Whilst Disney offers wall-to-wall Wi-Fi in the parks, resort hotels and pretty much everywhere else on Disney property, the quality of the signal in the parks can be questionable.
And in the parks is where you need Wi-Fi the most to keep on top of any Lightning Lane ride reservations. As soon as you’ve tapped into a Lightning Lane Multi Pass ride reservation you want to be straight on your My Disney Experience phone app to be able to make your next ride reservation.
No time can be lost in maximising your Disney day and Lightning Lane Multi Pass service!
So, it can be quite frustrating when you’re tapped into a ride and about to go on the ride to find that you can’t book the next ride because you can’t get a decent Wi-Fi signal.
Clearly this is not a problem if you have a data plan that works in the US (and you can therefore use data rather than Wi-Fi to access My Disney Experience).
Unfortunately for us, our mobile/cell provider doesn’t provide us with US data coverage without taking out a second mortgage.
So, nowadays we buy a US eSIM for our primary phone (which is the one we use with My Disney Experience) and pre-schedule the service to be live on the phone when we hit the tarmac at Orlando or Miami airport.
With an eSIM (rather than a physical SIM card that you’d slot into your phone), you’re provided with a US mobile/cell number with the ability to make and receive calls and texts, AND you get to retain your existing UK SIM’s phone number for inbound calls and texts.
Most importantly, you get a bunch of data for all the apps that you want and need access to – like WhatsApp, Apple’s Messages, Google Maps, email and social media.
This helps hugely with using My Disney Experience to manage the rides and attractions, and, nearly as important, enables Google Maps to get us to our rental house from both the airport, initially, and home from the parks using the most efficient route possible.
We purchase our US eSIM from Sim Corner for around £45. The eSIM is valid for 30 days and provides you with unlimited data, US calls and texts during that period. Just purchase the eSIM, activate it just before you go, and, when you turn your phone on when you land in the US, you’ll have a US data service!