DVC Resorts WiFi

[chcknctlt]

Not sure there is a concrete answer but this summer, we are going to be down for 3 weeks...the middle week, I need to work remotely. Has anyone had experience lately with Disney resort wifi and if it is reliable for work?

Thanks

 

[OKW Lover]

Disney resort wifi is so variable that there is no right answer to this question. From minute to minute it will change. Also, from resort to resort and even down to the individual room, it changes. You might find a good spot in your room, then move to a different chair and find it terrible. There's no clear cut answer to your question.

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

The luxury resorts have far better WiFi coverage in my experience. The moderates not so much. Two years back at AOA, the wifi would literally cutout as you walked out of the lobby and while walking around the resort. Maybe it’s better not sure, but don’t recall issues at luxe.

 

[Brian Noble]

if it is reliable for work?

For live video, I would say no. For less demanding things, I would say "probably, but not for sure, so have a backup plan."

 

[iheartglaciers]

I agree that the wifi is very variable even within the same resort. I was in a Tower Studio at Riviera last week and the wifi speed wasn't that good. If I were working remotely for a few days at a Disney resort, I might consider getting a mifi just in case (especially if you do a lot of video calls).

 

[PCFriar80]

Not sure there is a concrete answer but this summer, we are going to be down for 3 weeks...the middle week, I need to work remotely. Has anyone had experience lately with Disney resort wifi and if it is reliable for work?

Thanks

PPs responses are spot on with variability of the WIFI performance. All I will say is that I got BG18 two days in a row from BCVs room 557 using their WIFI and an iPad.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

I will add this. We stayed at the Boardwalk, second to the last room at the end of the hall and the WiFi was just about nonexistent. I asked the front desk about it and was told that end of the resort does have poor WiFi. I was told that the closer you are the the lobby/public areas of the resort, the better the speed. Don’t know if that’s true, just what I was told by the front desk. Doesn’t hurt to ask when you check in.

 

[Dancing Accountant]

Some of the values were testing a different wifi last year. I know pop did and someone told me one of all stars. There was a huge improvement at pop from previous trips. The wifi in the hallways of AKL Jambo is really bad as with some rooms. The switching from in room to common areas at most of the hotels leaves a little to be desired

 

[badeacon]

Disney resort wifi is so variable that there is no right answer to this question. From minute to minute it will change. Also, from resort to resort and even down to the individual room, it changes. You might find a good spot in your room, then move to a different chair and find it terrible. There's no clear cut answer to your question.

Agree with this. Very variable.

 

[CarolMN]

I've found that it is better during the middle of the day when most people are out of their rooms. It can be spotty and slow in the evenings and first thing in the morning. You may want to investigate using a cell phone as a hot spot.

 

[Disneylvr1971]

DH has to work also when we are down there. We had to invest in a mobile hot spot. There were just too many times he couldn't get a halfway decent signal. This is from all levels of stays, from Values, Mods and Deluxe. Like others have suggested, I would definitely look into a back up plan. Good luck to you.

 

[BillPA]

It work about as well as the DVC WEB Site, that is, some times it's good some time's not so much. Good Luck.

 

[Sparky984]

This is an easy problem for Disney to fix if they wanted to throw some money at it. However, part of the problem could be that Disney likes to blend the APs into their environment. This could limit the number of APs or prevent them from being in an ideal location and they settle for good enough. The same spottiness could be said about WiFi in the parks. Try looking for an AP in any of their theme parks, good luck. I’ve found one in a ticket booth and that’s it.

 

[NoTime42]

This is an easy problem for Disney to fix if they wanted to throw some money at it. However, part of the problem could be that Disney likes to blend the APs into their environment. This could limit the number of APs or prevent them from being in an ideal location and they settle for good enough. The same spottiness could be said about WiFi in the parks. Try looking for an AP in any of their theme parks, good luck. I’ve found one in a ticket booth and that’s it.

In rooms, I kinda think the AP’s are behind TV’s or furniture under the TV. There seems to be 2 sets of AP’s. Ones for guest WiFi and another for the room door locks. I don’t think every room has an AP.

Unfortunately they spent money to remove the better option, wired LAN ports that used to exist in every room.

 

[Sparky984]

In rooms, I kinda think the AP’s are behind TV’s or furniture under the TV. There seems to be 2 sets of AP’s. Ones for guest WiFi and another for the room door locks. I don’t think every room has an AP.

Unfortunately they spent money to remove the better option, wired LAN ports that used to exist in every room.

Wired would be an option for a laptop but I don’t think many people are bringing those anymore. The bottom line is that the WiFi can be better and Disney should do better, especially considering the cost of the rooms.

 

[CarolMN]

Wired would be an option for a laptop but I don’t think many people are bringing those anymore. The bottom line is that the WiFi can be better and Disney should do better, especially considering the cost of the rooms.

No laptop, but I always brought a very small travel router. It worked great and was more secure than the public wifi. I wish the wired was still an option.

 

[jlmarr]

I've thought of bringing our wi-fi only iPad, parking it in a Good Spot in the room, and using it as a tether. Not sure how well that would work.

 

[supersnoop]

I've thought of bringing our wi-fi only iPad, parking it in a Good Spot in the room, and using it as a tether. Not sure how well that would work.

Can you tether a wi-fi ipad? I thought you could only tether to share the cellular connection.

 

[Dean Marino]

So a little advice? Add a WIFI PW protected hotspot to your cell phone.
WHEN (not if) the WDW WIFI service gets saturated? Re-connect computer, or tablet, through CELL Service.

Or don't. Up to you.

 

[jlmarr]

Can you tether a wi-fi ipad? I thought you could only tether to share the cellular connection.

Ah, my confusion. I thought the TP-Link Tether App would provide tethering capibility, but the Tether app is merely a graphical user interface to the various TP-Link networking products. So I'd need to disconnect my RE200 wi-fi extender at home and bring it with me.