Disney busses to get wifi

Ben E N

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 14, 2017
This is totally how rumors get started, but a friend of my friend is currently at Disney, spending 4 months installing wifi on all of their busses. I would assume this would mean their resort busses, as the Magical Express ones are owned by Mears. Seems like a sensible upgrade to me.
 
I used the wifi on a resort bus at CSR two weeks ago; I didn't realize that the installation was still in progress.
 
We went to Ruby Falls this past summer. The tour involves a slow elevator ride after waiting in line. When we completed the tour and were lining up to ride back up, the guide announced there was WiFi, and everyone pulled out their phones and started playing with them. I commented to the guide that they were like adult pacifiers. She just smiled and said, “Yep.”
 


We went to Ruby Falls this past summer. The tour involves a slow elevator ride after waiting in line. When we completed the tour and were lining up to ride back up, the guide announced there was WiFi, and everyone pulled out their phones and started playing with them. I commented to the guide that they were like adult pacifiers. She just smiled and said, “Yep.”

On some of those late night rides back where there's nothing to look at but the butt of the guy standing in front of your seat, a pacifier is much appreciated.
It makes sense with the Disney ecosystem, though. If everything is app-based, make it so everyone can access the app when on property.
 
Good move. As more and more guests rely on DME, having access to the app via wifi is more important.
 
Great for foreign guests. But I never had any problems getting a good signal on the buses with my phone.
 


The wifi will use less of your battery and will probably have a faster connection. This is great for using that power hungry disney app!
 
My visit at the end of February, I did notice a large difference in battery use, but I attributed it partially to a newer phone. Went from a samsung galaxy s7 to a S9+.
S7 would require a fuel rod or two to make it through a day. S9 did not use more than 50% with similar days a year later. I figured some was the phone, but also figured connections were better, along with the app being better. I think I also added in the disney play app as well on the latest trip.
Wife had the same phone for both trips, and she noticed and improvement in battery life. Anecdotally, I think it means either the data availability is better, or the apps are becoming less hog-ish.
 
My visit at the end of February, I did notice a large difference in battery use, but I attributed it partially to a newer phone. Went from a samsung galaxy s7 to a S9+.
S7 would require a fuel rod or two to make it through a day. S9 did not use more than 50% with similar days a year later. I figured some was the phone, but also figured connections were better, along with the app being better. I think I also added in the disney play app as well on the latest trip.
Wife had the same phone for both trips, and she noticed and improvement in battery life. Anecdotally, I think it means either the data availability is better, or the apps are becoming less hog-ish.

Having made the exact same jump (s7 Edge, so it had a slightly larger battery than the regular s7), I attribute the change to the phone itself. Today I woke up at 3:30, using video recording on it for an hour, and have used it on and off during the day, and its still at 40%. I would have to charge my s7 right after the filming job.
 
I'm not exactly sure how possible it is but I'd almost rather them add USB ports throughout the buses rather than WiFi
 
I don't see how this is even possible to do. Does the bus connect a WiFi AP to a cellular signal?
 
Private enterprise 4G networks are available today. There are frequency bands open to general use for the 4G signal to ride upon, without expensive licensing. However, contracting a wireless provider for service at a guaranteed bandwidth and maximum data throughput is not unlikely. Yes, an access point on the bus converting WiFi to LTE is one possibility.
 

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