Inexpensive way of using your cell phone in WDW?

[JerseyJanice]

On our trip, we'll have a bunch of people in our group, and I'm sure we'll want to use our cell phones to reach each other at the resort, parks, and what-not.

My cell phone plan covers only usage from Maine to Virginia, not in Florida.

So I guess I'm wondering--if I use my phone in Florida to call a cell phone that is from my home area, will I encounter extra charges? If so, is there a pre-paid plan or something I can do to lessen the fees?

[QuickGold]

Yes, if you physically use your phone outside of your calling area(which in your case is Maine to Virgina), you will suffer HEAVY charges for roaming on another cell phones network. My advice is if you use a national cell phone company(Sprint, Verizon, Cingular, etc) Upgrading your plan to cover the nation usually isn't that expensive. Many people purchased cell phones a year or more ago and at that time, the specials were not there. Nowadays, you might be able to pay the same rate and get national service as service plans do change often.

In response to your second question, the only cell company that does "prepaid" or anything to that extent is Voicestream, but again, if your out of your phyical calling area, your still out of luck.

My advice is upgrade your plan to either cover east coast or nation(All of sprint's service plans cover the entire United States)

[JerseyJanice]

I'm on Verizon. I guess I should call them and ask if I can upgrade to national or east coast service for a month. You think they can do that?

[QuickGold]

Definetly! Here's a great trick also. Call them and ask to upgrade your plan to cover either east coast(if that available) or the country(which they definetly have). Now, if they give some rhetoric like "Uhhh....we cant do this" or "You'll have to pay alot more" then threaten them with a "friend" who told you that Sprint is offering nationwide service, and keep rambiling about how Sprint sounds great, you've heard their service plans are better, blah, blah, blah. Verizon HATES Sprint and most likely will give you a break. I've done this scam with Sprint and it works, so I assume Verizon can also. If they cant, give Verizon the boot and go with Sprint. But like I said, they more than likely should be able to help you.

[Sheree]

Verizon has america's choice which covers new hampshire to florida and to california.

leaves off maine!

right now I have the same plan as you maine to virginia 1300 min for $100, america's choice is 1200 min for $100 plus 3000 night and weekend. also if you have another phone on the plan its another $20 but there's 250 min cell to cell

I'll be switching to that plan prior to our august trip!

[bethsg]

I just upgraded to an America's choice plan with verizion. Since then, I have traveled to New York and Vermont on separate trips, and had "local" coverage on both trips. The great thing about that plan is I can use it at home, on weekends to make my long distance calls to friends and family, and pay no long distance charges. It's a great plan, and could help save money off your regular phone bill.
PS I don't work for Verizon, this is just a good plan that works for me, and I know other carriers carry a similar plan.

[Jen80370]

Voicestream's plans have free roaming included...

[QuickGold]

right now I have the same plan as you maine to virginia 1300 min for $100, america's choice is 1200 min for $100 plus 3000 night and weekend. also if you have another phone on the plan its another $20 but there's 250 min cell to cell

Yowzers! :eek: $100 for 1300 minutes? Those plans you outlined are just plain rotten. I hope those are anytime minutes because otherwise your paying up the wazoo, in which case, can I offer you a trial subscription to My Thoughts, for only $29.99 a month? You'll get a listing of all my wonderful thoughts for that small price. :D

[Sheree]

it's 1300 day minutes PLUS 3000 night and weekend minutes!

Since I work from home and my car, I do use the day minutes a lot! Don't come close on the night and weekend minutes!

It's a great plan and much cheaper than others with less minutes. I've had sprint and their minutes are mostly night and weekend

[idontknow]

LOL Matt!

I've got Sprint only because we live in NE Indiana and go to Orlando quite a bit. We pay $35 for 200 daytime and 1000 nights and weekend minutes. Sprint covers a huge area on the east side of the country. Going west it get spuratic, though.

[DMRick]

If you are with Verizon you can upgrade, at no cost, and pay the same $35 plus taxes a month. We just upgraded ours. They give you a code to put into your phone. For the same price, we now have home calling area from everywhere, and no long distance charges. I saw an ad that they have a new plan, and called, and it was the same price as my 13 or 14 states northeastern plan. Of course if we go over our 300/3000 minutes we pay calling charges.

