Free wifi at DVC?

[pam0909]

We've rented points and will be staying at Kidani in Sept. will we have access to free wifi?

 

[erionm]

All WDW Resorts offer free WiFi to all Resort Guests. The speed may not be very fast and the connection may drop on you. Disney is also rolling out free WiFi to the WDW Theme Parks.

 

[Brian Noble]

...and so if you *need* connectivity (i.e. for work) you should probably bring along a cellular hotspot or other device to which you can tether.

 

[crisi]

As of yesterday (just returned) its bad enough to be unusable. I'd recommend a tether if you need internet.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

All WDW Resorts offer free WiFi to all Resort Guests. The speed may not be very fast and the connection may drop on you. Disney is also rolling out free WiFi to the WDW Theme Parks.

May?????

Connection dropped every 10 minutes. IT support told me that was normal. It is free, and that is too costly. I would pay for good service

 

[pam0909]

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Disney_Mama]

At OKW now and with our laptop we always have internet and it's never dropped. With our Ipad and playbook no usable signal. We spent one night at AKV Jambo house and got internet on all of our gadgets.

 

[pam0909]

We thought about getting a cellular hotspot via our phone but since we've never done it we weren't sure how strong the signal would be. Anyone who has used a cellular hotspot, how did it work (i.e. fast, slow, etc)?

 

[erionm]

We thought about getting a cellular hotspot via our phone but since we've never done it we weren't sure how strong the signal would be. Anyone who has used a cellular hotspot, how did it work (i.e. fast, slow, etc)?

Results will vary depending on carrier, technology (3G/4G LTE, etc), location, etc. Disney will not allow the carriers to erect cell towers on property. The only exception may be Verizon as they currently have a working relationship with them.

 

[Brian Noble]

Disney will not allow the carriers to erect cell towers on property.

There are a few, but I don't know who owns them. For example, the "cell tower tree" at Animal Kingdom Park.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=nq...t=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=3950307&encType=1

 

[erionm]

There are a few, but I don't know who owns them. For example, the "cell tower tree" at Animal Kingdom Park.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=nq...t=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=3950307&encType=1

I believe Disney put that one up for their communication equipment.

 

[pam0909]

We have service thru Sprint and have iPhones(4S). We would use the hotspot for our iPads in our Kidani room (or around the resort) only.

 

[Brian Noble]

I believe Disney put that one up for their communication equipment.

Could be. All I know is that I get relatively decent data and voice service with either Verizon or ATT more or less anywhere, with only a few exceptions---though ATT inside VWL is one of them. In my experience with these two carriers, it is similar to most urban areas---usually fine, sometimes not.

 

[eva]

Yikes! Service was horrible at OKW last week. Rarely could we get on. And once we did we were dropped within 5 or 10 minutes. CM at the desk said to call a number and complain, but it wouldn't do much good. They are just registering the complaints. In all common areas the connections was pretty good. But in the rooms and on the balconies it was terrible. Wish they had left the hard wire intact. We could have used our wireless router. Was a real issue with DH work. He had to phone into HR to approve the time sheets of his employees.

 

[rsimon]

So did they remove the hardwire ports? Last time we were at WDW and just last week at DL, the hardwire ports were still there even though the wireless was in place.

They don't push the hardwire anymore, but I was able to find the ports and use them with our own wifi router as usual. If they actually removed the hardwire, I would be surprised.

 

[erionm]

So did they remove the hardwire ports? Last time we were at WDW and just last week at DL, the hardwire ports were still there even though the wireless was in place.

They don't push the hardwire anymore, but I was able to find the ports and use them with our own wifi router as usual. If they actually removed the hardwire, I would be surprised.

Reports from people staying at WDW is that the wired connections are no longer live.

 

[eva]

Reports from people staying at WDW is that the wired connections are no longer live.

That is correct. We tried. The person at the front said they have all been disconnected. Crazy! Not sure what to do next time. Even on vacation DH does have to work 20 or 30 or so minutes each day. He is a director of a large IT department. Lucky he has his Blackberry for emails. But he needs to get on to the company server through a laptop for things like payroll and such. He spent a lot of time on the phone this trip because of the Wi-Fi issue.

 

[Moparlar]

That is correct. We tried. The person at the front said they have all been disconnected. Crazy! Not sure what to do next time. Even on vacation DH does have to work 20 or 30 or so minutes each day. He is a director of a large IT department. Lucky he has his Blackberry for emails. But he needs to get on to the company server through a laptop for things like payroll and such. He spent a lot of time on the phone this trip because of the Wi-Fi issue.

Depending on the phone and carrier he might be able to use his phone as a hotspot for the laptop to get online to do his work.

Larry

 

[rock_doctor]

So did they remove the hardwire ports? Last time we were at WDW and just last week at DL, the hardwire ports were still there even though the wireless was in place.

They don't push the hardwire anymore, but I was able to find the ports and use them with our own wifi router as usual. If they actually removed the hardwire, I would be surprised.

Yep, the wiring is there but the racks are non-op. Typical, half step forward two steps back. What is there is the same as not having anything at all. We were there last Christmas (BLT) and i could not connect on my computers. After staying on hold for days one started to connect but the other wouldn't (and i do mean days not just being sarcastic - they really don't care). I eventually gave up and used my sprint phone to tether. As i said in my last post about this back in Jan. DVC...get it working or refund back the telecommunications part of our maintenance fees. We are directly paying for internet access as well as telephone. It isn't free.

 

[pam0909]

We just got back and the WiFi was TERRIBLE!! I got one good connection during the entire 9 day stay for a few minutes and that was it. WiFi wasn't necessary for us but if it was I would definitely go a different route (i.e. tether, etc.).