Peak crowd WiFi performance

[Polydweller]

It's the nature of wifi that the more users the slower it gets and there are relatively limited number of concurrent connections per access point available. There are some things you can do about that but in a place like Disney around July 4 with the massive crowds its pretty much a given that they'll hit those limits and throughout the year at busy times. And what's worse, once the number of concurrent connections hits about 50% the slow downs begin. If people want to blame anybody it should be the standards body the IEEE who vote on and publish the specs, not Disney. Most of the tech companies have a voice in the specs and basically have to follow them in order for their equipment to work with other companies' equipment.

Not letting Disney off the hook but it's just fact that the technology only allows them to do so much. Frankly the connectivity they have is an impressive feat given the number of possible users they have to try to connect to the Internet at any given moment.

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

It's the nature of wifi that the more users the slower it gets and there are relatively limited number of concurrent connections per access point available.

You're right, but I think that there may have been another problem yesterday. I already got the 503 error in the morning at MK when it was not crowded at all.

 

[ElusiveWookiee]

I'm impressed by the sheer amount of coverage Disney has, and the capacity it can handle. I'm guessing they may be using Meraki access points? I do this for a living, and the number of serviceable clients per AP Meraki promises is almost unreal. They blow the next closest competitor away.


Also....a 503 error doesn't necessarily mean that the WiFi connection was down. Did you try browsing to any other sites? Typically a 503 error is returned when a server is too busy. 404 would be more of a "hey, it's broken and I don't know why...probably your connection" error. I'm wondering if the Apple site was having problems, since it was mentioned on iPhones.

 

[englanddg]

I'm impressed by the sheer amount of coverage Disney has, and the capacity it can handle. I'm guessing they may be using Meraki access points? I do this for a living, and the number of serviceable clients per AP Meraki promises is almost unreal. They blow the next closest competitor away.


Also....a 503 error doesn't necessarily mean that the WiFi connection was down. Did you try browsing to any other sites? Typically a 503 error is returned when a server is too busy. 404 would be more of a "hey, it's broken and I don't know why...probably your connection" error. I'm wondering if the Apple site was having problems, since it was mentioned on iPhones.

Well, I know they turn to Cisco for this sort of thing, and Cisco did buy out Maraki last year.

If they aren't using those APs, maybe that's what will come in the near future? I've been party to their wifi testing and rollouts since 2010 when they used the Carribean Beach Resort (where I stayed) as a test for hotel wifi...and every year, the coverage has been awful. I was so happy when they brought back a copper connection to the rooms for my 2011 trip.

However, just to note, it's not signal or speed...that was the issue any year, at least for me. It was session.

 

[tissandtully]

I'm impressed by the sheer amount of coverage Disney has, and the capacity it can handle. I'm guessing they may be using Meraki access points? I do this for a living, and the number of serviceable clients per AP Meraki promises is almost unreal. They blow the next closest competitor away.


Also....a 503 error doesn't necessarily mean that the WiFi connection was down. Did you try browsing to any other sites? Typically a 503 error is returned when a server is too busy. 404 would be more of a "hey, it's broken and I don't know why...probably your connection" error. I'm wondering if the Apple site was having problems, since it was mentioned on iPhones.

Apple.com is only showing up as its the site that iPhones use to initiate a connection to a wifi AP that has an authgate. 503 is a local error, obvious by the packet shaping text there. It's obviously something internal.

 

[englanddg]

Apple.com is only showing up as its the site that iPhones use to initiate a connection to a wifi AP that has an authgate. 503 is a local error, obvious by the packet shaping text there. It's obviously something internal.

Not that I'm an i(anything) person technically, but this comment would hold true with my experience regarding non-Apple devices on Disney Wifi...

I mean heck, I had trouble getting a software VPN to stay connected to a stationary device with excellent signal reception for any period of time running over port 443. Oh, I could get connection, and ICMP would work, but couldn't RDP over it...which, I've used it everywhere else with no issues, as it's a virtual tunnel over 443...which SHOULD be free and clear as far as Disney service is concerned...

I'm not in a position to have a technical breakdown of how much Disney Wifi sucked for me at the moment, as I didn't document it, log it, or even pay that much attention outside of the random curse word here and there...

But, as a service...it stunk. And that makes any extended vacation difficult, as I require solid internet to do my job and I don't have the luxury of disappearing for weeks at a time.

 

[MarkTwain]

Wifi was completely unusable for me at 8:45pm on July 4, on top of the Magic Kingdom train station, perhaps unsurprisingly.

 

[Jeffxz]

Also....a 503 error doesn't necessarily mean that the WiFi connection was down. Did you try browsing to any other sites? Typically a 503 error is returned when a server is too busy. 404 would be more of a "hey, it's broken and I don't know why...probably your connection" error. I'm wondering if the Apple site was having problems, since it was mentioned on iPhones.

