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Are Walkie talkies allowed?

sbkline

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am hoping to go next year after school is out. My oldest will be 21, our middle child will be 17 and our youngest will be 12 1/2. It will be the first time any of our kids might be allowed to go off on their own. I am inclined to let them all go off together while my wife and I do some stuff just the two of us. My older two have cell phones so we can communicate easy enough if need be. But my youngest doesn't have a phone, so I thought about getting a good set of walkie talkies and giving her one to carry in case she would get separated. The rule would be that she has to be with one sibling at all times but things happen and in case they get separated I thought it would be nice if she could radio us. But then I wondered if there is some kind of security rule against walkie talkies in the park. Are they allowed?

I would also have her to carry everyone's phone number in case she gets separated so she could have someone call us.
 
Purduevian

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
sbkline said:
I am hoping to go next year after school is out. My oldest will be 21, our middle child will be 17 and our youngest will be 12 1/2. It will be the first time any of our kids might be allowed to go off on their own. I am inclined to let them all go off together while my wife and I do some stuff just the two of us. My older two have cell phones so we can communicate easy enough if need be. But my youngest doesn't have a phone, so I thought about getting a good set of walkie talkies and giving her one to carry in case she would get separated. The rule would be that she has to be with one sibling at all times but things happen and in case they get separated I thought it would be nice if she could radio us. But then I wondered if there is some kind of security rule against walkie talkies in the park. Are they allowed?

I would also have her to carry everyone's phone number in case she gets separated so she could have someone call us.
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Not on the Prohibited item list https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-rules/ so I would assume you are good.

Additionally I might suggest giving your 12.5 year old an old cell phone with What's app installed. They could use the WDW wifi to call or text you if need be.
 
Tom P.

Tom P.

Well-Known Member
My other concern with walkie talkies would be their range. Disney parks are huge. I would be concerned as to whether or not they would work effectively over those distances, particularly with all the signals around such a crowded park that will likely cause interference.
 
T

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
They worked quite well in the early aughts when my family rocked these bad boys


IMG_5565.webp
 
sbkline

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tom P. said:
My other concern with walkie talkies would be their range. Disney parks are huge. I would be concerned as to whether or not they would work effectively over those distances, particularly with all the signals around such a crowded park that will likely cause interference.
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I work at Walmart and I was looking at them in electronics today and we have two packs of walkie talkies for almost $100 which are supposed to have a range of over 20 miles. So that would certainly allow us to communicate anwhere in the same park. Theoretically, from park to park too for that matter, but I don't think they would be doing any park hopping without us.
 
experiment624

experiment624

Well-Known Member
Just an idea, another option to maybe consider is a prepaid cell. Prepaid SIM cards are available from walmart for a month or a certain number of minutes. That way she'll have a phone for just the trip and once it is over, the phone is disabled and done. It could store phone numbers to family. It can be locked down with parental controls. It will also allow her to take pictures/video that you yourself can download for her. The other things about it is location tracking. Like location sharing on google maps or a pay service like Life360 so you can always see where she is at. Another thought to consider is whether the walkie talkies may be intrusive to other guests, like during a show or something, where text messaging is less intrusive and still immediate. I think you sound like incredible parents who really want to protect your children, and they sound like very fortunate kids to have that from you. I hope you find the right solution for your family.
 
Mr. Sullivan

Mr. Sullivan

Well-Known Member
I would personally start having the phone conversation. In my mind, if they're old enough to be going off on their own, they're old enough for one. It doesn't have to be a nice shiny new iPhone. It can be used, it can be a track phone, it can be a pre-paid one, it can have any sort of locks and controls on it you want. But they're all above the age of ten, and if you're wanting to let them go off on their own in a theme park, I think it's time.
 
C

Calmdownnow

Well-Known Member
Br0ckford said:
Any chance you could pick up cross chatter from Disney communications? Would be cool.
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Not necessarily cool -- many year ago when my boys were young teens they were kitted out with kids walkie talkies from a local Orlando store and ended up getting yelled at by the firework guys at Epcot because somehow they ended up on a channel being used by the people setting up the firework barges. That was a once and done experience for them. I'm sure procedures have been tightened up since. (Well I would hope they have...)
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Premium Member
Touchdown said:
They worked quite well in the early aughts when my family rocked these bad boys


View attachment 929442
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One may find this difficult to believe but back in the late 2000's first decade, the cell phone I had for work was also a walkie Talkie. I'm not sure how it worked but it operated just like a regular phone except that it was direct, no ring and it would only connect with the individual you were looking to talk too. I'm afraid my memory is not crystal clear on the procedure but I know that one time I spoke with one of my co-workers in Vermont from Kissimmee. A year later I got called on it from Vermont while I was driving to Universal Hollywood, clear across the country. I was impressed by the idea that it was instantaneous. No discernable delay in connection or dialog.

Also, on a family trip in 2008 we used it for the distinct 4 groups we had to coordinate meeting places, since we had a limited number of vehicles. So if someone decided they wanted to go back to the hotel, they could use it to ask if anyone else wanted to leave at that time.
 
T

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
One may find this difficult to believe but back in the late 2000's first decade, the cell phone I had for work was also a walkie Talkie. I'm not sure how it worked but it operated just like a regular phone except that it was direct, no ring and it would only connect with the individual you were looking to talk too. I'm afraid my memory is not crystal clear on the procedure but I know that one time I spoke with one of my co-workers in Vermont from Kissimmee. A year later I got called on it from Vermont while I was driving to Universal Hollywood, clear across the country. I was impressed by the idea that it was instantaneous. No discernable delay in connection or dialog.

Also, on a family trip in 2008 we used it for the distinct 4 groups we had to coordinate meeting places, since we had a limited number of vehicles. So if someone decided they wanted to go back to the hotel, they could use it to ask if anyone else wanted to leave at that time.
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Bet you had Nextel phones, that was their brand identity gimmick.

 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Premium Member
Touchdown said:
Bet you had Nextel phones, that was their brand identity gimmick.

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Could very well have been that. It was easy to use and so handy sometimes. I seem to have vivid memories of using it for a few years and that it was a "flip" phone, but except for a couple of impressive conversations I really have no memory of how it did it.
 
experiment624

experiment624

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
One may find this difficult to believe but back in the late 2000's first decade, the cell phone I had for work was also a walkie Talkie. I'm not sure how it worked but it operated just like a regular phone except that it was direct, no ring and it would only connect with the individual you were looking to talk too. I'm afraid my memory is not crystal clear on the procedure but I know that one time I spoke with one of my co-workers in Vermont from Kissimmee. A year later I got called on it from Vermont while I was driving to Universal Hollywood, clear across the country. I was impressed by the idea that it was instantaneous. No discernable delay in connection or dialog.

Also, on a family trip in 2008 we used it for the distinct 4 groups we had to coordinate meeting places, since we had a limited number of vehicles. So if someone decided they wanted to go back to the hotel, they could use it to ask if anyone else wanted to leave at that time.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly, Nextel used a feature called Push To Talk (PTT) it was a High Mhz radio band, and I believe (I could also be very wrong about this next thing) that it was also the same band used by emergency services. I recall an issue with Nextel usage overwhelming the radio band, hampering emergency comms, so FCC eventually called for an end to the historical PTT. However, POC is now available, it is essentially PTT Over Cell, which means you can have the same PTT feature using an app like Voxer, Zello, or SimplePTT. In case you had any interest in any of that 😆
 
Bullseye1967

Bullseye1967

Is that who I am?
Premium Member
experiment624 said:
If I remember correctly, Nextel used a feature called Push To Talk (PTT) it was a High Mhz radio band, and I believe (I could also be very wrong about this next thing) that it was also the same band used by emergency services. I recall an issue with Nextel usage overwhelming the radio band, hampering emergency comms, so FCC eventually called for an end to the historical PTT. However, POC is now available, it is essentially PTT Over Cell, which means you can have the same PTT feature using an app like Voxer, Zello, or SimplePTT. In case you had any interest in any of that 😆
Click to expand...
You are 100% correct. In that time period I was in charge of comms as a volunteer for ESDA (Emergency Services and Disaster Assistance) out of Cook County IL. We did a lot of search and rescue after natural disasters. I am a retired LEO.
 
Purduevian

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
Instead of $100 on Walkie Talkies... I personally would get this for $50 and just never activate the cell phone plan... Just make it a wifi only device and give it to the 12.5 year old on a needs basis (I would also parental control the crap out of it). Disney has wifi all over and they would be able to call or text you if they got separated.

 

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