[monrailrider]

We are staying at BLT and have free internet access in the room. We have two or three laptops going on our trip for the first time. Of course my DD7 and DS10 will want have internet at the same time probably at night right before bed time.

I assume they are going to have hard wire access (CAT 5) in the room but I will need to split the signal. I am thinking a small port router will do the trick or should I go with a small wireless router? The laptops can handle either way.

Any comments will greatly be appreciated.

[Soundgod]

Yes, the connection in the room is a standard CAT 5 cable with a standard RJ-45 connector.
You're going to need a router/gateway with 4 ports and wireless routers usually have hardwired ports as well as the radio transmitter. My own suggestion is to just use wires.
After that, you're going to have to play games with IP addressing for the router and the computers. It shouldn't be too difficult, but you're probably going to have to talk with Disney's tech support once you arrive so you can set the proper address for the router and the gateway.

[WishUponAStar]

In my family the answer would have been, "too bad, wait your turn" and I'm an only child! What the heck are both a 7 and a 10 year old checking on the computer right before bed while they are in WDW that's so important?!?! I couldn't imagine they'd even WANT their laptops with them.

I don't have the real solution to your problem, I hope it works out & all your techies can be happy before bedtime!

[monrailrider]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

In my family the answer would have been, "too bad, wait your turn" and I'm an only child! What the heck are both a 7 and a 10 year old checking on the computer right before bed while they are in WDW that's so important?!?! I couldn't imagine they'd even WANT their laptops with them.

I don't have the real solution to your problem, I hope it works out & all your techies can be happy before bedtime!

Lets see... There's Club Penguin and Toontown they have to check on everyday. (They link up with friends from school). Their DVD's are picked out for the plane ride. We usually take an afternoon break and if they are not swimming they probably will be on the computer.

Believe me their time on the laptop will be extremely limited when we are at WDW.

[tecdavidt]

We have stayed at Boardwalk Villas, Saratoga and Polynesian in the last year. We run 2-3 laptops off a wireless routher that I travel with. I have not had an IP assignment issue. Disney sees the router (which is hard wired to the room port). The other laptops see the router and have had no issues seeing the internet. I am not a networking geek, but I believe that an IP address is assigned to the router. The router then assigns its own to each laptop. I do not know if this is technically correct; however, I know it has worked very well on multiple occasions.

Thanks

[Soundgod]

Addressing probably shouldn't be much of an issue, unless you're like me and your home network is configured with static IP addresses.
And my addresses don't match Disney's addresses, so I do have to reconfigure when I travel.