Walke Talkies

[Jahona]

My family and I brought Radio Shack 3 channel radios with us back in 96-98. Worked ok as long as you weren't to far separated in the park. 2 mile range that was listed was more like 500 feet through all of the buildings.

I've debated bringing up portable CB radios as I know those frequencies will punch through most buildings. But currently it's all cell phones. Text or phone calls. Haven't really had an issue with service on AT&T at the parks.

 

[larryz]

If you really want to have that old walkie talkie experience with a cell phone, get a service with "push to talk" enabled.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a CONVOY!

(Sorry for the tangent, but I had to say that! Grew up with a CB radio myself and "breaker" is like a trigger word for me... I still remember my parents' handles - "Handsome Hank and the Farmer's Daughter." In fact, the reason Dad got the CB in the first place is so when we road-tripped to Disney from upstate NY, he could talk with the truckers and avoid speed traps and construction zones on the way down. Besides the CB, we had nothing else but our Kenny Rogers and ABBA 8-tracks to entertain us through 20+ hours of driving. Those were the days.)

Love it!

 

[RScottyL]

Wouldn't texting be a better option?

Not necessarily! The cell towers in the park get overloaded sometimes with all of the people there, especially in heavy crowds!

 

[zurgandfriend]

Not necessarily! The cell towers in the park get overloaded sometimes with all of the people there, especially in heavy crowds!

I have never had a problem with texting, however adding a push to talk option to your current smart phone may be an option. If not Motorola has some in the $50.00 to $70.00 range. The problem with a walkie-talkie is buildings, trees or other obstacles can substantially limit range.

 

[Dendog76]

Wouldn't texting be a better option?

No. I do not have a cell phone. I don’t like them.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Hoo boy...The early 2000's... Do I remember hearing that chirp throughout the parks with the families that had them...Worst was when one goes off and 35 people start looking to see if it was for them since they were so loud or when one decided to chirp while on a ride...

 

[DisneyJoe]

We tried walkie talkies in 2001 or 2003 with my son and our niece and the problem was that they had to be actively listening to get a message and if they were trying to reach us, we'd also need to be actively listening - or at least hear the attention/chirp - which doesn't always happen in the noise of the park. They were more trouble than they were worth, so we stopped trying after 1-2 days.

With text messages, it is there for either party to see when they have a chance to check.

 

[Willmark]

This’s a certainly a post. 1945 called and wants it’s technology back.

(Note: this is after several glasses of Scotch at the Yacht Club this afternoon).

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Why? I don't want to see anyone from my party again until dinner time, at the earliest.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

We went with folks who used them some around 2007, and they were useless at WDW!

The sound quality was terrible. Plus they were a big hassle to carry all day, as they were bigger than a cell phone. I recently saw some that were cell phone size, but they REALLY did not work in the buildings at all.

Whenever the folks in our group attempted to talk, they had to coordinate what time they'd be in contact to get any contact at all, and both walkie talkies had to be OUTDOORS. Even then, we had to talk very loudly to hear anything at all.

I agree with those who say a prepaid phone is probably a MUCH better option for the $.

 

[thomas998]

Actually you can get some decent motorola walkie talkies that work fine at Disney and as long as everyone is in the same park they have enough range. We've got some because sometimes when you go hiking in the woods your cell phones don't work. We've used them in the parks in the past before everyone had a cellphone, and they worked. But if you get some make sure they have multiple channels so you can avoid a channel that is busy. Once caveat to anyone wanting to use them, the batteries can make them expensive to use unless you find rechargeable batteries.

 

[George]

Big piles of sticks, lighters, blankets. Smoke signals still work. Problem solved.

 

[bunnyman]

Used them way back when before everyone had cellphones and texting/messaging. Biggest problem was actually connecting with the other party due to poor coverage and/or other people on the same frequencies. Based on that, they never were really worth it.

 

[righttrack]

You're going to an environment where wifi is everywhere. Texting is going to be the best option. Make a group chat for all on the trip, and send/receive updates. You can also use it as a holding place for all of your pictures as well in case anyone were to lose their phone, there would be a backup on the other phones.

 

[Alice a]

No. I do not have a cell phone. I don’t like them.

I think some places still sell pagers...

 

[eliza61nyc]

Has anyone brought walkie talkies to the parks before ? I am thinking of buying a set and taking them with us. I just have to get the best ones with the longest range. Any recommendations ???? And how far they reach ?

We did it all the time when the kids where younger. Since they were always with us can't really say how far they reached. never had any issues within the park we were at.

Uniden makes some great ones that are small and clip onto your belt loop. just make sure everyone stays on the same channel.

Easily found, every best buy in america has them.

ps. I don't like cell phones on vacation either. the saddest sight I saw was last year on "it's a small world", little girl in the front of us had on a "1st time visit" button and was jumping up and down tapping her moms arm saying mommy, mommy, mommy look and mom was busy texting away. entire ride she did not say one word to little girl. lol the grandmom in me wanted to slap her in the back of her head.

 

[Prince-1]

No. I do not have a cell phone. I don’t like them.

Ignore the trolls. Yes you can still get some pretty good walkie-talkies that will reach almost throughout every park. We used them years ago. If you do not like, have, or want to use a cell phone then they are the next best thing to keep in touch with your party if you separate.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

This won’t help OP since he doesn’t have a cell phone, but there is an app called Zello that turns your phone into a walkie talkie. We were all downloading it before a big hurricane a few years ago.

When cell service is down for calls, but texts still work, it’s easier than texting.

 

[Shouldigo12]

No. I do not have a cell phone. I don’t like them.

If you don't want a smartphone you can just pick up one of thosw prepaid ones, like someone else mentioned. That would surely be cheaper than buying walkie talkies for everyone in the group.