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I heard they recently added a cell tower to the fort.  Maybe, with the prevelance of mobile data on smart phones and tablets, this is Disney's way of increasing the availability of wireless service to the Fort.  Even though it isn't free, or provided by Disney...

 

They did add cell towers- almost a year ago.  But, these don't provide WIFI:

 

There were men working on the new cell phone tower that is poorly hidden behind the trees along Fort Wilderness Trail:

 

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If you look through the trees in this photo, you can see that there's a guy in a hard hat there on the pole:

 

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It was hard to see what was going on, but there was a guy in a lift behind the guy on the pole. They may have been putting fake branches on the pole:

 

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TCD

 

TCD

 



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Antennas are being installed and wired. They are different from most, antennas on top and bottom.

Here's a picture of the WiFi equipment being installed on site 1422 a few minutes ago. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

They've had Wi Fi in the cabins and at the Meadow for a long time! So yup, they have Wi Fi and met their Monday deadline!

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For what it's worth the CM said the work was already in progress and any "construction" we saw around the Fort was for the (mystery) wires going in the ground. And she was pretty adamant they'd been told November... which will be here in a week.

Time will tell...

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For what it's worth the CM said the work was already in progress and any "construction" we saw around the Fort was for the (mystery) wires going in the ground. And she was pretty adamant they'd been told November... which will be here in a week.

Time will tell...

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

For once, this will be a rumor that dies a quick and painless death.

TCD

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Don't be surprised if they add wifi to the Premium sites using a method similar to what Mark layed out, before adding to the other loops.  Gotta justify that extra cost as more than just larger concrete pads.

I won't be surprised at all.

And if they do that, maybe they could create a new category of sites. Like Platinum. And charge an extra $10 a night or so for those sites.

Folks will sure love that free WIFI!

TCD

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I can't find it on this site, so maybe it was on that other sites FB page. 

 

Two people had commented at two different by close times that they had seen contractors in the ? loop and the 2000 loop with equipment that they said was for testing wi-fi strength.

 

I found the post, it was Oct 9 on that other sites FB page, and someone commented they had seen the same crew in a loop in September.

 

They told the original poster it would be "soon".

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I see nothing abnormal about Disney having to run wires for wireless access. The routers themselves will be placed based on providing the best coverage which means they could be in areas with no existing cable service. This means they need to run cable to them from the existing cable network. Today with the limited number of cable modems given out bandwidth is likely a nonissue. Adding WiFi will likely tax the existing bandwidth so they could have decided to install a dedicated network just for WiFi. Only time will tell. If it is going to happen hopefully they will have completed it by the time we arrive in a few weeks. 

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I can't find it on this site, so maybe it was on that other sites FB page. 

 

Two people had commented at two different by close times that they had seen contractors in the ? loop and the 2000 loop with equipment that they said was for testing wi-fi strength.

 

I found the post, it was Oct 9 on that other sites FB page, and someone commented they had seen the same crew in a loop in September.

 

They told the original poster it would be "soon".

I don't recall that, but I never put much weight on posts like those.

These rumors are a dime a dozen.

Here's one that told us we'd have Wi-Fi in the loops three years ago:

 

As for the free wi-fi when we were there in November we had internet issues ( a surpsise ) got a chance to talk to the tech on call, he told me they have already begun wifi installation in the fort, they were instaling the nodes and hubs that begin the process, he also stated that it will take a while to get everything installed and wired and configured, he said the proposed completion hopefully would be around august or september 2012. ....

 

I see nothing abnormal about Disney having to run wires for wireless access. The routers themselves will be placed based on providing the best coverage which means they could be in areas with no existing cable service. This means they need to run cable to them from the existing cable network. Today with the limited number of cable modems given out bandwidth is likely a nonissue. Adding WiFi will likely tax the existing bandwidth so they could have decided to install a dedicated network just for WiFi. Only time will tell. If it is going to happen hopefully they will have completed it by the time we arrive in a few weeks.

That makes sense.

But no way would any project like that ever be completed in a matter of weeks.

Sure, at a normal place of business it could.

But, they don't roll like that at the Fort.

TCD

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I still think this is inevitable. Wifi is quickly becoming ubiquitous. Say what you want about how Disney perceives us low life campers, but they still have a brand to protect.

I think the whole thing is a double edged sword.

 

On one hand, Fort campers are paying as much for some sites as the people at a value resort, but aren't getting the same amenities... wi fi and "private" pools (but that's an entire other thread).

 

So looking at it that way, we deserve to have good working wi fi at the sites, even if it is an engineering nightmare for them to figure out and implement.

 

The other side is that... For gosh sakes, people are camping and a lot of them want to get away from the electronic leashes.

 

A PUP site I belong to has some people with very strong opinions of cutting ties with the outside world (other than a weather radio) while camping.

 

I'm sure there are Disney managers and accountants using this second argument when someone brings up wi fi at a budget meeting.

 

Personally, if they are going to install full wi fi coverage at the Fort but use that as an excuse to raise rates, then they can keep it.

