Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Julian Y Koh]

> On Mar 3, 2017, at 15:01, Thomas Carter  wrote:
> 
> But density and usage patterns are much different. Someone is a Disney park 
> is much less likely to be streaming Netflix in HD compared to someone on a 
> college campus, for example. Additionally they are covering lots of open 
> spaces without as many pesky walls to block signals. I suspect their average 
> bandwidth usage per guest is much lower than the average bandwidth usage per 
> student.

I’m not doubting the design or the results.  It just surprised me.  The outdoor 
numbers I’ll definitely believe are very different from our regular indoor 
usage patterns, but I would think all the hotel rooms have to be kind of 
similar to our residence halls.  

-- 
Julian Y. Koh
Associate Director, Telecommunications and Network Services
Northwestern Information Technology

2001 Sheridan Road #G-166
Evanston, IL 60208
+1-847-467-5780
Northwestern IT Web Site: 
PGP Public Key: 


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RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Hector J Rios]

I did a speed test while at one the restaurants in Magic Kingdom and got 35M 
down and 51M up. That's pretty good.  

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University

-Original Message-
From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Thomas Carter
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2017 3:02 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

But density and usage patterns are much different. Someone is a Disney park is 
much less likely to be streaming Netflix in HD compared to someone on a college 
campus, for example. Additionally they are covering lots of open spaces without 
as many pesky walls to block signals. I suspect their average bandwidth usage 
per guest is much lower than the average bandwidth usage per student.

Thomas Carter
Network & Operations Manager / IT
Austin College
900 North Grand Avenue 
Sherman, TX 75090
Phone: 903-813-2564
www.austincollege.edu



-Original Message-
From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Julian Y Koh
Sent: Friday, March 3, 2017 2:04 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi


> On Mar 3, 2017, at 13:22, Bob Brown  wrote:
>
> According to a wireless engineer at Disney, the WLAN infrastructure in 
> Orlando consists of about 3,500 Cisco and Aruba APs across resorts, 4 theme 
> parks etc.

That seems like a low number to me, considering the AP counts I’ve seen us 
throw around here on the list for our campuses.

--
Julian Y. Koh
Associate Director, Telecommunications and Network Services Northwestern 
Information Technology

2001 Sheridan Road #G-166
Evanston, IL 60208
+1-847-467-5780
Northwestern IT Web Site:  PGP Public Key: 



**
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discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.


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RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Thomas Carter]

But density and usage patterns are much different. Someone is a Disney park is 
much less likely to be streaming Netflix in HD compared to someone on a college 
campus, for example. Additionally they are covering lots of open spaces without 
as many pesky walls to block signals. I suspect their average bandwidth usage 
per guest is much lower than the average bandwidth usage per student.

Thomas Carter
Network & Operations Manager / IT
Austin College
900 North Grand Avenue 
Sherman, TX 75090
Phone: 903-813-2564
www.austincollege.edu



-Original Message-
From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Julian Y Koh
Sent: Friday, March 3, 2017 2:04 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi


> On Mar 3, 2017, at 13:22, Bob Brown  wrote:
>
> According to a wireless engineer at Disney, the WLAN infrastructure in 
> Orlando consists of about 3,500 Cisco and Aruba APs across resorts, 4 theme 
> parks etc.

That seems like a low number to me, considering the AP counts I’ve seen us 
throw around here on the list for our campuses.

--
Julian Y. Koh
Associate Director, Telecommunications and Network Services Northwestern 
Information Technology

2001 Sheridan Road #G-166
Evanston, IL 60208
+1-847-467-5780
Northwestern IT Web Site:  PGP Public Key: 



**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.


**
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discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Bob Brown]

Maybe that just refers to the stuff this particular engineer had responsibility 
for

 
Bob Brown
Online Executive Editor, News
T: 508.766.5418 
LinkedIn  | Twitter: @alphadoggs 
 | Facebook 
 |  Instagram 

 
NETWORK WORLD
492 Old Connecticut Path | PO Box 9002 | Framingham, MA 01701-9002
NetworkWorld.com  |  idgenterprise.com 
 media kit | Conferences & Events 

(PR pros: Thanks for taking the time to message me. No need to follow up on 
unsolicited email pitches by email or phone – I read all of my emails and 
follow up on those of immediate interest, sock those away that might be useful 
down the road or forward pitches to more appropriate contacts here who will 
follow up with you if they are interested.)
 

On 3/3/17, 3:03 PM, "The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv on 
behalf of Julian Y Koh"  wrote:

> On Mar 3, 2017, at 13:22, Bob Brown  wrote:
> 
> According to a wireless engineer at Disney, the WLAN infrastructure in 
Orlando consists of about 3,500 Cisco and Aruba APs across resorts, 4 theme 
parks etc. 

That seems like a low number to me, considering the AP counts I’ve seen us 
throw around here on the list for our campuses.

