Cell Phone Service in the Parks

[Clockwork]

At&t

I was at the parks for Thanksgiving AT&T simply didn't work texts would take 3-4 hours to receive and we couldn't receive or make calls so we switched to Verizon while the no issues at all on both services they were 4s it's not the phone it's the service

 

[Clever Name]

All cellular service is variable based upon a host of many factors. The speed and signal strength (i.e. connectivity) directly depends upon how far away you are from a cell tower along with how many other users in your area are also connected. In addition, if all those users are moving a lot of data, the service can slow down tremendously. The plain fact of the matter is that some phones are better than others in dealing with the varying levels of service and connectivity. Some phones work just fine on a network that is not busy, but as soon as the network becomes crowded, they can’t handle the extra traffic.

The big problem for AT&T and Verizon is that their 3G networks operate in the 850Mhz and 1900Mhz range and their 4G network operates in the 700Mhz range. T-Mobile operates their system in a different (and better) part of the radio frequency spectrum. They operate in the AWS bands (1710–1755Mhz and 2110–2155Mhz). T-Mobile spectrum is much less crowded. AT&T wanted to buy T-Mobile to get the enhanced spectrum. The FCC put an end to that plan.

To complicate the matter, the Apple iPhone is only offered currently by AT&T and Verizon (the two companies whose spectrum is maxed out). Think of it this way. AT&T and Verizon are very much like Soarin’ and Toy Story Midway Mania in that they are always very busy and sometimes the wait is not worth the aggravation. T-Mobile on the other hand is very much like Haunted Mansion. It can handle most any crowd level.

Of course the other trick is finding a phone that works with AT&T and Verizon when they are very busy. The iPhone is only mediocre to poor in that respect. :wave:

 

[WDWVito]

The service was terrible pretty much every where at every parks during our stay. (Dec 15th to the 23rd)

During past trips, same deal.
(ATT)

 

[Timekeeper]

...Think of it this way. AT&T and Verizon are very much like Soarin’ and Toy Story Midway Mania in that they are always very busy and sometimes the wait is not worth the aggravation. T-Mobile on the other hand is very much like Haunted Mansion. It can handle most any crowd level. ...

Haha, good analogy :ROFLOL:

Technical issues aside, at least based on personal experience, it seems like overcrowding is simply the biggest variable when it comes to our cell phone voice and data reception. Visit the parks today - versus two weeks ago - and cell phone reception is just fine. Being that my hardware, software, and carrier haven't changed, overcrowding is the most logical variable that could have negatively impacted my ability to call for help when I couldn't find a restroom with less than a 30 minute wait.

 

[PirateFrank]

I've never had a problem with either AT&T or Verizon.

I had Verizon for year up until July of 2010...we used VZW for the following trips without exception:

* end of January 2005
* middle of January 2008
* mid october (Food & Wine) 2008
* early December 2009

After the switch to AT&T, we had zero issues with our phones on the following trips:

* 3 weeks in august 2010
* mid october (40th aniv, food & wine, marathon week) 2011


While we haven't been down there for xmas week or easter week (yet), I will say that the first week of our trip in august 2010, it was downright *scary* crowded. This past fall's october trip during the 40th, plus F&W/Marathon, it was also very, very crowded. We had zero issues with our phones on those trips....for sms or calls.


We are heading down to O-town for the week following easter this year....and we expect it to be more crowded than we've ever experienced before. I wish I could say, I'll report back then, but this thread will likely be dead. Regardless, given past experience, I have zero concern about my phone down there. Frankly, if you want to see crappy phone service....come to NYC.

 

[draybook]

T-Mobile here and the only time I lose service is in the inside portions of queues or restaurants and even that is random. Any other time it's perfect reception.

 

[JimboJones123]

Data was an absolute mess during the holidays.

We could make calls okay, but had text and internet issues.

Couldn't get a data signal New Years Eve until just before we hit I4.

 

[Grumpy-Fan]

I have T-Mobile and had excellent service.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

My experience at WDW with ATT has been twofold:

1) It depends on the location
2) It depends on the number of people all connecting to the same tower

This is the same all over the US for ATT....I have great ATT signal in Ann ARbor...but I live three blocks from Michigan Stadium -- when there is a home football game, I do not have any signal from two hours before the game to two hours after the game....

