Walt Disney World WiFi

Walt Disney World WiFi is free to its guests across all parks and resorts. With the dramatic increase in the use of smart phones/mobile apps and the number of overseas visitors to Florida this is a must for a lot of people.

Not unexpectedly the first Walt Disney World park to offer the free Wi-Fi was Disney’s Magic Kingdom. This was quickly followed by Disney’s Epcot and Typhoon Lagoon. This was then later followed by Disney’s Hollywood Studios, then Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs. In fact the majority of public spaces in Disney have access to Free Wifi:

• Magic Kingdom Park
• EPCOT
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
• Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
• Disney Springs
• Disney’s BoardWalk

Disney also has free Wi-Fi at its Walt Disney World Resort hotels.

If you’re now looking for other recommendations to help with prices or hotels. Check out our Disney World USA ticket guide or UK ticket guide to save money on your trip.

To access the internet from one of the parks, just search for a Disney World WiFi network called “Public Space Guest WiFi (Disney)”. Join it and accept the usage terms and conditions. You’ll then be able to tweet, update Facebook, browse the internet and run the many theme park attraction mobile apps. You can then take advantage of the real-time wait times that typically require internet network access.

Once you have “logged in” you do not need to login again whilst in the park. The service is filtered so it does not give you unlimited access to the internet, some sites may be blocked.

Like a lot of public Wi-Fi networks though, do not expect super fast speeds. Initial tests have given variable results in terms of both connectivity and speed and of course this will be influenced by how busy the park is and your proximity to the Wi-Fi hotspots. Generally reception is good inside the shops and restaurants but not inside some of the attractions themselves as you might expect with wireless technology.

To access the internet from one of the Disney Resort hotels, search for a network called “In-Room Guest WiFi (Disney)”.

Data Roaming

Whilst many of the theme park mobile apps will work without a data connection, to get the best use from them including real time wait times, you need an internet connection.

Using mobile (cell) phones to access the internet and view emails whilst abroad can be very expensive. In the EU legislation has been brought in to cap data charges but no such legislation exists if you are visiting the USA. The charges for a UK visitor using data services in the USA can typically be as much as £7.50 per mb of data if you are accessing the internet via the normal cell carriers.

Having access to free Wi-Fi means no charges for reading those emails, browsing the internet or running those mobile apps.

Note that if you have an iPhone or an Android device then there is a simple Network setting which turns data roaming off. You are strongly advised to turn off data roaming whilst abroad to avoid running up expensive bills.