Setting up a Wireless Router at WDW

[KNWVIKING 2.0]

DH not keen for me to bring laptop all the way from the UK, so....

Power cord not long enough ?

[denlo]

Sorry for gatecrashing this......

DH not keen for me to bring laptop all the way from the UK, so....
Any way of using my Iphone at WDW? Are there any decent wifi spots, or anything I can use in the room to make it wireless?

There are wifi spots in the lobbies of BLT and CR and some of the other public areas, however I'm not sure it's free. I would ask when you check in to be sure. Also you need to check with your Iphone provider to make sure you do not have hefty surcharges to use your Iphone in the U.S.

In the room the only way to go wireless is to set up your own router or hope a neighbor has a router set up that is not password protected.

[idratherbeinwdw]

Good timing Mar! I actually have a new in the box wireless router sitting in my car for the WDW portion of my trip. Hopefully the setup will go easy on Monday because like you I would prefer to use wireless than the really long cord in my OL.

Good luck, let me know if you run into any glitches! It sounds pretty easy, so I feel fairly confident we'll both do just fine.

[idratherbeinwdw]

Sorry for gatecrashing this......

DH not keen for me to bring laptop all the way from the UK, so....

I am not clear on your DH's objections. As long as you are careful with the laptop (ie DON'T put it in checked luggage, take it with you on the plane; Put it in a case or cover it in bubble wrap to protect it from being banged around), what does it matter how far you're going with it? I took my laptop with me when I went to DLRP, it went smoothly.

[sharonuk]

Ha-Ha, Viking; unfortunately, no it only gets half way across the Atlantic

Denlo, I checked in the Apple store yesterday, and so long as I switch just about everything of in the settings, I am ok using wifi. So, is it easy to set up a router if I bought one in the US without a computer?

Mar, I think the problem with taking the laptop is more to do with two teenage girls who would have to be surgically removed from MSN!!

[sharonuk]

Just checked on the Walmart website, and I can pick up a Belkin Router for around $19. So.... can I just plug in and connect??

[idratherbeinwdw]

Mar, I think the problem with taking the laptop is more to do with two teenage girls who would have to be surgically removed from MSN!!

When DD25 was about 15 we had no laptop. However there were kiosks located around the parks (long gone now) where you could pay to get onto the internet. We had to stop at those kiosks at least twice a day to keep her from having a meltdown (SHE paid). She's still an intenet addict, and is one of the reasons I am buying this wireless router. I don't want any arguments in October about whose turn it is to go on, or who's taking too long, etc etc. For $20 I spent on the router it's well worth it to avoid hassles. (I also think it will be way more convenient then dragging around the ethernet cord I currently have).

I have accepted, when she was about 18, that she does not have to do everything I want to do when I want to do it. If I want to be at park opening and she wants to sleep in and meet me later, or not go at all, that's fine with me. We do the large majority of things together, and it's not worth the energy/aggravation to insist we do it all together.

Of course if she chose to be online for a ridiculous proportion of the trip she won't be invited back any time soon, and she knows that.

[TimK]

Just checked on the Walmart website, and I can pick up a Belkin Router for around $19. So.... can I just plug in and connect??

No, unfortunately you need configure the router using a laptop computer. Once configured, it should (no guarantees) work from that point forward with any Disney Internet connection without need for the laptop.

Best bet would be to buy the cheap wi-fi router and talk hubby into letting you take the laptop this one time. After it's configured to work at Disney, you should just be able to plug it in on subsequent trips and be good to go. No future need for the laptop.

The other option would be to buy a router before your trip and configure it at home. Then--HOPEFULLY--you would be able to plug in and go when at WDW. But there's no guarantee this would work. Some internet connections require specific settings in the router.

I think you're better off just bringing a laptop for the initial config.

[donald is #1]

Ha-Ha, Viking; unfortunately, no it only gets half way across the Atlantic

Denlo, I checked in the Apple store yesterday, and so long as I switch just about everything of in the settings, I am ok using wifi. So, is it easy to set up a router if I bought one in the US without a computer?

Mar, I think the problem with taking the laptop is more to do with two teenage girls who would have to be surgically removed from MSN!!

I have to laugh because my family is having a similar discussion but with a different generation. Next summer, we will be going a family trip in August with my sister's husband joining us. Since I will be driving down with my other sister and the 1st sisters kids, sister #1 is considering having me take a Playstation down in the car so that her husband can play some games if the heat gets to him in the afternoon. Can you say big video game addict...er... player? So my niece, his daughter (age 12 almost 13) overhead this conversation and told him (her father) that he can't take the game and play video games during the trip.

[joefrat]

For what it's worth if you happen to have an Apple Laptop you can actually use it to create a wireless hotspot. My laptop usually becomes the sacrificial device that sits at the desk connecting the various devices we travel with. You would go to system settings -> sharing. you then check Internet sharing and select share Ethernet connection using airport. You can add a password if you like. this is one of my favorite - I bet you didn't know tips.