Can anyone help me with a cellphone question? About This Page:

[mattnkatsmum]

I've spent a week trying to work out where to post this question, so I hope I've got the right place. Anyhow, here goes.

As all 4 of us will be going to WDW, we'll be splitting up a fair bit. I was thinking about taking our own mobile phones, but I reckon the calls will be very expensive. I've also considered walkie talkies, but I hear that there are now too many peoples sharing the same freqency, plus the range is limited.

So, I'm wondering if it's possible to get cheap mobiles in the States as it is over here. (In the supermarkets in England you can pick up a mobile phone for the equivalent of about $40). I obviously just want a 'pay as you talk' set up.

Alternatively, could I just buy a SIM card for my phone?

Any ideas?

Thanks as ever

[dejavu]

No clue about a SIM card. I have definitely seen the cheap pay as you go phones in our discount stores and supermarkets. You should be able to find those easily. Have fun!

[GoofyMom]

Karen, great question!! I've been puzzling over this as well, since the last few times I was in WDW it would have really been handy to be able to whip out my cell phone and call my travel buddies when we had split up. What I think might work for me, is text messaging. So far as I can figure out, a text message (sent or received) will cost me 15 cents with no long distance fees; whereas if I were to phone somebody it would cost in the neighbourhood of $3 a minute.

[poohbear.u.k.]

Thanks for asking this question Karen, I'll be interested in what answers you get. DH & I are seriously considering picking up some cheap "Pay as you go" mobiles. We've got walkie talkies but you get problems with using them as you said. i.e. range & frequency.

[chezp]

We bought a TracFone from Wal-Mart in April and it cost us about $30 for the phone and about $99 for the talk time. We went with them, as America operates a different pay as you go system, in that your credit is only valid for a certain period of time. I spent a lot of time looking into it and this was the network which offered the chepest amount of call that was valid for 12 months.

It took forever to activate - I know Mark was pulling his hair out with it and you then had to call it from the zip code that you entered, so be prepared for that. Luckily I was able to get a friend to do that (thanks Elaine! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] ) but otherwise you'll have to call it either from your hotel room (which in Disney can be very expensive [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] ) or from a pay phone using a phone card.

We had no problems with coverage during our stay and it was an excellent investment, allowing friends to stay in touch with us and also family over here to be able to call us whenever it was convenient. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[MegglesMom]

I just wanted to recommend Virgin Mobile... they have phones as low as $20, with a range of airtimes available. Good luck!

Virgin Mobile

[Straitlover]

Re activation, if you will have a laptop w/ you, you can activate TracFones online. That's what I have, and I made the mistake of calling once. I now add time to mine all online - much faster!