-- 
Julian Y. Koh
Associate Director, Telecommunications and Network Services
Northwestern Information Technology

2001 Sheridan Road #G-166
Evanston, IL 60208
+1-847-467-5780
Northwestern IT Web Site: 
PGP Public Key: 


**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent 
Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.




**
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discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Julian Y Koh]

> On Mar 3, 2017, at 13:22, Bob Brown  wrote:
> 
> According to a wireless engineer at Disney, the WLAN infrastructure in 
> Orlando consists of about 3,500 Cisco and Aruba APs across resorts, 4 theme 
> parks etc. 

That seems like a low number to me, considering the AP counts I’ve seen us 
throw around here on the list for our campuses.

-- 
Julian Y. Koh
Associate Director, Telecommunications and Network Services
Northwestern Information Technology

2001 Sheridan Road #G-166
Evanston, IL 60208
+1-847-467-5780
Northwestern IT Web Site: 
PGP Public Key: 


**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Bob Brown]

According to a wireless engineer at Disney, the WLAN infrastructure in Orlando 
consists of about 3,500 Cisco and Aruba APs across resorts, 4 theme parks etc. 
Airmagnet and Aircheck manager (Netscout stuff?) are used to keep things under 
control.

AT has also installed DAS stuff at some resorts, primarily for staff, 
according to this 
piece

Disney apparently rolled out the free wifi …quietly…in 
2012

This topic also arose on Reddit last 
year
 though sheds little light on the matter

One thing that is kind of interesting, for otherwise closed-mouth Disney, is 
that Disney Research out of Zurich published a paper last year evaluating 
802.11ac

In fact, Disney Research has published quite a few papers on 
wireless,
 including one earlier this month on wireless power transmission for charging 
devices


Bob Brown

Online Executive Editor, News

T: 508.766.5418
LinkedIn | Twitter: 
@alphadoggs | 
Facebook |  
Instagram


NETWORK WORLD

492 Old Connecticut Path | PO Box 9002 | Framingham, MA 01701-9002

NetworkWorld.com |  
idgenterprise.com media kit | Conferences & 
Events
(PR pros: Thanks for taking the time to message me. No need to follow up on 
unsolicited email pitches by email or phone – I read all of my emails and 
follow up on those of immediate interest, sock those away that might be useful 
down the road or forward pitches to more appropriate contacts here who will 
follow up with you if they are interested.)



From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
 on behalf of Dexter Caldwell 

Reply-To: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 

Date: Friday, March 3, 2017 at 12:36 PM
To: "WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU" 
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

Funny you noticed that too.  We had a Wifi project in the works and so I called 
them last year, to ask about their solution because I was impressed with the 
performance for an installation of that size and crown density.  (Yes, I tested 
it while I was there).  Unfortunately they would tell me absolutely nothing.  
“For security reasons.”I wasn’t surprised, but if anyone else has any 
better luck, I’d be interested too.  Took about 20 minutes of calling around to 
get that answer I think.  Their IT people at that level are not easy to get 
without inside information.


Dexter Caldwell
Dir. Systems & Networks



From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Hector J Rios
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:28 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

I just came back from a trip to Disney World and I was blown away about the 
availability of their Wi-Fi network. It covers all the Disney Hotels, parks (I 
believe with the exception of the water parks) and the Disney Springs district. 
From the MAC address of a couple of WAPs, it appears they use Aruba. The 
coverage is impressive, and the connectivity is good; although reliability is 
decent, but I can forgive them knowing what a humongous task it takes to deploy 
such a massive network.

Does anybody know any more details about how this network was deployed? I 
looked and looked for places where I could see WAPs but didn’t see a thing. 
However they did it, it is impressive.

Oh BTW, I did enjoy the park too. ☺

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
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RE: Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Dexter Caldwell]

Funny you noticed that too.  We had a Wifi project in the works and so I called 
them last year, to ask about their solution because I was impressed with the 
performance for an installation of that size and crown density.  (Yes, I tested 
it while I was there).  Unfortunately they would tell me absolutely nothing.  
"For security reasons."I wasn't surprised, but if anyone else has any 
better luck, I'd be interested too.  Took about 20 minutes of calling around to 
get that answer I think.  Their IT people at that level are not easy to get 
without inside information.


Dexter Caldwell
Dir. Systems & Networks



From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Hector J Rios
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:28 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

I just came back from a trip to Disney World and I was blown away about the 
availability of their Wi-Fi network. It covers all the Disney Hotels, parks (I 
believe with the exception of the water parks) and the Disney Springs district. 
From the MAC address of a couple of WAPs, it appears they use Aruba. The 
coverage is impressive, and the connectivity is good; although reliability is 
decent, but I can forgive them knowing what a humongous task it takes to deploy 
such a massive network.

Does anybody know any more details about how this network was deployed? I 
looked and looked for places where I could see WAPs but didn't see a thing. 
However they did it, it is impressive.

Oh BTW, I did enjoy the park too. :)

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

**
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discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Norton, Thomas (Network Operations)]

I remember seeing that as well. I actually ran into the Disney SE this week at 
ATM17 this week.