Actually, receiving any http error, 503,404,etc. would guarantee that the wifi IS working properly as the wifi data connection is required to deliver that response to the client. The 503 error reported by me and a few others is caused by some internal proxy type server that handles traffic management.

When wifi fails you will simply get a timeout or connection cannot be established error.

 

[Polydweller]

Actually, receiving any http error, 503,404,etc. would guarantee that the wifi IS working properly as the wifi data connection is required to deliver that response to the client. The 503 error reported by me and a few others is caused by some internal proxy type server that handles traffic management.

When wifi fails you will simply get a timeout or connection cannot be established error.

Exactly, your wifi has connected and attempted to contact a server of some sort and that server has returned an error. As you say, probably a proxy server not able to handle the traffic but wifi was working just not being able to get past that server to the broader Internet.

 

[Polydweller]

I'm impressed by the sheer amount of coverage Disney has, and the capacity it can handle. I'm guessing they may be using Meraki access points? I do this for a living, and the number of serviceable clients per AP Meraki promises is almost unreal. They blow the next closest competitor away.

They are the best with the most capacity I've seen and you can get better than the 100 users per AP that Cisco specs and I'd expect that's what they are using. But folks need to know that there still are upper limits even with high density deployments and it will slow down as the number of users increases and eventually there are no further connections available.

People on this thread being angry at Disney need to know that it is the wifi specification that causes the bottlenecks, slowdowns and lack of connectivity when there is high demand and there is only a limited amount that Disney or anyone else can do about that. As with others who work in the field, I'm impressed by how well it works at Disney given the thousands of potential concurrent connections. But I also realize that it's not reasonable to expect Disney's wifi to work like my home 5 connection network or even my work 100 - 1000 connection network. Just impossible to get the same performance with the density at Disney.

Also, wifi is not cellular. The cellular specifications allow for far more users but, as seen when emergencies occur, there are even limits to cellular when it gets overloaded. Basically, do anything via radio frequency and you will ultimately hit its limits.

 

[englanddg]

People on this thread being angry at Disney need to know that it is the wifi specification that causes the bottlenecks, slowdowns and lack of connectivity when there is high demand and there is only a limited amount that Disney or anyone else can do about that.

That's all fine and dandy...but it IS a reason to be angry at Disney.

If they are aware of the technical limitations which lead to poor or spotty service, why are they foisting it on the general public through FP+ and other MM+ "upgrades"?

The fact they are forcing it on us begs for criticism bred from general frustration.

 

[Tom Morrow]

That's a good point, FP+/MM+ will not work if the WIFI can't keep up.

 

[fillerup]

FWIW - my wifi connection was really very good in Epcot 7/3 & 7/5. My device (not a phone) connected seamlessly upon entering the park and stayed connected for 3 hours.

I've been pretty critical of this whole thing since connection was completely miserable until a couple of months ago.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Tall to me when the parks are full AND everyone in the park is fully using MM+. Until then, while interesting, this information is anecdotal.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I can usually get my iTouch to work with it. I've used it on several trips. It gets better every time I go to use it. But I don't go in July, so I wouldn't know. In August it always seems to work.

 

[DDuckFan130]

I definitely loved the wifi better than my own 3G internet usage lol. I was also at DHS on Thursday and it worked just fine.

There were times the wifi wasn't working though but I have noticed significant improvement over the past couple of years since they began providing wifi in the resorts.

 

[lentesta]

If you're getting a 503 error on Disney's WiFi, you may also see text along the lines of "This message is sent by Blue Coat PacketShaper." That's coming from Disney's system, not the site you're trying to visit. (Source: https://bto.bluecoat.com/packetguide/8.5/nav/tasks/configure/adjust-system-variables.htm).

The message isn't specific, and can be displayed if Disney's out of bandwidth, if they're intentionally blocking the site you're visiting, or a host of other things.

I've only heard of this message being displayed when the park is crowded, so I'm guessing that it's related to Disney's network reaching capacity. We've got reports of it happening this past week.

Len

 

[disneyfan1995]

I used it Easter weekend in all four parks and it worked very well! It was great to have considering AT&T provided me with the worst cell phone service I've ever had that day.

 

[samshem]

Well, I know they turn to Cisco for this sort of thing, and Cisco did buy out Maraki last year.

If they aren't using those APs, maybe that's what will come in the near future? I've been party to their wifi testing and rollouts since 2010 when they used the Carribean Beach Resort (where I stayed) as a test for hotel wifi...and every year, the coverage has been awful. I was so happy when they brought back a copper connection to the rooms for my 2011 trip.

However, just to note, it's not signal or speed...that was the issue any year, at least for me. It was session.

I believe that they are currently deploying Aruba gear.

 

[stuart]

From entering Epcot on the 4th just before 5 to leaving I got on a couple times on my phone, most the time just error messages.