DVC members/Why no free internet for us?

[DebbieB]

Its free on the second floor BWV above Big River Grille.

We used it for weather and radar, dumped our pics and sent some to family-OK rubbed it in, the Disboards-it really enhanced the stay-UPDATED THIS BOARD ON THE POOL TEMPS, something to do while the kids wake up, DW read the dailly Soap board-go figure.

Soon we will be entering our secret code and pre printing our 3 daily advance fastpasses and selecting our dining reservations etc.

we will currently pay for it, but also dont mind finding out actual costs and comparisons etc.

I was in 2011 last week and my laptop did get a signal but it would not connect.

I used dialup at 35 cents per call. For checking mail and surfing the net a little, I don't need high speed.

I stayed at a Hilton in Glendale CA earlier this month, it was $9.95 per day for high speed. Local calls were $1.00 for up to 60 minutes, if you go over 60 minutes, it's 10 cents per minute. So I had to be careful dialing in that I did not stay on over an hour.

 

[skelooch]

Yes its free at buget and costs at deluxe. So the Fairfield Inn is free and the Marriott charges. (And it's called marketing. Disney does NOT need free internet to sell rooms, La Quinta does!)

I don't ever expect it to be free at Disney. Disney does NOT work like normal hotels. (How many of those hotels did you stay at that did NOT have pay per view movies??? Ever seen that at Disney) Disney does not want you ON the internet, they want you IN the parks spending money. Whole different model then the Days Inn, Marriotts etc.


I pay and I use it. I don't think that all the rest of you should pay for me to use it....

CarolA,
I couldn't agree with you more, why do so many people think that just because they bought into DVC that everything should be free or deeply discounted for members. We got exactly what we paid for when we bought, a timeshare nothing more nothing less.
If you can't afford the internet service don't use it, for those that need it for business, it would be a business write off. I thought the 1 point a day was a good idea, still better than 9.95.

What are we going to ask for next, how about free or discounted travel expenses to get to WDW, then we could spend for money there.

 

[CarolA]

I actually find Disney's pricing fairer then some.

I am at a Marriott right now. I paid $9.95 (PLUS a few dollars in tax here!) for access until check out time tomorrow. So I got on at 9 pm and tomorrow at 11 my access is GONE.. I am not checking out so tomorrow evening I get to pay again!!

At Disney, I can log on late one afternoon, which covers me for 24 hours. I can generally do 24 hours over two days and then not check for 24 hours or so which actually is cheaper then places like the Marriott.

 

[Popovich]

I would like to see reduced rate internet access or a reduced length of stay rate. More and more hotels are offering free access. I think what WDW charges is a little high. This is one area where they could have been a little more forward thinking.

Just my two cents.

 

[cavecricket]

Yes its free at buget and costs at deluxe. So the Fairfield Inn is free and the Marriott charges. (And it's called marketing. Disney does NOT need free internet to sell rooms, La Quinta does!)

I don't ever expect it to be free at Disney. Disney does NOT work like normal hotels. (How many of those hotels did you stay at that did NOT have pay per view movies??? Ever seen that at Disney) Disney does not want you ON the internet, they want you IN the parks spending money. Whole different model then the Days Inn, Marriotts etc.


I pay and I use it. I don't think that all the rest of you should pay for me to use it....

This was very well put. I agree 110%

 

[Pa@okw95]

Does anyone know why we as DVC members don't get free internet service?
Any idea how we can request this or bring this up at a board meeting?
Was there last December for the BCV, but was too new to realize what was what.

Nothing is for free!! Members have to pay for everything we get. I am not interested in paying for "free" internet service anymore than I was for paying for the slide at OKW

 

[jade1]

Nothing is for free!! Members have to pay for everything we get. I am not interested in paying for "free" internet service anymore than I was for paying for the slide at OKW

Good point. I wonder how much the slide cost compared to what OKW internet would have cost? Free internet for 38 years may have been less. There are phone plans coming out that have internet anyway so paying for it in a hotel will diminish.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Good point. I wonder how much the slide cost compared to what OKW internet would have cost? Free internet for 38 years may have been less. There are phone plans coming out that have internet anyway so paying for it in a hotel will diminish.

Exactly. DH has internet access on his cell phone, and he can also attach it to his laptop.

 

[Cricket2]

For those of you who do end up paying to use it, think of your fellow members and bring a wireless router with you and allow others nearby to use it too like we do

It's the neighborly thing to do We name our router “Free 4 DVC” to waive all doubt as to whether or not others can use it.

 

[*elaine*]

For those of you who do end up paying to use it, think of your fellow members and bring a wireless router with you and allow others nearby to use it too like we do

It's the neighborly thing to do We name our router “Free 4 DVC” to waive all doubt as to whether or not others can use it.

I'll have dh bring ours with us to BWV in March - he'd appreciate the challenge!

 

[Cricket2]

I'll have dh bring ours with us to BWV in March - he'd appreciate the challenge!

Don't forget to "Un-lock it" so others don't need the encryption key to use it Renaming it is just a courtesy. Why not mention the boards in the name while you are at it

 

[salmoneous]

This is no different than dining at Cape May Cafe or buying a gift shop souvenir.