[npall]

I live in FL but am with Sprint PCS and I HATE THEM! I have problems getting signal and grocery stores, down the street from my house. I am looking at changing them..
Right now I pay $67/ month for 700 anytime minutes. THAT'S IT! The reason is I need alot of daytime minutes because I am always on the road during the day but after 6pm I am home so I never use my phone on weekends or nights. I know..I know I am getting screwed.

I don't know if this can turn into a cell phone thread but I would love for anyone to give me advice as to who to go with.

Is Verizon the "Can you hear me now" commerical people ? I have heard you can get signal with Verizon anywhere... is this true.

Currently with Sprint I can literally walk to my back room in my house and lose signal but have great signal in my kitchen...it's terrible...

P.S. If everyone doesn't mind giving out how much they pay and for what plan/company I would be so grateful!

Thanks,

Naomi

[annie2871]

What about buying those 2-way radios instead of using your cell phone? I noticed them at Wal-Mart for around 30.

[Sheree]

Naomi:
we had sprint and had the same problem with lousy service areas, here in NJ. plus you didn't get as many minutes!

have had great luck with Verizon, the plans are good, I too use a lot of day minutes! and their cust service has been easy

[Disneyolic]

We just upgraded our plan with Cingular. We have shopped around quite a bit and found this plan to be the best. It is a nationwide plan - the entire country including Hawaii and Alaska. No roaming areas. 250 anytime minutes and 3500 night/weekend minutes for 29.99/month. Also, if you sign a 2-year contract now you will get an Ericsson phone (value 180.00) for about 40.00. The phone is great. It has voice activation and many extras. I love it.

[Poohbear123]

I have Cingular too, and found it to be the BEST plan to have! I pay about 55.00 a month for roll-over minutes(which they do not offer anymore) and free nights and weekends! I have an Ericcson phone, but cannot use it in my local grocery store!:mad: Whenever I am at Disney, I bring my phone with me, sometimes to the parks. When I go to use it, and ROAM comes up, I DO NOT make the call! I walk over to another area, and if ROAM does NOT come up, I use it! This is how I avoid extra charges!;)

[Disneyolic]

Poohbear - if you have the nationwide plan, you do not have to pay roaming charges even if roam appears on your phone. I have checked with the company and have experienced it firsthand - no extra charges!

[QuickGold]

I've had Sprint for about 3 years and I have no issues with them. They have the most competive pricing plans of any company. All their calls are local, so theres no long distance garbage to aggravate you. Plus, their phones are far superior to Cingular or Voicestream. Here's the bottom line, the initial poster had a question about using their cell in Florida. I think we solved that problem, so unless we want to create a Cell Phone forum here, I think we're done :D

And don't forget the low, low rate of $29.99/month for all my thoughts in your inbox! :p

[npall]

I am interested in finding a good cell phone with a good plan and I requested opinions on that, this is a budget board and I think that getting good pricing falls underneath that. If you do not want to get into a cell phone discussion, feel free to refrain from posting...

P.S I am glad to know you are happy with PCS, that wasn't the point.

My questions is no different than asking of a good cheap stroller...

NOW.. if anyone else is happy with their cell phone and service, please let me know..I would love to know who you use and how you like them.

Thanks,
Naomi

[npall]

I am interested in finding a good cell phone with a good plan and I requested opinions on that, this is a budget board and I think that getting good pricing falls underneath that. If you do not want to get into a cell phone discussion, feel free to refrain from posting...

P.S I am glad to know you are happy with PCS, that wasn't the point.

My questions is no different than asking of a good cheap stroller...

NOW.. if anyone else is happy with their cell phone and service, please let me know..I would love to know who you use and how you like them.

Thanks,
Naomi

[disneyfan551]

I'll be glad to tell you about my plan! (which we did upgrade to before our Disney vacation!!) We have Verizon for $35/month & receive 350 daytime minutes & 3000 night and weekend minutes! This is the "Americas Choice" plan, which you can read about on their website (which I probably can't post...if you can't find it, pm me!) Anyway, there will be NO roaming while we are at Disney in 4 more days... It really is a good program! :D

[Disneyolic]

Quick - feel free to unsubscribe at any time. These threads are for everyone who wants to share info with. If you read through all the threads, many others were interested. Those are aren't - there are enough other forums to read and enjoy.

[Disneyolic]

Quick - feel free to unsubscribe at any time. These threads are for everyone who wants to share info with. If you read through all the threads, many others were interested. Those that aren't - there are enough other forums to read and enjoy.

