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Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    Default Do I need an international data plan?

    Canadian and coming down in March. Either I have to invest in a plan, OR count on wi fi in the parks and at the hotel. This is just to communicate with other members of my party, get fastpasses and check other park related stuff. Is the wi fi good enough in the parks? And is wi fi still free at the resorts (like POR)?

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    Default

    I meant May. Little late for March ;-)

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
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    We did Roam Like Home through Rogers and Bell. We definitely used wifi most of the time but there were cases when I switched off wifi because the service was slow (not often) or used data when we were on the busses.

    I was on my phone a lot working on fastpasses (like on the bus going back for a break and setting stuff up for the evening) but probably could have just waited until I got to the hotel.

    The good thing about roam like home is you only pay for the days you use it so if that's an option for you then you know you aren't paying for something you might not end up needing. But if you aren't careful I guess you could end up using it by accident...

    Sent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Ontario, Canada
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    We bought roam mobility SIM cards, and get a data plan (~$5/day). We find wifi to generally be good, although there are parts of the parks where it is just too slow, not available, and frustrating. Generally, I find it better at the resorts, and I don't remember having any specific issues during our POR stays.

    It was generally good enough for MDE, FPs and the like, but we did switch over to data when needed as well, so I don't think I'd be comfortable counting on it for 100% of everything. Especially when trying to stay in touch, we found that good old text messages were better than trying to use imessage, or other messaging app, which often arrived much, much later than expected, and proved to be pretty useless.

    The other benefit of Roam is that you get a US number, which means that all of the "US texts" from Disney, like when your room is ready, when waiting at restaurants, etc. all work, which they don't with my regular Canadian number.
    Heather aka ibelieveindisneymagic
    INTERCOT Staff


    Engaged at the castle!
    My Disney Home is POFQ

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Fort Worth, Tx
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    Default

    I'd get the data plan. I found disney wifi, including at POR to be too unreliable.
    ===================

    2016 POR
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    2014 WDW-Offsite
    2014 Disneyland-offsite
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  7. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Carousel of Progress, FL
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    I appreciate they offer free wifi, because it was beneficial when my youngest had an unactivated iPhone. However, I found that when I used Disney wifi exclusively, my battery drained excessively. Now I don't use it because of that and my battery drain is minimal.

    To answer your specific question... It's there, it's dependable, but bring an extra charger if you're relying on it only.
    Genna
    Always Enjoy the
    ¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨Magic¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨

    "Now approaching, Mickey's Star Traders"

    If You Can Read This...
    ...Thank The Phoenicians!



  8. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    Fantasyland
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    I'm not an international guest, but I do use the Disney wifi a lot and usually have no problems with it. However, if you see that your battery is draining, I recommend turning off the wifi and turning it on only every 1/2 hour or so to check for new messages. That keeps it from constantly hunting for wifi and draining the battery.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    ON, Canada
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    Another Rogers "Roam Like Home" user. No issues, $6/day to use my own phone, data plan and number. All calls to US and Canada are included. We do switch over to WiFi mostly but when it becomes spotty we turn it off.

    Sure it can get a bit expensive if there are multiple users, for us it is $18/day. But it is easy and like I said we use our own number. For us it is the price of going on vacation and remaining connected.

    Like Heather mentioned Roam Mobility is another price effective offer for sure.
    Brian (aka CanadianWDWFan)
    INTERCOT Staff:Theme Parks, The Water Cooler & Trip Reports
    DVC-BWV, Riviera
    Next Trip:DLR

  10. #9
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Brantford Ontario Canada
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    We are Koodo people so we can't use the Rogers/Bell Roam Like Home thing.

    But, we bought T-Mobile SIM cards for whenever we travel to the states. You can activate a 1-week 1gb data plan for $10 and then if you burn through that, you can keep going but the speed slows down. Or,, just spend another $10 and get another 1gb. It gives me a different phone number than my regular Canadian one, but that's okay - it stops people from back home from calling me and bugging me on vacation!

    Way cheaper than the Roaming plans, works great, and to save on data I switch to wifi when I'm at the parks.
    ~ Carolyn ~ aka "CANADA!"
    Every year since 1979! Annual Passholder in CANADA!

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  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    ON, Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buttercup View Post
    We are Koodo people so we can't use the Rogers/Bell Roam Like Home thing.

    But, we bought T-Mobile SIM cards for whenever we travel to the states. You can activate a 1-week 1gb data plan for $10 and then if you burn through that, you can keep going but the speed slows down. Or,, just spend another $10 and get another 1gb. It gives me a different phone number than my regular Canadian one, but that's okay - it stops people from back home from calling me and bugging me on vacation!

    Way cheaper than the Roaming plans, works great, and to save on data I switch to wifi when I'm at the parks.
    My parents are on koodo and are in Florida for 5 months of the year. They get the US minutes add on plus top their data when ever they need to. But they try to use wifi exclusively. I know that it doesn't cost that much other wise my Dad wouldn't use it!

    Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk
    Brian (aka CanadianWDWFan)
    INTERCOT Staff:Theme Parks, The Water Cooler & Trip Reports
    DVC-BWV, Riviera
    Next Trip:DLR

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