T.J. Norton
Wireless Network Architect - Team Lead

Network Operations - Wireless



(434) 592-6552

[id:image001.png@01D28E29.77031620]


Liberty University  |  Training Champions for Christ since 1971


From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
 on behalf of "Lee, Steven" 
Reply-To: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 

Date: Friday, March 3, 2017 at 9:43 AM
To: "WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU" 
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

I saw someone involved with Disney give a presentation at a conference many 
years ago when they were first starting the project.  If I recall correctly, 
which is increasingly rare these days, I swear he stated they had an 
‘aesthetic’ budget of $20K per AP.  That was on top of the cost of the 
technology itself.




On Mar 3, 2017, at 10:03 AM, Reimer, Paul 
> wrote:

I forget the specific area but one of our consultants mentioned APs being 
concealed in ornamental cast iron lamps (I’m sure they also lit the area some) 
at a phenomenal cost per unit. They spare little expense to keep things out of 
sight.

-Paul Reimer

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Howard, Christopher
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:33 PM
To: 
WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

One thing that Disney is fantastic at is hiding things in plain sight.  I'd be 
willing to bet you saw them and didn't even realize it.  I always look for 
access points everywhere I go just to see what they use and how they've 
deployed things.  I, likewise, have never seen a single access point when 
visiting Disney parks.

-Christopher

On Mar 2, 2017, at 4:27 PM, Hector J Rios > 
wrote:

I just came back from a trip to Disney World and I was blown away about the 
availability of their Wi-Fi network. It covers all the Disney Hotels, parks (I 
believe with the exception of the water parks) and the Disney Springs district. 
From the MAC address of a couple of WAPs, it appears they use Aruba. The 
coverage is impressive, and the connectivity is good; although reliability is 
decent, but I can forgive them knowing what a humongous task it takes to deploy 
such a massive network.

Does anybody know any more details about how this network was deployed? I 
looked and looked for places where I could see WAPs but didn’t see a thing. 
However they did it, it is impressive.

Oh BTW, I did enjoy the park too. ☺

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
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Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
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**
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Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Lee, Steven]

I saw someone involved with Disney give a presentation at a conference many 
years ago when they were first starting the project.  If I recall correctly, 
which is increasingly rare these days, I swear he stated they had an 
‘aesthetic’ budget of $20K per AP.  That was on top of the cost of the 
technology itself.




On Mar 3, 2017, at 10:03 AM, Reimer, Paul 
> wrote:

I forget the specific area but one of our consultants mentioned APs being 
concealed in ornamental cast iron lamps (I’m sure they also lit the area some) 
at a phenomenal cost per unit. They spare little expense to keep things out of 
sight.

-Paul Reimer

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Howard, Christopher
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:33 PM
To: 
WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

One thing that Disney is fantastic at is hiding things in plain sight.  I'd be 
willing to bet you saw them and didn't even realize it.  I always look for 
access points everywhere I go just to see what they use and how they've 
deployed things.  I, likewise, have never seen a single access point when 
visiting Disney parks.

-Christopher

On Mar 2, 2017, at 4:27 PM, Hector J Rios > 
wrote:

I just came back from a trip to Disney World and I was blown away about the 
availability of their Wi-Fi network. It covers all the Disney Hotels, parks (I 
believe with the exception of the water parks) and the Disney Springs district. 
From the MAC address of a couple of WAPs, it appears they use Aruba. The 
coverage is impressive, and the connectivity is good; although reliability is 
decent, but I can forgive them knowing what a humongous task it takes to deploy 
such a massive network.

Does anybody know any more details about how this network was deployed? I 
looked and looked for places where I could see WAPs but didn’t see a thing. 
However they did it, it is impressive.

Oh BTW, I did enjoy the park too. ☺

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.


**
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RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

[Reimer, Paul]

I forget the specific area but one of our consultants mentioned APs being 
concealed in ornamental cast iron lamps (I’m sure they also lit the area some) 
at a phenomenal cost per unit. They spare little expense to keep things out of 
sight.

-Paul Reimer

From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv 
[mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Howard, Christopher
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 4:33 PM
To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Disney's Free Wi-Fi

One thing that Disney is fantastic at is hiding things in plain sight.  I'd be 
willing to bet you saw them and didn't even realize it.  I always look for 
access points everywhere I go just to see what they use and how they've 
deployed things.  I, likewise, have never seen a single access point when 
visiting Disney parks.

-Christopher

On Mar 2, 2017, at 4:27 PM, Hector J Rios > 
wrote:

I just came back from a trip to Disney World and I was blown away about the 
availability of their Wi-Fi network. It covers all the Disney Hotels, parks (I 
believe with the exception of the water parks) and the Disney Springs district. 
From the MAC address of a couple of WAPs, it appears they use Aruba. The 
coverage is impressive, and the connectivity is good; although reliability is 
decent, but I can forgive them knowing what a humongous task it takes to deploy 
such a massive network.

Does anybody know any more details about how this network was deployed? I 
looked and looked for places where I could see WAPs but didn’t see a thing. 
However they did it, it is impressive.

Oh BTW, I did enjoy the park too. ☺

Hector Rios
Louisiana State University
** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE 
Constituent Group discussion list can be found at 
http://www.educause.edu/discuss.

**
Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group 
discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.