Free WiFi at the world

[napnet]

I'd hate WiFi at any of the parks... that means work would want me to carry my Laptop there.

 

[C&D]

I would dislike that a somehow transparent charge would be added to my yearly maintenance, or some other price increase or charge be added, that many people either care not to use or don't have access to. When I'm on vacation, I like to park the car (for my vacation stay), leave the cell phone in my room (during our out of room wanderings) and worry about the computer when I get back home. If you need the computer (or want it for a convenience) then I think you need to pay for it. I know some people are obligated by work to stay connected but that shouldn't infringe on others right to vacation without having to subsidize others obligations.

 

[TheOneVader]

I don't care if it's Wi-Fi or wired, I just want to see faster internet. The access they have there now is dreadfully slow.

 

[disneybonbon]

I guess the question I would pose would be, had they not had free wifi in the lobby, would you have not booked the extra vacation? And second, you can not compare the Best Western at the airport to a resort hotel. When you add the word resort to hotel, you add money to everything that you do, its just the nature of the beast.

It definitely wasn't my intention to imply that by installing the wireless that they could be making money, I was just trying to point out that for us it happened to come in quite handy. And that's really the way I view it -- if there was availability at Pop Century (or basically anywhere but a deluxe) for two nights we would have stayed there. Wireless availability never entered the equation. It was just an observation. I am aware that there's a difference between an airport Best Western and a Disney resort. Trust me, the smell in the hall was enough. And I know that's why it was $46. Had we not needed the internet access that vacation, we never would have noticed. And I think that's the only time I've ever needed it while away.

But I was thinking about your question and honestly there's a good chance might not have gone had we not had the option only because we had to find an alternate hotel for that night. If that hadn't been the case, not having the wireless wouldn't have made any difference. But because it was so last minute and we had already checked out, it would have made it a lot more difficult to figure out where to stay because otherwise we would have had to keep calling around for rates and availability. Once we decided to see if we could stay we had already checked in for our flight and had to leave for the airport in two hours, so we didn't have much time. But maybe we could have found something quickly. I'm not sure if there was internet access besides in the rooms. If so, we may have paid and the wireless may not have made a difference. Who knows. It just made it a whole lot easier. Anyway, I had a really good time and I was pretty excited and surprised that my boyfriend was game for tacking on a trip to Disney. He's not as enthusiastic with things Disney. But we had a lot of fun. My apologies for contributing to the drifting.

 

[disneybonbon]

Again... there's nothing definitive that they are adding free wireless connectivity to the resorts. It's simply an unsubstantiated rumor.

Also... there's a HUGE difference between providing wireless internet access at a Best Western with 200... maybe 300 rooms and all the Disney resorts which has more than 23,000 rooms spread out much more than most hotels.

Very true. Installing wireless in one Best Western would be a lot cheaper than installing it at Disney, but I imagine it would be comparable considering that there are a lot of Best Westerns spread out across a bigger area than Disney World. But still, I understand that the logistics are different for different hotels and companies and I'm sure it would be complicated and maybe this was a cost they considered when raising ticket prices. What's funny is I really don't care all that much. But during this last trip I saw that it is a nice convenience. That's all. Whether they have it and this means things are slightly more expensive or if they don't have it and I miss out on a convenience, I'm still going!

 

[jesserin]

I don't care if it's Wi-Fi or wired, I just want to see faster internet. The access they have there now is dreadfully slow.

I agree.

 

[KrazyKowboy]

Free Wi Fi would be nice at WDW but not likely in the foreseeable future.

Disney offers Wi-Fi (high speed wireless Internet access) in the public areas of its convention hotels (see locations below).
Smart City is the service provider and offers 24 hour technical support. They can be reached by calling 407-938-HELP
Requirements: Wireless Interface Card (WIC) which can be purchased in the resort's business center
Price: $4.99 for the first 60 minutes or $9.95 for 24 contigious hours
Billing: Smart City bills the user via a secure credit card transaction thru the internet connection
Locations:
Disney's Boardwalk Resort -

• Convention Center Hallways/Common Areas
• Resort Lobby
• Main Swimming Pool Area
• Concierge Lounges
• Bellevue Lounge

Disney's Contemporary Resort -

• Front Desk sitting area
• 14th Floor Concierge sitting area
• Outer Rim Bar
• 1st Floor Convention Center Lobby
• 2nd Floor Convention Center Lobby
• Feature Pool

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort-

• Main Hotel Lobby
• Convention Center Lobby
• Feature Pool
• Francisco's Lounge

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa-

• 1st Floor Lobby including the Tea Room
• Convention Center Lobby
• 4th Floor Concierge sitting area

Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts -

• Main Lobby (both resorts)
• Concierge sitting area (both resorts)
• Convention Center Lobby
• Stormalong Bay Pool

It's not unusual for today's vacationers to bring a laptop along for the ride. In response to this, Disney is continually updating guest computer access at the resorts.

All of the Disney Resorts have High Speed Internet Access:​

Price: $9.95 for 24 contiguous hours charged to the room account.
Technical support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Requirements: A Local Area Network (LAN) cable or in-room connection.

For a complete list of available Wi Fi spots in the Orlando area visit:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/wireless.htm

Two other FREE Wi-Fi locations in the general area of Walt Disney World:

• PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar, 54 Riley Road in Celebration​
• Downtown Kissimmee is a wi-fi hotzone - click here for a coverage map.​

Dial-Up Access with a Laptop​

All of Disney's resorts have data ports on the phones. If you want to access the Internet from your hotel room using the data port, you'll need a dial-up account. Remember that they'll charge you .75 each time you connect, even to a local or toll-free number. There is no charge for accessing your own ISP from the resorts. Be sure to get a local access number before your trip to avoid long distance charges.​

Most other hotels near Walt Disney World do offer high-speed Internet access in at least some guest rooms. For a list of many of these hotels check here : http://www.mousesavers.com/otherwdw.html#internet​

 

[PSU_Princess]

Free Wi Fi would be nice at WDW but not likely in the foreseeable future.

