How's the wifi in the parks these days?

[CanadianPaco]

DH has a Blackberry and DD and I have iphone 5's with the BBM apps, which we have never tried/used. (But will)

Do you use the BBM apps with or without wifi ?

 

[msrlest8]

BBM is a data application therefore if you are not choosing to purchase a data package from your wireless service provider, and simply going on wifi - then you will need to be in a wifi area in order to send and receive bbm messages from your cell phone.
But I really wouldn't worry too much. It was extremely odd for us not to be in a wifi area. We were super impressed!

 

[CanadianPaco]

BBM is a data application therefore if you are not choosing to purchase a data package from your wireless service provider, and simply going on wifi - then you will need to be in a wifi area in order to send and receive bbm messages from your cell phone.
But I really wouldn't worry too much. It was extremely odd for us not to be in a wifi area. We were super impressed!

Thanks so much!

 

[akkascott]

So if I understand correctly:

Settings > Airplane mode ON > Wifi ON

... the three of us in my family with iPhones (one 4S and two 5s) should be able to iMessage each other in WDW?

I've noticed in other locations that texts have sometimes gone through regularly (not via iMessage, I mean) and then I've had extra charges on my bill. Will using these settings prevent that?

TIA!

 

[LSmith]

So, so sad.
I was last at Disney just before the wifi showed up. The overwhelming reaction was 'it's about time', which I find soul-crushingly depressing. Disney is supposedly the happiest place on earth, and apparently people can't be happy if they don't have their precious little screens...

Walt's probably rolling in his grave.

 

[Lizard Valley]

I just want to add something for the iPhone: you don't need to go into airplane mode to avoid the charges. Airplane mode is exactly that - the mode you need to put your phone in when you are on a plane, because you will need to cut off possibilities of receiving and transmitting. Which means that you won't be able to make or receive calls. Consider the possibility that someone may need to get a hold of you in case of an emergency. It also cuts off your wifi, so I'm not quite sure how others are able to communicate via wifi/imessage when in airplane mode.

What you need to do is turn data roaming "off". Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming > Off (i.e., not green).

I'm a flight attendant and I travel to the states all the time. My data roaming is always off. I have never been charged data roaming fees.

 

[TagsMissy]

It worked quite well for us in September. Yeah there were some dead spots but that's expected anywhere. We never really had issues with WiFi while being there.

 

[katt789]

The wifi works pretty well down there for me! Sometimes it is pretty slow, but that's to be expected, and using MDE was always fine

I do find that it drops out in certain areas of the park, the old FOLK theater for instance, and some areas of the Fantasmic theatre. Random places you won't get a signal, but other than that you should be fine!

 

[xerxia]

We just got back from MK and Epcot, I was impressed by how well the WiFi worked in both parks. It was less stellar at the resort though, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and while it worked well in the main building there was zero signal in our room.