free internet...anyone gotten lately? Specifically VWL?

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, I was at the annual meeting, and Jim Lewis announced "In 2008, there will be free internet." You can argue whether or not he meant it to be starting January 1 of 2008. However, he received a big round of applause, and I think that if he meant that it would happen in spring or summer, he had at least a moral obligation to clarify it, if he'd known, if it would be "in the spring of 2008" or whenever. I really wish he'd said more specifically WHEN in 2008 (even the season would have been nice, or just "Sometime in 2008, but we're not sure of the date....")

 

[bams50]

I can't believe no one just does what I do- dial-up! You just ask the front desk for a local number and sign on with that; pull the plug from the phone, plug into your laptop, and log on! Sure, it's slower, but it works, and only costs 75 cents per log-on- whether you're online 5 minutes or 5 hours!

For what I need, it wokes great, and costs next to nothing

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Daily Internet charge to be discontinued this spring
Based on Member feedback, the daily charge for wired high-speed Internet access for Members staying at Disney Vacation Club Resorts at the Walt Disney World® Resort is slated to be discontinued once system enhancements are in place this spring. Guests renting Disney Vacation Club accommodations will continue to pay the daily rate for access, and high-speed Internet access charges still apply to Members staying at non-Disney Vacation Club Resorts.

In related news, plans call for wireless service debut inside vacation homes at Disney's Vero Beach Resort and Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort sometime this year. Look for updates on this Web site as new details become available.

Jim Lewis said in 2008. The member site says Spring.

 

[DebbieB]

Jim Lewis said in 2008. The member site says Spring.

There's a little "qualifier":

"once system enhancements are in place this spring."

They'll just say the system enhancements are not complete yet if it goes over the last day of spring.

 

[KevGuy]

I can't believe no one just does what I do- dial-up! You just ask the front desk for a local number and sign on with that; pull the plug from the phone, plug into your laptop, and log on! Sure, it's slower, but it works, and only costs 75 cents per log-on- whether you're online 5 minutes or 5 hours!

For what I need, it wokes great, and costs next to nothing

It works great I'm sure but I like to have pages come up before I turn gray lol.

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm am not a techie, but I don't think my high speed cable ISP offers a way to use dial-up.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

We're here at AKV and something has definitely changed with the high-speed internet access. The connection is now through Cisco, rather than the previous Disney portal, and is much faster.

We were connected when we first arrived (Thursday 4/10) and it was with same Disney portal we were familiar with from past trips. Then on 4/11, my dh could not get connected at all. He made multiple calls to tech services who finally said his computer wasn't compatible with their network even though it had worked the night before Despite this "interesting" diagnosis, he tried again to connect on 4/12 and voila a new portal via Cisco and no problems with connection at all.

We are checking out tomorrow (headed to Vero for a few days - yay!) and we'll find out if anything has happened with the fee for internet usage. My guess is even with this enhancement it will still be a bit before we see the elimination of the fee but no harm in checking. It does still list a charge at the portal but I wouldn't be surprised if that still exists even when we do get it free as I believe the portal is the same for all users including non-DVCers at the hotels.

I'll report back in once we get online again (probably via the wi-fi in the lobby at Vero) and let you know what we find out!

 

[mikron]

No, but we have wireless broadband with nextel/sprint and it works everywere on Disney property.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

Update - we received our checkout bill this morning and we were only charged for the first day when we were using the Disney portal. So, it appears that with the new portal has come free internet at AKV!

 

[jekjones1558]

Hurray! Now let's hope that the other resorts soon follow suit!

 

[gkrykewy]

Bump-- HSIA is free everywhere, right? I just logged in on a leap of faith at VWL, since the $9.95 confirmation page didn't have the usual "this charge does not apply to DVC members" that the equivalent page at AKV has...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Bump-- HSIA is free everywhere, right? I just logged in on a leap of faith at VWL, since the $9.95 confirmation page didn't have the usual "this charge does not apply to DVC members" that the equivalent page at AKV has...

Yes, internet is free to members staying on a DVC reservation at a DVC resort. Next time start a new thread instead of bumping up a creaky old one.

If you are not a member or you booked with Disney Reservation Center, you'll be paying for it.