internet access

[Jen D]

I think it would be nice if they offered a length of stay fee, maybe $25? $40? I think more people would buy it and they'd make more money.

I personally think reduced or free access is probably in the future; as stated above, they are trying to recoup their initial investment.

 

[DisFlan]

I think it would be nice if they offered a length of stay fee, maybe $25? $40? I think more people would buy it and they'd make more money.

I personally think reduced or free access is probably in the future; as stated above, they are trying to recoup their initial investment.

Since WDW contracts the resort broadband internet access to an outside supplier, I'm not sure it'll ever be free - or at least not for quite a while. I too would like to see a lower cost "package" price for a certain number of days.

I'd also like to see wi-fi available in more places. I think WDW has fallen WAY behind the curve on wi-fi access from the gitgo.

DisFlan

 

[CarolA]

Of course, Disney really doesn't want you using the internet or Wi-Fi. It's kind of like why they don't have pay per view movies..... They don't make much money if you are reading the DIS in your hotel room. They want you in the park, spending money! IF you think about thier model that way the fact that they charge makes sense....

Other hotels make good money off pay per view movies, Disney has always chosen not to have them.

 

[DisFlan]

I agree, Carol, but the internet has become an integrated, expected part of life for most people for many reasons. We, and most guests, spend plenty of time/money in the parks. That's why we're there and what we're paying for. I've never minded the lack of pay per views at WDW (heck, we could do without the TV most of the time), but sometimes you really NEED the internet while you're there - and not just with dial-up.

DisFlan

 

[rinkwide]

The newer "EVDO" phones get an even faster connection.

Yep, I averaged 500kbps on Sprint last trip, despite a weak signal.

Disney really doesn't want you using the internet or Wi-Fi.

Agreed. I wonder if they could employ a splash-screen/log-in that would let you buy souvenirs, make ADRs, get room service or groceries, check your account balance, schedule DVC tours, etc?

 

[CarolA]

The one thing I do like about Disney's is the 24 hour feature. So if I log on today at 4 pm then I have until 4 pm the next day. Using it that way I find I can usually get away with paying every other day. At most hotels the "24 hours" expires at check out time the next day even if you are staying. So if I log on at 4 pm today at 11 am tomorrow my session is over and I have to buy another day....

The other thing I have done is dialed up first and only logged on if there was something I reallly needed to deal with. I find that if I get on dealing with work stuff I just keep doing that!

 

[bigsmooth]

I've seen some hotels offer a discount for multiple days purchased. Most hotel chains usually bank on shorter stays from business travelers for most of their revenue, whereas DVC I'm assuming (could be wrong) is banking on longer stays from most of their visitors. So I like the idea previously mentioned of a discounted rate for purchasing multiple days.

I agree, Carol, but the internet has become an integrated, expected part of life for most people for many reasons.

DisFlan

I definitely agree with this. Despite the fact I travel to avoid work, sometimes it is impossible to completely escape it, and that connection is necessary. (my last vacation to an RCI affiliated condo in NH I had to do an online presentation- my only work task for the entire week I was away, the condo only had dialup. I had to search far an wide for a business center so I could make a 60 minute presentation). And I also enjoy the occasional connection to home by reading the home newspaper online or researching a WDW restaurant online when you are already onsite.

 

[Jen D]

Well, Disney wanting us to leave the room and spend money is all well and good but there must be tons of folks like us who shut up in the room early because of small children but are awake several hours after they go to bed. I'd rather be hanging out on the Disboards than watching The Lifetime Movie Channel or any of their weak cable selections.

We brought our laptop on our last trip. We did no work for our employers, but we did use it to upload vacation photos, look at the menus on All Ears, check the weather, read the news, check travel information, check Disney Rewards balance, look at our Photopass pictures, deal with the issues we had when we had to reschedule our return due to a blizzard, my husband blogged, of course, I sent a couple Disboards messages, and my daughter did some gaming in her downtime. And of course, we kept our e-mail boxes from getting too stuffed.

We used dial-up some, but honestly, I'm just going to start budgeting the $70-80 into my future trips unless something changes. I loved having high speed access on vacation.

 

[DisFlan]

I wonder if they could employ a splash-screen/log-in that would let you buy souvenirs, make ADRs, get room service or groceries, check your account balance, schedule DVC tours, etc?

Yes! There is SO much more they could do with both the internet access and info provided on the in-room Resort Channel. Even go as far as an intereactive channel for checking your bill, messgages, meal ressies, check points, line waits, room service, grocery orders, tour sign-ups, special event tickets, character meets, last minute changes etc. And the biggie!! - make your NEXT vacation reservation while you're right there and pumped for it.

Disney really does lag in its IT prowess. I'd think these things would SAVE people time in the rooms and get them into the parks faster. They've made sort of a pathetic mini-attempt with Pal Mickey; why not go all the way?


DisFlan

 

[Jen D]

Yes! There is SO much more they could do with both the internet access and info provided on the in-room Resort Channel. Even go as far as an intereactive channel for checking your bill, messgages, meal ressies, check points, line waits, room service, grocery orders, tour sign-ups, special event tickets, character meets, last minute changes etc. And the biggie!! - make your NEXT vacation reservation while you're right there and pumped for it.