I imagine it works the same in Orlando--- the more users that are trying to connect to the same signal towers, the more the signal problems, especially at the holidays.

There are also some areas at WDW that are dead zones no matter when -- like the southern area of Epcot -- the Southern POR/Northern POFQ areas -- Much of AK...

 

[Lightster]

I have AT&T and both iPhones (3G and 4) I've had over the years have either poor/no signal in the queue areas of both Splash Mountain and Soarin (usually no signal). That's about all I can recall on WDW property for me.

 

[real mad hatter]

Daft Question.

After reading all these blogs,is it worth taking our apple I-Phone from UK with us to WDW,we would only only use it for the apps,like waiting times for attractions.Any suggestions ?:shrug:

 

[monothingie]

After reading all these blogs,is it worth taking our apple I-Phone from UK with us to WDW,we would only only use it for the apps,like waiting times for attractions.Any suggestions ?:shrug:

Unless you have an international data plan, this is a TERRIBLE idea. Depending on your carrier and the usage, you could easily rack up a massive bill.

Side note, I have VZW for both my personal iPhone and work Droid. (I still don't know why I took my work phone with me) While there was consistent coverage throughout WDW. The problem was the lack of consistent 3G/4G service. The worst places where this would happen was DAK and Epcot. To add to this when any phone is in a poor service area, the battery life suffers greatly. The phones will use significantly more power trying to establish a signal. My droid was dead in 8 hours. With little to no use.


One thing I found useful was to update the service programming on the phone. (For VZW customers you do a *228 option 2) it actually helped improved things slightly.

 

[Ellie444]

Unless you have an international data plan, this is a TERRIBLE idea. Depending on your carrier and the usage, you could easily rack up a massive bill.

Side note, I have VZW for both my personal iPhone and work Droid. (I still don't know why I took my work phone with me) While there was consistent coverage throughout WDW. The problem was the lack of consistent 3G/4G service. The worst places where this would happen was DAK and Epcot. To add to this when any phone is in a poor service area, the battery life suffers greatly. The phones will use significantly more power trying to establish a signal. My droid was dead in 8 hours. With little to no use.


One thing I found useful was to update the service programming on the phone. (For VZW customers you do a *228 option 2) it actually helped improved things slightly.

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to remeber this for next time.

 

[real mad hatter]

Cheers.

[QUOTE=IBLE idea. Depending on your carrier and the usage, you could easily rack up a massive bill.

Many thanks for the info.will make enqs.

 

[Anthos]

We were there during Christmas week and my iphone and my wife's samsung were all but useless. Texting, calling, internet were all horrid. We use the AT&T which I've been told is spotty in Florida at best.

 

[Communicore]

I heard Boost works well in the parks. I have Sprint and it is hard to get service. Although I manage to post on this board from inside the park, it is random and only in certain areas.

 

[Duckberg]

If ALL else fails I recommend a Minute Maid can & some copper wire. UNLESS someone stole the copper :ROFLOL:

 

[dreamfinder]

Remember that almost all cell towers belong to/are leased to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. Now there are some smaller regional carriers that still have their own, but almost everything else is one of those 4. Boost, MetroPCS, etc all buy their service from one of those carriers (frequently Sprint). So most of the signal depends on what towers your phone can reach and use. Some phones have better antennas than others, so they will pick up a signal better, but being able to pick up a signal means crud if the signal upstream is congested. Most carriers build their network to handle a reasonable load plus a bit. So when the population in a given area grows rapidly, there are more device competing for data than can get it. Frequently for a big event like the Super Bowl, Nascar Races, etc, the carriers will bring in mobile towers to help offset the increase so they can still provide service. This would mean that the carriers would need to either add new towers to handle the extra load on a permanent basis, or start bringing mobile towers on property for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. Since Disney won't share their attendance numbers, the carriers need to do the best they can to estimate without getting stuck with a ton of unused bandwidth.
The carriers are still getting slammed with the increase in smartphones. More people are using data than they can add the bandwidth. That is one of the reasons why many have stopped doing unlimited data. So many people have the devices that they can't provide enough bandwidth under their current pricing scheme and still make the profits they want.