 

After all, they do offer cabled internet, and with a simple connection and  your own wi fi router you can blanket your site with signal.

 

Do we really need wi fi signal on the road, in the comfort station, and at the campfire?  Isn't service at your site good enough?

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I think the whole thing is a double edged sword.

 

On one hand, Fort campers are paying as much for some sites as the people at a value resort, but aren't getting the same amenities... wi fi and "private" pools (but that's an entire other thread).

 

So looking at it that way, we deserve to have good working wi fi at the sites, even if it is an engineering nightmare for them to figure out and implement.

 

The other side is that... For gosh sakes, people are camping and a lot of them want to get away from the electronic leashes.

 

A PUP site I belong to has some people with very strong opinions of cutting ties with the outside world (other than a weather radio) while camping.

 

 

I think there is a difference between the Fort and camping at say a state park. I look at the Fort like I do the KOA's or other private campgrounds we use. They are not places we go to get back to nature. They are resorts where we stay in our trailer in lieu of staying in a hotel and I expect the same amenities I would have at a resort or in a hotel. When we stay at a state park though, we are trying to get back to nature so we don't use the television or worry about internet access. While electric hookups are nice they are not a necessity and we are just as happy dry camping. The only real requirement we have is that the campground have a dump station but even that won't stop us if the park is someplace we really want to visit. We just make sure we don't use the trailers water/holding system. 

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I think someone has already said this but there are still hotel chains that do not give free wifi.  I know the Marriott I was in last week didn't.  It doesn't make sense because as people have pointed out tons of cheaper hotel chains do, heck I think even Marriott's lower tier hotels do.  But for some reason the higher end ones do not.  Just pointing out not all hotels give free wifi.

 

 

Not having wifi doesn't bother me, I'm fine with just my phone service and honestly I don't need that while on vacation.  We used to have a strict no phone rule at DisneyWorld but MDE has killed that i guess.

 

WBI

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I think there is a difference between the Fort and camping at say a state park. I look at the Fort like I do the KOA's or other private campgrounds we use. They are not places we go to get back to nature. They are resorts where we stay in our trailer in lieu of staying in a hotel and I expect the same amenities I would have at a resort or in a hotel. When we stay at a state park though, we are trying to get back to nature so we don't use the television or worry about internet access. While electric hookups are nice they are not a necessity and we are just as happy dry camping. The only real requirement we have is that the campground have a dump station but even that won't stop us if the park is someplace we really want to visit. We just make sure we don't use the trailers water/holding system. 

True, Fort guests pay as much as some other Disney resorts, so they should have access to wi fi.

 

But where does wi fi extend at the resorts.

 

It's inside the buildings, is it at the pools or playgrounds?  is it along the boardwalk or at the luau pit?

 

The Fort is a different animal.  They do offer in room wi fi at the cabins, just like at the hotels

 

Like I said, is it necessary to have it in all of the common areas?  Do we need it at the field by the meadow pool, or at a playground or in the dog walk area?

 

It's simple enough to give yourself wi fi in your camper or at your site with the Forts cable modem and a personal wi fi router.  I had a cheapie one in my PUP, and I could get strong signal all over my site.

 

Maybe Disney should upgrade their cable modems to wi fi models and everyone would be happy.

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Disney has run out of excuses to not have wifi everywhere. Guest are praticily forced to use MDE for so much nowadays. Disney owes it to guest to have wifi for mobile devices that can't have a wired connection.

As far as a reason to raise prices, Disney has never needed any other reason than they want to.

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True, Fort guests pay as much as some other Disney resorts, so they should have access to wi fi.

 

But where does wi fi extend at the resorts.

 

It's inside the buildings, is it at the pools or playgrounds?  is it along the boardwalk or at the luau pit?

 

The Fort is a different animal.  They do offer in room wi fi at the cabins, just like at the hotels

 

Like I said, is it necessary to have it in all of the common areas?  Do we need it at the field by the meadow pool, or at a playground or in the dog walk area?

 

It's simple enough to give yourself wi fi in your camper or at your site with the Forts cable modem and a personal wi fi router.  I had a cheapie one in my PUP, and I could get strong signal all over my site.

 

Maybe Disney should upgrade their cable modems to wi fi models and everyone would be happy.

 

I think you already have WiFi in the Meadows field. I know I was picking it up and connecting during our last stay in the 1300 loop. Although it wasn't the most reliable it was usable for email and web browsing.

 

As far as the cable modems go they are limited so not everyone that wants one can get one. I also suspect they never really built up the infrastructure to handle the bandwidth of every site using one for streaming or other high bandwidth uses. Adding wireless router/modem combinations would also be worse than building out a dedicated network. Not only do you have the basic wired bandwidth issues but with the density of the Fort everyone having their own WiFi network would result in collisions and slower service. Even my small travel router gives service to roughly a 100 ft radius. My home router is usable out to 300 ft or better. Overall having a dedicated WiFi will be the best and most manageable system and nothing prevents them from leaving dead spots for places like the beach or Meadows field.

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