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Luckily, we live in a time where there is free wifi at Disney World. You may laugh, but I remember a time where you had to either pay for wifi, use your data, or go without internet!
And I’m not that old, so it wasn’t that long ago!
Disney World has created a world where you need to access the internet and use the My Disney Experience app in order to have a good Disney World trip.
Everything is on the app.
Attraction wait times, your Lightning Lane attractions, photopass, restaurant reservations, maps, showtimes. The list goes on and on and on.
Essentially, if you’re going on a Disney trip, you’re relying on wifi at Disney World and the My Disney Experience app.
This has it’s ups and downs.
On one hand, it makes your Disney trip really easy to navigate. On the other, you’re basically glued to your phone for every little aspect of your trip.
Since you’re going to be using wifi at Disney World a lot, I figured I would do you a solid and give you all my top tips and tricks to using the free wifi at Disney World.
Table of Contents
Know Where You Can and Cannot Access Free Wifi at Disney World
Perhaps the most important thing you need to know is where you can access free wifi at Disney World.
The answer is pretty much anywhere!
Free wifi can be found:
- In all four theme parks
- Disney Springs
- Both water parks
- Public spaces at Disney hotels and in the rooms
- Some Disney buses (with the goal of having wifi on all of them)
You cannot find free wifi at these places:
- Mini golf courses
- The monorail and skyliner
- Parking lots and other parts of the outside of theme parks
- Some walkways between parks and hotels
As you can see, there are more places you can access free wifi at Disney World than places you can’t.
For the average guest, you’ll be able to access wifi about 99% of the time you’re at Disney World.
Plan the perfect day at Magic Kingdom
Download the My Disney Experience App Before Arriving
The My Disney Experience app is your lifeline on your Disney World vacation.
I’m not exaggerating when I say you do everything on the app. It is your handy little personal assistant in your pocket, and you need to get familiar with it.
One of the best things you can do to prepare for your next Disney World vacation is install the My Disney Experience app and create your profile before you arrive at the parks.
If you’re travelling with a group, you should link everybody’s accounts before you arrive as well.
This speeds everything up and makes your experience with the app seamless.
You don’t want to waste any time linking accounts when you’re trying to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance!
Spend some time exploring the app.
Get to know what you can and can’t do in the app and explore all of its amazing features.
Pretend to mobile order a meal, make a reservation at a table service restaurant, scroll around and look at wait times and showtimes.
The less time you have to spend fiddling with the app trying to understand the ins and outs of it while you’re in the park, the better!
Add Your Credit Card to Your Account for Mobile Order and Shopping
If you plan on mobile ordering quick service meals or using digital checkout at stores, you should consider adding your credit card to your account before you make your first purchase.
It is super easy to do and speeds things up when you’re in the park.
I can tell you from personal experience that you don’t want to be messing around trying to add your credit card to your account while standing around mobile ordering food. It can become a bit chaotic and frustrating- especially if you’re a hangry person like I am.
So, take a minute out of your life and add your credit card to your account before you arrive at the parks.
The My Disney Experience app uses encryption, so it is safe to add your credit card information to the app.
Your card information will not be stolen.
Be Internet Safe
Think about it. You’re connecting to the free wifi at Disney World just like tens of thousands of other people that day.
That’s a lot of people using the same public wifi network, which means you’re at risk of having your online data and information compromised.
All it takes is one person with bad intentions connected to the wifi at Disney World, and your banking information is stolen.
Yes, it is extremely rare that this would happen, but I can’t think of a worse thing to happen on your Disney World vacation than having to call your bank and cancel all your credit cards because you weren’t safe when connected to the internet.
The only way you can stay safe when using public wifi networks is by installing a VPN on your devices.
A VPN makes using public wifi just as safe as using your home wifi where you’re the only person who knows the password.
It essentially puts a forcefield around your devices that makes it impossible for prying eyes to see your online history, data, and personal information.
It is a small but important step you can take to protect you and your loved ones when connected to the free wifi at Disney World.
My Favourite VPN
It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that I’ve used a lot of different VPNs during my many years of travel.
Most of the time I hate them and get so frustrated using them that I turn the off and leave my information exposed.
Don’t be like me!
That all changed when I discovered NordVPN.
It is the fastest VPN on the market, which is why I always recommend it to my fellow travel lovers!
There is nothing worse than having a VPN on your phone that slows down your devices to a crawl, and that is one thing NordVPN will never do.
It is so fast that it doesn’t even seem like there is a VPN installed on my phone!
One subscription protects up to six devices, so you can protect your entire family’s phones at Disney World for one low fee.
NordVPN costs less than the price of a single latte per month when you purchase a two-year subscription, which I recommend doing.
My philosophy is that if you can afford to travel, you can afford to protect your online information with a VPN.
It is just the responsible thing to do!
Use Data to get a Rise of the Resistance Boarding Pass
Rise of the Resistance is the hottest ride at Disney World and everybody is rushing to get a boarding pass the second they become available.
This means everybody at Hollywood Studios is connected to the wifi at Disney World at the exact same time.
Having so many people connected to the network slows it down, which means you have less of a chance of getting a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass.
If possible, it is best to use your cellphone data to try to get your boarding pass. It is oftentimes quicker than the congested wifi at Disney World and gives you a better chance of getting a boarding pass.
As a Canadian, I know that not everybody can use their data and relies on the free wifi at Disney World.
If you’re like me and don’t want to pay to access your data just to get a boarding pass, try to get away from the crowds and find a quiet place.
This gives you a better chance of finding a stronger and faster wifi signal to hopefully get you a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass.
I wish you luck!
Are after hours events worth the money?!
Conclusion
As you can probably tell, you’ll be using the free wifi at Disney World a lot on your next Disney vacation.
The good news is that there is free wifi at Disney World pretty much everywhere. It is fast, reliable, and easy to use.
Just be sure to download the My Disney Experience app and link your entire party before you arrive for your vacation.
You may want to disconnect and live in the moment while at Disney, but the wifi system at Disney World combined with the My Disney Experience app makes it essential that you access the internet throughout the day.
You won’t have as good of an experience if you put away your phone and never access the internet.
Just be sure you bring an external battery pack because the app sucks the life out of your phone battery super quickly!
