Question about the park's WiFi

[B3rlingirl]

Yes, I know… another thread about the park’s WIFI , but I didn’t find quite the right answers to my questions…

So, I know or more precisely I read that the WIFI isn’t great. I can live with that. In fact, I am used to very bad wifi coverage where I live…

My question is: Is the WIFI itself bad or just the coverage range? So, if I walk close to one of the WIFI points, will I then be able to use Maxpass? Or is it too weak and slow for that?

Because my problem is I am from Europe (Berlin actually...) and I won’t have mobile data, but I would like to use Maxpass nonetheless.
I would rely completely on the park’s WIFI therefore. As mentioned I am fine with walking the little extra distance to the WIFI points because that is still a great improvement on the walking distance and still saves a lot of time compared to the regular paper FPs, but if the WIFI is to slow/ weak for the Disney app and Maxpass even close to the WIFI spots it wouldn’t help much…

I hope someone can help and has any knowledge or experience…? Thanks...

 

[Ellie Mint]

Disclaimer, I've not been to the park yet (October can't come soon enough!!) but I feel like I've read the WiFi itself isn't great, kinda spotty. I'd be wary of buying maxpass until you're sure it'll all work smoothly. Definitely wait to purchase maxpass once you're in the parks and have checked it out for yourself if you go the WiFi route.
Hopefully someone more experienced will help you with info soon.

I was also wondering what options you might have for data anyway? I'm from the UK so in a similar position but there is a phone carrier here which offers great roaming deals for the US which is my plan. Going to grab a pay as you go (payg) SIM pre holiday to take advantage of their deal since my current carrier isn't as good for roaming. We were also considering buying a cheap SIM when we get to the US to cover this problem. Would that be an option for you?
Maybe someone local to the parks can suggest a cheap option for you as well so you're not tied to potentially bad WiFi.

Have fun in Disney!

 

[Doctor Who]

Last weekend I couldn't find the Wifi in either park.

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

i would rent a mobile wifi hotspot. Google it, many companies provide rentals.

 

[enrai]

Another way is to get a US SIM card if your phone is unlocked. T-Mobile has this Tourist plan which will give you 1000 mins airtime, unlimited text AND data, but only 2GB at full 4G/LTE speed. All for $30 + $10 for SIM card, and will automatically expires after 30 days. I'm in Canada, so we have a couple of options for US roaming services. You can check your current service provider to see if they can give you better price on US roaming, so you can still use your own phone number.

Now I just have to hope that whatever mobile service that I use, they'll have a good coverage at Disneyland...

 

[B3rlingirl]

Thanks for the answers so far...
though I hoped for slightly better news concerning the parks wifi...
simply using the parks wifi would be so much easier I actually though I read somewhere about someone who did just that... but to be honest if I pay like 60 or 90$ for maxpass ( 2-3 days)I can just as well spend even more money for a data plan but might also be kind of an overkill...

but I guess I'll really have to check out an alternative to the park wifi... Because it will be to late if I try it out myself...
The T-mobile tourist plan I found requires not only a shipping address in the US but also a US credit card which I don't have...otherwise it is a good option! I might be dumb but I can't find any mobile hotspots for a reasonable price... I mean I don't need that much data just for Disneyland or do I?

So next question... Does anyone has any idea how much data you might need for a day of Disneyland app for booking maxpass?... but I guess 2-4 GB should be sufficient for 5 days?

I googled a bit about US SIM cards and that might be an option...
I found a Lycamobile one for a good price (under 30$) with 4 GB data and a pretty unlimited flat for calls and text (which I actually don't need) for 30 days...( actually almost sounds to good to be true...)
they use the T-Mobile network, so does that work well in Disneyland?

 

[enrai]

I agree! Using WiFi is better than paying extra for data. I found this link: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/internet-wifi/ Maybe it can help you decide whether the hotspots they've installed is sufficient. For me, I think I'll have to use my mobile data anyway...

The T-mobile tourist plan I found requires not only a shipping address in the US but also a US credit card which I don't have...otherwise it is a good option! I might be dumb but I can't find any mobile hotspots for a reasonable price... I mean I don't need that much data just for Disneyland or do I?

So next question... Does anyone has any idea how much data you might need for a day of Disneyland app for booking maxpass?... but I guess 2-4 GB should be sufficient for 5 days?

You can get the T-Mobile Tourist plan in store (maybe there's one at the airport?), and they won't need US address to ship the SIM card to you. If they requires US credit card, then just pay cash... I normally use about 500MB to 1GB per week with my home network, without streaming video or audio. If you just want to use it for the MAXpass, 2GB would be more than enough.

I just found another company called freedompop. Apparently they can give you 500MB data, 200mins airtime, and 500 texts for free! I haven't done much research about this whether it's available to non-US residents or not, but if it is, it could be an option for you. That 500MB can cover where there's spotty WiFi coverage at the parks....

 

[blackjackdelta]

I had read somewhere that AT&T provides Disneyland's service. Maybe I missed it, how many days will you be touring here?

Last weekend I couldn't find the Wifi in either park.

How old and what kind of phone do you have?

Jack

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im from Ireland and was in the parks June 20, June 21 and June 22. I had my data turned off, phone on airplane mode and WiFi turned on. The only place I had decent Wifi was on Tomorrowland Terrance. Buying Maxpass IMO is a waste of time if you dont have data access.