Disney really does lag in its IT prowess. I'd think these things would SAVE people time in the rooms and get them into the parks faster. They've made sort of a pathetic mini-attempt with Pal Mickey; why not go all the way?


DisFlan

Awesome ideas, guys!

 

[MikeSquared]

Last time we were at BCV we both brought our laptops, I also brought a D-Link DWL-800AP+ wireless access point to see if it would work. I connected one laptop to the wired access and signed up for the 24hrs. You can switch the wire between multiple laptops if you want, since you paid for access in the room the server just assigns another IP. I connected the WAP to my PC, set it up for DHCP, and set up the wireless side for a local network. I then plugged it into the access port and it worked, we both had wireless access.

Another cheaper way is having your own cellular modem, either a PCMCIA card or through your cellular phone. I have the USB wire for my cellular and the service is only $5 a month. It's slow, but its good enough for mail and checking directions and stuff. It also works great for Poker, gotta have access to my poker site even when I'm on vacation.

 

[DisFlan]

MikeSquared - I have a Linksys wireless network at home, but, wow, I don't want to haul it on vacation with me. (But I give you an A+ for initiative!) It would be a whole lot easier if WDW just extended the range of theirs. Geez, the wireless is already in place. How hard would it be to put in a bunch of signal boosters? They're cheap and they don't use much power. They would have been a heck of a lot cheaper than hardwiring the whole place.


DisFlan

 

[MikeSquared]

The D-Link DWL is only about 3.5" square +power cord, not much luggage space needed. It was a great idea since we both brought our laptops.

 

[PinkTink63]

When you say they charge you $10 a day, for example on a two week trip would i have to pay for the full two weeks or do they bill you per day, how do they know when you are using it or not?

So if i only used one hour in a day I would still have to pay the $10 but would be able to use it again that same day?

I am also wondering this?

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I am also wondering this?

When you log onto the internet, you are directed to a welcome page. You have to click a link to accept the charges of 10.00 per day.
If you click the link at 4pm, you have internet access for a full 24 hours (until 4pm the next day.)
You purchase only by the day. During our 7 day stay, DH and I paid $20 for 48 hours worth of access.
It doesn't matter if you use the internet for 10 minutes or 5 hours... if you accept the charges by clicking the link you have access for a full 24 hour period.

 

[MikeSquared]

The cost is $10 for a 24 hour period. You can connect as many times as you want in that 24 hrs. The next day, after your 24 hr period expires you have to do it again for the next 24 hrs.

 

[DebbieB]

I travel extensively for both business and pleasure (I average about 40-50 hotel nights a year) and take my laptop on almost every trip. The general rule of thumb that seems to hold is: if it is free, it is generally poor service. Just in the past 6 months I have stayed in 8 different hotel chains, all with different types of Internet service. I complained about Internet service at one of the hotels that offered it for free and they said they knew they had a problem--they said that they were on their third provider and that they were paying $10,000 per month for access alone in a hotel of only about 100 rooms and felt they should be able to provide better access for what they were spending. I agree with those who have said that upscale hotels generally require you to pay for access and they also tend to have better service (with more options for connection). The $9.95 per day that I usually pay at those hotels is well worth it for the quality of service. So, I don't mind paying, don't expect it to be free, and think that it is an expensive amenity to provide (especially when they are still paying for the infrastructure).

I'm at a Crown Plaza in Phoenix right now, I could not get the free wired high speed to work. I called the help line and he said something isn't set right on my computer. I don't have administrative access to change the settings (company laptop). Meanwhile, it has worked at different hotels all across the country, seems like a lame excuse. It worked OK at the office today. I'm on dialup now, 60 cents per call.

 

[CarolA]

I'm at a Crown Plaza in Phoenix right now, I could not get the free wired high speed to work. I called the help line and he said something isn't set right on my computer. I don't have administrative access to change the settings (company laptop). Meanwhile, it has worked at different hotels all across the country, seems like a lame excuse. It worked OK at the office today. I'm on dialup now, 60 cents per call.

I have actually had this happen. I can't remember what I had to do to fix it, but I was able to get over this hump. (I know it had to do with a DOS prompt!)

 

[Doctor P]

I'm at a Crown Plaza in Phoenix right now, I could not get the free wired high speed to work. I called the help line and he said something isn't set right on my computer. I don't have administrative access to change the settings (company laptop). Meanwhile, it has worked at different hotels all across the country, seems like a lame excuse. It worked OK at the office today. I'm on dialup now, 60 cents per call.

Actually, there are a couple of different ways that networks get set up (especially wireless) and you sometimes have to be ingenious about getting your computer to work with a given network. Generally, the hotels that have you pay for the service have both a card and an 800 number to get things set up right on your computer. The typical problems are how your computer gets an ISP address on the network, the way that your firewall interacts with the network, and the possibility of needing a password or a network name to access the network (e.g., my home network is pretty much invisible to anyone who doesn't know that it is there, although it shows right up if I tell you how to access it--and I'm not even a techie).

 

[AJMlovesRLM]

It seems very "cheap" for DVC resorts to charge members for internet access.