Good point - didn't think about it that way.

But DVC could put in "at cost" internet service. Back of the envelope calc says you could do the installation for a one-time cost under $0.05/point, then charge people who use the service $1/day.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Just a reminder that the $9.95 charge also covers technical support from an outside firm. Spent way too much time on the phone with them last time I was at DVC first because the internal wiring needed to be replaced and then because the system was on the blink. Whoops, I guess the fact that the system doesn't work very well isn't a good excuse for paying more!

Actually, I am in the group that feels that guests who use HSIA should pay for it. I didn't buy DVC with the expectation that I would get reduced access rates. If we got to the point where we couldn't stay at DVC because we needed HSIA and it was too expensive, we would sell DVC. -- Suzanne

 

[jade1]

For those of you who do end up paying to use it, think of your fellow members and bring a wireless router with you and allow others nearby to use it too like we do

It's the neighborly thing to do We name our router “Free 4 DVC” to waive all doubt as to whether or not others can use it.

Could be preplanned kind of the like the xmas tree thread.

 

[tjkraz]

For those of you who do end up paying to use it, think of your fellow members and bring a wireless router with you and allow others nearby to use it too like we do

I'm not sure I would recommend that to anyone but the most technologically adept. Users with inadequate firewall protection on their PC or open file shares would be pretty easy to victimize over a shared access point. Sure, a risk still exists even with a dedicated connection, but it's much easier to abuse the security hole when you're sharing an AP with the user.

I would also be concerned about being held accountable for the actions of those sharing the line. It would be nearly impossible to track the activity back to a specific wireless PC if one of those sharing the account were to use it for illegal or illicit activities. The user may leave an IP trail behind, but it would be the IP address assigned to your hotel room at the time the actions took place.

 

[bicker]

There are plenty of things I pay for in dues that I don't use. Maybe some of these should be fee based instead of dues base!

I'd vote for some of these:

Telephone - I'd be okay with them switching to charging us for anything outside WDW
Cable TV - There isn't a timeshare that I know of that charges separate for television
DVD players - Players, no; rental of DVDs, perhaps
pool slides - Again, I don't know of any timeshares that have a separate charge for that
lifeguards - Ditto
magical express - I'd rather they didn't do this, but it actually does make sense to do so
fitness centers - Ditto
tennis courts - I don't know enough about tennis to know whether it is often a surcharged item
valet parking - Yes, I would prefer it if they charged us the same for valet parking as regular hotel guests
bell services - I'd rather they not charge for this

 

[bicker]

(And it's called marketing. Disney does NOT need free internet to sell rooms, La Quinta does!)

Ayup!

I can understand paying for internet access. But why $10 a day? None of us (I hope) pays $300 a month for access at home. Why does Disney get that much?

Because that's the price that provides them the most profit, most likely. Again, "marketing".

 

[Mickeysduck]

We returned from a 2 week stay at BWV and SSR in mid March.
Free Internet access would have been great not only for picking up our email and keeping in touch with whats happening at home and posting our photos, but also for checking Disney sites and forums for what's happening, park times, special events, etc. We looked for the events listing in the lobby on Monday, and they were all out and were not getting any more for the week. It would have been nice if they at least had a free intranet just for Disney info.

We found an Internet Cafe just outside Disney in a mini mall at the entrance to Cellibration called PJ's Cafe that served wine and coffee. (Yes, the coffee was the same price as other outside Disney coffee shops. Nothing was added to the bill!) This worked out pretty well as we had a car. The coffee was great and the owners were very pleasant.

I did register a complaint to my guide at SSR. He got back to me within a day to tell me that free internet access at our Vacation Homes is "a work in progress" and will be happening soon.

So debbiepump and others, complain to your guides, the more complaints, the sooner it will happen!

 

[Cricket2]

...Users with inadequate firewall protection on their PC or open file shares would be pretty easy to victimize over a shared access point. Sure, a risk still exists even with a dedicated connection, but it's much easier to abuse the security hole when you're sharing an AP with the user...

It's no different than any other shared access point like Dunkin' Doughnuts or any open WAP in a hotel lobby.

I would also be concerned about being held accountable for the actions of those sharing the line. It would be nearly impossible to track the activity back to a specific wireless PC if one of those sharing the account were to use it for illegal or illicit activities. The user may leave an IP trail behind, but it would be the IP address assigned to your hotel room at the time the actions took place.

It's been proven more than once that open connections have an “implicit lack of authorization”. Read that as you will...

I'm not saying to do this, just that we have and will in the future. If you don't feel comfortable with it, then don't let me be the one to convince you otherwise. If you don't think your tech skills are up to it, then you really shouldn't be setting up a wireless connection in a hotel whatsoever open or not.

 

[Cricket2]

I'd vote for some of these:
magical express - I'd rather they didn't do this, but it actually does make sense to do so

Isn't this paid for by Disney directly and not by DVC at all?

I'd vote for some of these:
fitness centers - Ditto
tennis courts - I don't know enough about tennis to know whether it is often a surcharged item

If I'm on vacation, these things may as well be on fire for as much use as I'm going to get out of them.