[Lewisc]

The "best cell plan" has very little to do with the priceing the real question is which carrier gives you better coverage (fewer dead spots) where you plan to use your phone. Where I live Verizone seems the best. Voicestream claims they don't charge roaming, that is a VERY MISLEADING STATEMENT. They don't charge roaming but for the most part their phones can't connect on other networks (most of their phones are GSM and don't have analog) in other words you don't pay roaming BUT YOU CAN'T GET USE YOUR PHONE in areas.

[Poohbear123]

Thanks for the info, I will check on that! QUICKGOLD: Don't be upset, this is NOT a DEBATE thread!:o Have a GOOD day!;)

[Jen80370]

Lewis, I understand that most people do not understand Voiestream's policy on GSM, but Orlando is A GSM city so as for using a cell at Disney, it is a moot point.

As for me, I have Voicestream's family plan...it is two phones (My DS and myself) we share 800 anytime minutes...we have unlimited weekends...but the nicest of all, unlimited calls to anyone else with Voicestream, anytime. So it costs nothing to call each other, plus our other friends with Voicestream are free.

My husband has their Get More plan...it is 500 anytime minutes plusunlimited weekends nationwide.

Hope this helps.

[npall]

My biggest issue with Sprint is getting signal...my phone does switch to analog roam but if I make a call boy do I pay for it...I think it's like 55 cents a minute.

Keep the suggestions coming..


Naomi

[jgates]

Our provider is USCellular. They are centered mostly in the mid-west. Their normal consumer plans start at around $25 for 100 minutes a month (anytime). Several levels above that. Their 'SpanAmerica' plans give you nationwide coverage for x.xx per month. I know 800 minutes nationwide anytime is about $90 per month. They have just begun offering 'regional' plans also.

Our business plans are 11.75 mo plus .10 per minute - 1st incoming minute is free. For all of our employees but the 'chatty-kathy's' this is the most cost-effective rate. Pay for what you use. We have the option however, to change plans for any period of time and then change back. You end up with a higher bill the first month of the change but then it drops way down because you receive a credit back for the prepaid service you just used at the higher rate. These rates are for 25 lines or more per month. We get one bill, hand everyone their sheet and charge their checking account (we're a bank).

My plan is to switch one of our 2 phones to the lowest SpanAmerica plan for Florida and then switch back when we get home.

Being in the middle of nowhere (not really-but close) we have multiple dead areas, but they are planning on new towers near us so normally it isn't far before you get a signal.

[cynjam]

We're leaving in about a week for Disney and currently don't have any cell phones. I would like one for the trip down( driving) and two or three for our stay. I keep going back and forth between renting there or signing a years contract here. I don't even know what company rents cell phones, just figured I look in the phone book after I arrived. So, if anyone has any advice, please let me know. Thanks

[Mickey0330]

I just switched plans with Sprint. I called the day before my service begins a new billing cycle & said I wanted to disconnect my service. They said, why & I said I am going to switch to U.S. Cellular & rambled off what they were going to offer me. Sprint gave me 600 anytime/anywhere minutes; 500 anytime minutes to any other Sprint PCS phone; 3000 nights & weekends for $30 month. Then I also get a discount because my hubby works for American Airlines. So with tax it should be just under $30 bucks. Not bad!!

I told Sprint exactly what I was going to get from another company & they went a little better. But you have to call & act as if you are going to disconnect. Sprint also gave me $130 credit towards a new phone.

I have had Sprint for over 3 years & it works fine for me at Disney World.

[SleepyatDVC]

Jen,

We also have the Voicestream family plan - 3 phones (2 free - 3rd free after $50 rebate on each phone), shared 800 anytime minutes, unlimited weekends, free Voicestream mobile2mobile - for $79.99. The anytime minutes were sufficient for us because we make alot of calls to each other and those are free. Reception seems fine in the NYC area, especially, near where we live. Reception in Orlando seemed o'kay too - except I did have weak signal while indoors at VWL. I moved out to the balcony or right up to the balcony doors and the signal was fine.

We used to have SprintPCS and while I loved my phone, my dh had problems with his. But most importantly, the customer service was awful! After hours on hold and unhelpful & disinterested reps, my dh said he was never going back to SprintPCS. They did offer us incentives to stay when we cancelled but dh said they weren't enough to make him stay. I thought SprintPCS was fine, although, the reception was a bit weak in MY OWN HOME!

