Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Without Your Own
Computer
If you don't want to lug a computer with
you on your trip, you can still access your
e-mail in a bunch of places.
Many Orlando hotels have either a busi-
ness center with computers available (some
can even be rented and taken back to your
room) or, in some instances, a computer
located in the lobby for guest use. Some
even have WebTV available in the guest
rooms, where a keyboard works in conjunc-
tion with the television (just don't count on
it being as user friendly—or as speedy—as
a laptop or PC), or an actual in-room PC.
In either case, there will likely (but not
always) be (often exorbitant) fees for using
them, generally payable with your credit
card or, in a few cases, cash only (much like
a vending machine). You can also access
e-mail at a local Internet cafe (for instance
the small cafe located at the Lake Buena
Vista Factory Stores; p. 325).
At Walt Disney World, there is an
Internet cafe inside DisneyQuest (p. 260),
and you can also send e-mail at Innoven-
tions in Epcot (p. 221), though you have
to pay the park admission fees to use the
Web terminals. Payphones with touch-
screen displays offering Internet access
have been installed at locations through-
out Walt Disney World; you can access
your e-mail for 25¢ a minute with a
4-minute minimum.
49
offer Wi-Fi access at least in public areas
such as the lobby, lounges, and even some
restaurants, with a few providing in-room
wireless access.
For dial-up access, most business-class
hotels in Orlando offer dataports for lap-
top modems, and an ever-increasing num-
ber of them offer free high-speed Internet
access. For a list of Orlando hotels wired
for Internet access, check out
www.wired
hotels.com
. Charges to connect (while
often free at many budget and moderately
priced hotels) can run upwards of $10 for
each 24-hour period you're connected
(which is the case at Disney, Universal,
and most other high-end hotels). Disney
offers high-speed access to guests at all of
its resorts, and Wi-Fi access at select
resorts; it's also testing out an in-room
computer at its Contemporary Resort
(which, if successful, will be rolled out to
Disney's Deluxe category resorts in the
future). All of Universal Orlando's resorts
offer high-speed and Wi-Fi (in select loca-
tions within the resort) access.
Wherever you go, bring a
connection
kit
of the right power and phone adapters,
a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet
network cable—or find out whether your
hotel supplies them to guests (Disney
resorts do).
For information on electrical currency
conversions, see “Electricity,” in chapter
11, “Fast Facts.”
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