (music, videos, etc.). I sync my PDA with music playlists and have my own relaxing walkman. When I'm board, especially during the drive down, I'll watch movies or favorite tv shows in the hotels.

I keep a library of info on the hard drive for the trip: maps, guidebooks, fact sheets, itineraries, etc. I also keep a travel journal.

And with my 8 nieces and nephews, I keep a video game on hand for killing time on the down days.

But I rarely, if ever, go online. I carry a sign-up for a free trail dial-up if it is necessary. Hotels are getting free internet access now, making it easier. If I do go online, it is to look up info I thought I had or check e-mail. I stay on maybe 2-3 hours the entire vacation.

I use a vacation club which is like my own 2 bedroom apartment without maid service. I'm not that concerned about theft, and if I am I leave the laptop locked up and hidden instead.

J

 

[flyinglizard]

I always take my laptop. Usually I have eBay auctions to keep up with, and I always "talk" with my AOL "Buddies" and family members about the days adventures, and what new merchandise I have seen. Often they will ask me to pick up a particular new pin, or something neat for Christmas for a gift, or whatever. Sure beats long distance phone calls from the room, although I always have my cell phone too with no long distance charges.

I don't need high speed, so I just plug the phone jack into my computer, it is already programmed for Orlando AOL access numbers, and I am in business. It's a local call, no surcharge for length of call, so from DVC rooms, it's cheap. I can keep up with email too.

When I was on the road, I would always take it with me and talk to wife at home. Just got used to doing the laptop!

 

[Renysmom]

I bring it but not for work reasons although I usually glance at the email midweek to see how bad it will be. I use it to watch movies in the car as we travel (bought a power converter at Pep Boys so I can plug it into the car lighter plug), I store all my digitals from the trip on it, I usually boot up my AIM so I can say hi to my college student sons, also store all my notes about my trips on it so I hae a place to glance at it all.

Kelly

 

[Bichon Barb]

My husband brings his lap top, as we still need to run our business even when we are on vacation. He is able to plug the lap top into his cell phone to check messages.

 

[kareneast]

We always bring the laptop. Use it to watch movies on the plane or in the car on the way down, use it to put the pictures from the digital camera, DH uses it sometimes to check email or work email, & we use it to check-in in advance for airline flights home. Sometimes it is also used to do some net surfing during times of waiting for everyone to get ready to head out.

We purchased a lock for our laptop. We just attach it around a stationary object in the room (i.e. bedframe). We have been taking a laptop with us not only to WDW but to other places too for about the last 6 years and have never had a problem with anything happening to it.

 

[cranbiz]

I always bring mine IF i'm not staying at my Deltona house. At the house, I have a full desktop setup with DSL, but when we stay at the parks or drive down , my laptop is my companion. I take too many pictures and always download the memory card to the laptop. The DVD player is nice on the road.

I don't have to have internet while on the road, but it is useful to keep up on email, online checkin, etc.

 

[weregoingtodw]

Okay.since the kids are getting older, we all seem to be fighting for computer time. I was thinking about buying a laptop because I don't really have desk space for another desktop. Plus, the one I'm looking at has a CD-RW & a DVD drive so we can use it as a portable dvd player too.

Questions: Do you bring your laptop to WDW?
What do you use it for?
How do you access the internet from the hotels & how much does it cost?

TIA

Elise

Yup, we bring our laptop. We usually bring it for websurfing, watching DVDs, accessing saved files such as menus, plans, etc. It's so much easier to run a quick search then flip through reams of paper trying to find a particular restaurant or activity that you can't quite remember the details regarding. We also use it to download photos from the digital camera.

We usually just use dial-up. We have AOL at home (well, we have cable modem, but pay for AOL for its kids' services), so it comes with a certain number of dial-up hours per month. We rarely use it, but on vacation we generally do.

We've always put it in the in-room safe in the past, but I bought a wide-screen laptop a few months ago, and I'm not sure if it will fit. I'll probably just buy a laptop cable and attach it to some stationery furniture.

 

[tomerin]

we always take our laptop with us when we travel. since i have entered the world of digital photography i think that by bringing the laptop gives me a chance to download and see how good the pictures are that i have taken . downloading them into the laptop gives me a chance to re-live the day and empty the memory card. last trip i took over 1000 pictures. on the way home on the train i took my time edting the pics and deleting the ones i didnt like(there werent any bad ones). then i can copy them to a disc so i have the pics stored in another place.

the laptop also serves as a database for our menus and other park info that i have been accumulating during the planning process. it also serves as a DVD player and game system for the kids during downtime and travel time. so i feel it has become an important part of our traveling