But it is already being offered at the wide world of sports

 

[KrazyKowboy]

But it is already being offered at the wide world of sports

Thank you PSU_Princess :sohappy:

Yes indeed, you are correct about Wide World of Sports. "Wi-Fi Zones" are strategically located throughout the entire 220 acres of Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex.

Is there a charge for Wi-Fi access?
No, the service at the Sports Complex is complimentary

For more complete info check out Disney Online: http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/info/detail?name=WiFiInfoDetailPage

FAQ: http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/info/detail?name=InfoWiFiZoneFAQEventDetailPage

 

[luna99]

I don't know about everyone else, but I go to Disney to get away from the internet! lol

exactly!

plus with everything to see and do.. why would anyone want to spend time online? The only reason I can think of is if someone worked online and wanted to get some stuff done or maybe took online classes (as I'm going to be doing soon) and wanted to take a vacation to disney but still had to finish up assignment/work.

 

[hcswingfield]

I'm the only one in my clinic who knows how to do the job I do, so when I'm on vacation I still need to check my email at least once a day, and send instructions as needed to my co-workers. Since patient safety is involved, I don't mind taking a little of my vacation time to keep up with work matters. I also enjoy emailing pictures each day, and of course, posting my trip reports here on the forum! So yes, I use the internet a lot while I'm at WDW.

 

[1disneydood]

What about those of us who haven't been able to use the wireless on brand new laptops? My HP CANNOT get wireless internet for anything. It'll connect to the network, access all network addresses, but no internet. Would they offer free wired internet if we wanted?

 

[dreamlives1984]

Wireless would be helpful

I have been vacationing with my family at Disney for the past two weeks. This trip, I have had my recently purchased Macbook with me the entire time. I carry it around and document my life everywhere else I go, why not Disney? I get a lot of strange looks from other guests while I record video live with iMovie or snap cool, different than the average photo, pictures with PhotoBooth. It's been exciting but it certainly makes things difficult as far as uploading these videos and photos directly to youtube, facebook etc...

Believe it or not, the entire world will be running on free wireless access sooner than you think. Even in Disney at some points I can pick up a random wireless network. One was walking through the Beach club resort and one was on the monorail from Epcot to the TTC. It is ridiculous for a resort as popular and "guest service" oriented to not have free wireless. It is not as hard as you all are making it out to sound. Disney is monopolizing on the fact that many people have no way off property, or a lack of time to get there. They are forced to pay the ridiculous price of 9.95 for 24 consecutive hours (in the same way that they are forced to pay outrageous prices for food, bottled water and recycled rubber bouncy balls).

Think about all of the colleges and university's in our country (let alone on our planet) that are completely wireless. They cater to numbers of students over 40,000 in some places. It is not impossible and I highly doubt it would cost them a ridiculous amount of cash that they couldn't afford to spend.

 

[mkt]

It would be nice to have in the parks, that way I could stop having to go to Innoventions and could instead use my PSP. :lol:

heads up, I had security threaten to remove me from the parks for doing just that

 

[mkt]

I have an EVDO card in my lappy... I don't need no stinkin wifi

And I have a backup GSM PC card as well that I can use.

 

[unkadug]

Ok, I may be showing my ignorance here but...

What's the deal with the iPhones? They have internet connections through wifi right?

If you're wandering around surfing the internet on an iPhone aren't you in theory stealing someone else's bandwidth?

What's to prevent people with iPhones at Disney from using them?

 

[mousermerf]

Wireless networks aren't always open for use - they require security passwords and such. My home wireless network on FiOs is locked, but i can use my laptop around my house.

At WDW, the wireless is running the CDS (cast scheduling and such) at some locations while at others it's handling the MANTRA (registers) systems for some food and merch kiosks.

It's not a network they want guests on, so from what i know, it's well protected.

 

[mattfusf]

Believe it or not, the entire world will be running on free wireless access sooner than you think. Even in Disney at some points I can pick up a random wireless network. One was walking through the Beach club resort and one was on the monorail from Epcot to the TTC.

Disney has had an 802.11/WiFi network running for some time, but it is not for guest use, but rather administrative use throughout the parks and resorts. Most often you'll see WLANWDW or WLANTWDC as the network name. The networks are locked down and I doubt connected to the public Internet.

--Matt

 

[mkt]

Wireless networks aren't always open for use - they require security passwords and such. My home wireless network on FiOs is locked, but i can use my laptop around my house.

At WDW, the wireless is running the CDS (cast scheduling and such) at some locations while at others it's handling the MANTRA (registers) systems for some food and merch kiosks.

It's not a network they want guests on, so from what i know, it's well protected.

WLANWDW and WLANTWDC are extremely well protected... and monitored as well.

 

[KilleriMac17]

Ok, I may be showing my ignorance here but...

What's the deal with the iPhones? They have internet connections through wifi right?

If you're wandering around surfing the internet on an iPhone aren't you in theory stealing someone else's bandwidth?

What's to prevent people with iPhones at Disney from using them?

The iPhone, like any laptop or device that has built in wireless, only uses it if it detects it, or it set up to use it. If there isnt wi-fi, or you dont have the access(pw, payment,ect) to connect to it, it will use the cell connection for its internet. I have an iphone, and most of the time I am not using wi-fi on it. If you get an iphone, the monthly service with AT&T comes with unlimited internet. :king: