Tracfones?

[laalaa]

Hi everyone

We (me and oh) are visiting the world in November for a weeks stay with my 16 year old brother.

We were looking into the possibility of getting mobile phones so that we could keep in contact with each other should we split up whilst in the parks.

We live in the UK, so taking our current mobile phones with us would be too expensive.

I have heard people talk about tracphone? And they seem fairly cheap?

Can anyone give me more info on them, for example, where I could buy them? We wont be hiring a car for our holidays, and will be taking DME straight to the resort. Can u purchase them in MCO?

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[lilclerk]

My friend had a Tracfone. He bought it in a CVS, but (around here anyway) you can get them at pretty much any drug store/convenience store. It cost him somewhere around $20-$30 for the phone. Very simple to set it up. I don't remember how much the minutes were, but the website should say somewhere.
You could also look into virginmobile.com Basically the same thing.
I'm sure one of the shops in MCO will have them.

http://www.tracfone.com/index.jsp

 

[laalaa]

Hmmm

Well it is a virgin mobile phone I use here in the UK.

I wonder if there is anyway that they can send me a sim that i can use in the US without being charged the hefty overseas charges? I shall call and enquire

 

[westie]

More and more I see a lot of people using walkie talkies in the park. I cannot say how well they work as everyone I see using one is screaming. Also, I cannot say whether or not disney rents them but, at the local toy store they sell relatively cheaply(under $50 US) and are battery operated. Hope I've been of some help!:shrug:

 

[Disney4648]

The cheapest tracfone is $14.95 and can be found at places such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart. I suggest you buy each phone a 60-minute/point card as that will be sufficient.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

You can get a tracfone from Walmart for $15 dollars a piece... the minutes are pretty high, used to be about $1 per minute. If you use it make sure no one in your party uses the voice mail, voice mail will just eat up your time with slow voice instructions designed to eat up more minutes.

Little walkie talkies are pretty useless if your party splits between parks and often you get so much traffic from other users that they aren't really worth it, my family tried them once and they were a pain to use. Cellphones are much better.

 

[crassmonkey]

That is incorrect about the pricing for Tracfone minutes.

I have one. You can get 60 minutes for $20

also everytime I add minutes, I get 30 free.

don't listen to the poster above, they are mistaken. the phones are cheap, the minutes are cheap, and Ive never had any problems with service

 

[barbara]

I would go would go with the walkie talkies. Cheaper-$30 a set

 

[Craig & Lisa]

I would go would go with the walkie talkies. Cheaper-$30 a set

The only problems with them is that they have a limited distance, and if someone else is on the same channel they walk all over you. And if you go alittle too far they are worthless. To go farther you need to get an FCC license, and that takes time to get, and money.

 

[hematite153]

We were looking into the possibility of getting mobile phones so that we could keep in contact with each other should we split up whilst in the parks....
I have heard people talk about tracphone? And they seem fairly cheap?

I ran the math on a tracphone a couple of months ago and decided that it was WAY more economical to stick with my YAK phone card and use pay phones to reach people. Plus, at wdw, there are internal phones around that allow you to reach disney dining (and other internal numbers) without paying anything.

Yes, if you want to keep in touch with others in your party, cell phones can be useful. We have found though that it is far cheaper to just set meeting times and locations. (We include, "I will meet you at point X at time Y. But, if you aren't there by time Y+Z, then I will meet you in the room at time A.")

More and more I see a lot of people using walkie talkies in the park. I cannot say how well they work as everyone I see using one is screaming.

Most of the people I know who've tried them have found what others have said. They seem like a great idea, and often work well near home. But, there are too many people using them at wdw and you end up wasting time listening to other people's conversations.

 

[kurros]

Hmmm

Well it is a virgin mobile phone I use here in the UK.

I wonder if there is anyway that they can send me a sim that i can use in the US without being charged the hefty overseas charges? I shall call and enquire

I don't know if you have already called about this but Virgin Mobile here uses Sprint Nextel's CDMA network... no SIM like the T-Mobile GSM network Virgin Mobile uses in the UK.

 

[Lucky]

We have found though that it is far cheaper to just set meeting times and locations. (We include, "I will meet you at point X at time Y. But, if you aren't there by time Y+Z, then I will meet you in the room at time A.")

I'm glad this works for your group. For my family it would cause all sorts of problems. (Misunderstanding about where point X is, or forgetting the backup time or location, etc.) Cell phones work far better for us.

 

[Champion]

The only problems with them is that they have a limited distance, and if someone else is on the same channel they walk all over you. And if you go alittle too far they are worthless. To go farther you need to get an FCC license, and that takes time to get, and money.

This might have been a problem 15 years ago.

Now regular walkies have 5-10 mile ranges, and you don't need a license. And many more channels. You won't have to worry about interference.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=597810 for instance (not recommending that set, I've never tried it, but it was the cheapest on CDW)

5 mile range is plenty, unless you're planning on going to different parks. In which case: http://www.dak.com/reviews/2027story.cfm?Ref=G&PM=GMRS&type=GSrch&Srh=walki_talki (not recommending this either, just linking for the improved range)

 

[TakeMe2TheMagic]

My DF has his own cell phone unlocking business, Tracfone's phone are cheap but the minutes are expensive. If you can find a walmart and go with a cingular pre paid phone. The cheap phone cost less than $20.00 with tax! And they give you a 10 dollar card for free. Also its does not cost as much per minute as Tracfone.

 

[righttrack]

T-Mobile is the only phone system that works in Europe/UK and the US unmodified. Most US-based networks are outdated. We were first, but by the time you guys got started, the equipment got better.

That said, this is the best application for Tracfones, IMO. They are a temporary solution. Maintaining them, and using them, in the long run, is very expensive. For a week, or a month, they are an excellent solution. Just be certain your trip includes a stop at a Walmart or Target. Do not expect to buy one on property or nearby at an acceptable price.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

This might have been a problem 15 years ago.

Now regular walkies have 5-10 mile ranges, and you don't need a license. And many more channels. You won't have to worry about interference.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=597810 for instance (not recommending that set, I've never tried it, but it was the cheapest on CDW)

5 mile range is plenty, unless you're planning on going to different parks. In which case: http://www.dak.com/reviews/2027story.cfm?Ref=G&PM=GMRS&type=GSrch&Srh=walki_talki (not recommending this either, just linking for the improved range)

I sell them and bought a pair 2 years ago, it had less than a mile distance and the paperwork said we needed to pay for the lic. They were made by motorola, and they had a 10 mile distance, but to go that far you needed to get the lic. We have Nextel now and they work great there.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

T-Mobile is the only phone system that works in Europe/UK and the US unmodified. Most US-based networks are outdated. We were first, but by the time you guys got started, the equipment got better.

That said, this is the best application for Tracfones, IMO. They are a temporary solution. Maintaining them, and using them, in the long run, is very expensive. For a week, or a month, they are an excellent solution. Just be certain your trip includes a stop at a Walmart or Target. Do not expect to buy one on property or nearby at an acceptable price.

Maybe the solution for an overseas visitor that isn't planning on leaving the property would be to order a could of tracfones from Target.com and have them shipped to the resort they were staying at.