I did the paper Fastpass and had no issues getting Fastpasses. The times are printed on the ticket, I just kept checking the ticket and time and was pulling Fastpasses one after another, as soon as they became available.

One one stage during my time in California I did have to use my data (not in Disney). These are the charges that my carrier 3 Ireland sent me by text message

call home or in USA for €1.11 per minute and €1.11 to receive a phone call
send a text for €0.36 , texts are free to recieve
the standard for data is €10.07 per MB
per day you are charged up to the use of 3 MB and then up to 50 MB is free
it is then €10.07 per MB of use after 50 MB

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t see how it’s possible to use Maxpass on park Wi-Fi. The whole benefit to Maxpass is that you can book from anywhere!

You don’t need anywhere near a GB of data. I’ve used 466 MB of data on the Disneyland app since February 4 (the last time I reset my phone stats), and I’m there about once a week, and I often just turn off my Wi-Fi altogether (unless I’m downloading pictures, in which case I try to find a working Wi-Fi hotspot).

 

[BadPinkTink]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t see how it’s possible to use Maxpass on park Wi-Fi. The whole benefit to Maxpass is that you can book from anywhere!

You don’t need anywhere near a GB of data. I’ve used 466 MB of data on the Disneyland app since February 4 (the last time I reset my phone stats), and I’m there about once a week, and I often just turn off my Wi-Fi altogether (unless I’m downloading pictures, in which case I try to find a working Wi-Fi hotspot).

can you check your average MB per day on the Disneyland App? That would give us international people an idea of how much it would cost us on data roaming

 

[B3rlingirl]

I agree! Using WiFi is better than paying extra for data. I found this link: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/internet-wifi/ Maybe it can help you decide whether the hotspots they've installed is sufficient. For me, I think I'll have to use my mobile data anyway...
....

yes I saw that map.. those points would be enough for me but only if they are good enough to actually use the Disney app...

those reports like this one doesn't sound very promising though...:

Im from Ireland and was in the parks June 20, June 21 and June 22. I had my data turned off, phone on airplane mode and WiFi turned on. The only place I had decent Wifi was on Tomorrowland Terrance. Buying Maxpass IMO is a waste of time if you dont have data access.
...

I had read somewhere that AT&T provides Disneyland's service. Maybe I missed it, how many days will you be touring here?

How old and what kind of phone do you have?

Jack

I'll be in the park for 5 days and about 2 weeks in the US in general (but I won't need any data besides that for maxpass). Question is of course if I need maxpass at all, but saving those additional steps and getting fast passes for DCA while in DL would be sweet. But getting a sim card just for 2-3 days of maxpass is probably a waste of money...I actually planned to see how it all works out after day 1 and buy maxpass as needed while there but without wifi that plan won't really work... deciding it here is the tricky part I guess...

I have a "German" iPhone 6s so that should work for 4G data in the US.. at least thats what my googling research told me...

and that Lycamobile plan I found via amazon is about 25$ for 4GB data so that is pretty much the limit I "might" be willing to pay

 

[PatMcDuck]

I switch to data at DL. I found the WiFi unreliable. Hopefully it has improved.

 

[Priory]

The WiFi is a joke. Even if you can locate it (not often) you will not stay connected to it at all. It’s compmetely worthless. However I’m in the park today and reset my data measuring this morning so later tonight I’ll be able to tell you how much one day of fairly heavy app use takes in data.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

can you check your average MB per day on the Disneyland App? That would give us international people an idea of how much it would cost us on data roaming

I'm not sure if that's possible to track, but even if it was, my average wouldn't be useful because sometimes I'm there for full days, but other times I'm only there for a couple of hours.

I'll say, though, that I'm guessing it's usually 50MB or less even on "heavy use" days, because between February and now, I've done three "full commando-style" days with various visitors (like rope drop to post-fireworks, using Maxpass heavily all day), and I was there nine times in May alone (sometimes just for PTN)... but overall, that's a lot of park time to only end up equalling 466 MB.

 

[lunasea]

The WiFi stinks. Have an iPhone 6s and have issues and know people who have the latest and greatest phones that get spotty WiFi.

And the DL app uses nothing. Three hours, 5 MaxPasses, multiple wait time checks, and one mobile food order and I used 11 MB my last visit.

 

[Priory]

I was in the parks for 12-13 hours today. I used my app for maxpass (pretty heavily), mobile ordering once, checking show times/wait times and entering (but not saving) ride photos. I used 263 MB. Seems too high, but that is what my iPhone is telling me since I reset the stats around 10am.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I was in the parks for 12-13 hours today. I used my app for maxpass (pretty heavily), mobile ordering once, checking show times/wait times and entering (but not saving) ride photos. I used 263 MB. Seems too high, but that is what my iPhone is telling me since I reset the stats around 10am.

Wow , thanks for that. What you described seems along the lines of how I would be in the parks.

Going by your data usage, that would have cost me over €2000 / $2000 on data roaming

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I was in the parks for 12-13 hours today. I used my app for maxpass (pretty heavily), mobile ordering once, checking show times/wait times and entering (but not saving) ride photos. I used 263 MB. Seems too high, but that is what my iPhone is telling me since I reset the stats around 10am.

Wow, that is way different than mine (also have an iPhone). I’ll have to check an individual day next time I go (probably Sunday).

 

[DLRExpert]

Been noticing that it's getting better.

However, it should be much better. My guess is they do not want to extend the network until 5g rolls out, which should be by the end of year going into next. Why pay to improve the signal when they will have to build a new one anyways.