New internet provider at WDW

[jp10558]

Well, I disagree. Sure, having a backup is good but the resort provides Internet and it's no longer a new service where we should forgive outages like those reported here. It's part of our maintenance fees. I could argue it’s as important as hot water.

As for the faster mobile offering, yes, that's nice, but again not critical for work unless you absolutely need the fastest speeds. If you are able to work at just 10/10 or so (and likely much less) then that's not necessary. Also, the faster service isn't available everywhere - I have it on my phone and even in a metro area like Los Angeles it’s not everywhere in the city. I certainly don't expect it in prime resort areas just yet. But once again, I would be just fine with 10/10. I only need ~2Mbps to get my work done, and have done that in the middle of the Atlantic on pre-Starlink internet, etc.

Let's try to stay grounded with our expectations. The most basic of which is that Internet is an included service of the resorts and they must be held to a high service standard.

I think Internet should work better 100%. However, I've found I basically can't use Wyndhams Internet, mostly because due to no real fault of anyone, their IP address range conflicts with my work VPN IP range and so stuff just doesn't work well.

From a work perspective, getting hotspot on most phones especially with the prepaid plans isn't that expensive insurance. I find for my needs it cost me maybe $4 more a month. At the high end, we pay $20 a month plus tax for the unlimited data plan which I tend to use with my sister when we travel together - that lets us work in the car, which is also useful. I am more than happy to pay a bit to ensure I can work, the alternative is running out of vacation time and then not being able to travel. Just like if my Internet at home kept being insufficient, I'd have to return to the office or I guess find different work.

From the offering perspective - I find it pretty shameful that some resorts have such bad Internet - I have yet to stay in a hotel with noticeably bad Internet for instance. I can't imagine many owners in 2025 saying on a vote "we're happy to have non-functional Internet to save a minor amount on MFs". As @Ken555 said - should we also back up hot water? Electricity? Resorts need to realize this is like AC at least - where you need to make a special effort to warn people if you don't have it or it doesn't work well.

 

[daviator]

Like jp said above, if you need Internet access while at a timeshare (due to remote work, etc..) then you should have a backup plan that consists of a 5G cell phone with a service plan that includes access to both high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and the newer mid-band (C-band) spectrum AND, of course, permits hotspot data. Having access to this spectrum will allow your service to be good during times that the other legacy cell phone bands are congested. How can you tell if your cell phone plan allows access to the high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and the newer mid-band (C-band) spectrum? Verizon calls this access "5G Ultra Wideband". AT&T calls it "5G Plus". T-Mobile calls it "5G Ultra Capacity". I currently have Total Wireless (a prepaid cell service provider owned by Verizon) on their "Total 5G+ Unlimited Plan". I have 4 phones (immediate family members) on this plan, and the total cost is exactly $120 per month with all the bullshit government fees & taxes included. Having 4 lines (phones) on a plan seems to be a sweet spot in terms of discounts. There are a couple guys on YouTube that do a fantastic job of analyzing cell service providers and their plans to find those that offer the best value. Yes, they review plans for different situations - 1 phone, 2 phones, 4 phones. Their YouTube channel names are "Max Hietpas" and "Stetson Doggett".

I also disagree. It's a bit like saying that you should travel with a portable generator in case the electricity goes out at the resort.

Reasonably fast internet service is a basic utility which we all have the right to expect at any property – especially at properties falling under a luxury brand like Westin. As a WDW owner, I pay for this, and I have every right to expect it. I am not interested in spending hundreds of dollars per year on a backup solution, nor should I need to.