At the time, SprintPCS and Voicestream were the only companies offering family plans with NO roaming charges and FREE long distance in my area. Maybe there are more choices now.

[jimmie2daughters]

Spare a thought for us poor UK people.

Even if our cellphones work on the US frequencies, It will cost us 80 cents/minute to phone the UK and 1 dollar a minute to phone a local Florida number.

Can you pick up prepaid SIM cards in Florida at a reasonable price that we could use instead (phone permitting) for local calls ?

Jimmie L
England

[BraveMom3]

by Jen80370: "Orlando is a GSM city"? What does that mean? Can I use my cell phone at WDW and US/IOA? I'm planning to carry it for safety in case one of my 3 children gets lost, they can give the # to a CM to find me!

[ncbyrne]

We've had a few different plans over the past few years and found that the taxes and surcharges on all of these plans are a rip off! They tell you it's $39.95 per month for a certain area, with so many minutes. Well...even if I never picked up the phone, it's costs WAY more than that per month! They should tell you the bottom line figure.

[safetymom]

AT&T has a prepaid plan. You can also choose between local and national minutes. My kids have them for their cars. You can buy minutes in $10, 25, 50 $100 amounts. They do expire after 45 days but if you buy more before they expire you can keep your extra minutes. We are very happy with them.

[DMRick]

We've had a few different plans over the past few years and found that the taxes and surcharges on all of these plans are a rip off! They tell you it's $39.95 per month for a certain area, with so many minutes. Well...even if I never picked up the phone, it's costs WAY more than that per month! They should tell you the bottom line figure.

Has it been awhile since you phone shopped? They (Verizon) told me my phone was $35 plus ~$6 taxes, etc, and it has been just that every month. I use mine a lot...especially on nights and weekends with my laptop computer while camping.

[HorizonsFan]

"Orlando is a GSM city"? What does that mean?
GSM is a type of wireless phone network; very popular in Europe. Voicestream is the only company in the US (I believe) that uses GSM. If you have a Voicestream phone (like me!) you will be able to use it at WDW without roaming charges. My wife and I are on the Family Plan and calls to each other will be free. We like to be able to split up and pin trade (me) and shop (her).

[Minnie's Mate]

Sorry if this is a repeat, but I didn't have time to read all of the responses. Currently, Cingular has a promotion that includes 1200 anytime minutes and 3500 nights and week-end minutes for $99.99 in the Atlanta area. All minutes include Nationwide long distance for free. Detailed billing, caller ID, call forwarding, 3 way calling and voicemail are included for no additonal fee. Additional minutes are $.30/min. I have this info in front of me because I just upgraded my rate plan. I know its a pain to change numbers, but you might look into the new rates to see if they are valid in your area.

[homebrew]

Nextel with direct connect, the only way to go. NAJASC

[SalandJeff]

Cingular plans are the best deal for nationwide coverage, and we've shopped around. We've used 2 way radios in the parks, also. This works out okay, but there are so many people using them now, that you're constantly hearing other conversations, not sure if it's your people trying to reach you, having to listen to teenagers who just want to chat with each other, etc.

[karensi]

Another vote for Verizon's Americas Choice. I get 300 anytime minutes and free nights and weekends and I pay $45 a month. I think it's great. We recently drove down to Miami and kept in touch with our family all the way down. I love this new plan. Also use it at home to make any long distance calls, such as CRO and the Disney Travel Club for our upcomming Oct. trip.:)

[DMRick]

Karen, how many free weekend minutes? Verizon let us upgrade to 300 free anytime and 3000 nights and weekends for $35 plus tax. Includes free long distance with your minutes.

[mikek]

everyone has pretty much shared all the plans.

I like sprint because i dont have to have a contract- last I checked Verizon (the other big one in NJ) forced it on you...

BUT I wanted to throw out for folks who have 'poor coverage' that the phone you get makes a HUGE difference. You'de think in this day and age they would all work good enough- not exactly. I saw a discovery channel show once about the testing guy from verizon and what he does before they allow the model to have their service- its pretty intense- at the time he refused to allow any phone without antennae that could get extended- apparently peeved motorolla off pretty good since they had to redesign a bunch.

I've used cellular/pcs for upwards of 10 years and the Brand you get makes a big difference. When we first switched to Sprint from ATT we thought the service coverage was terrible (back than it WAS new and had plenty of holes- but it also seemed inconsistant- like the bedroom and kitchen having majorly different levels...)- soon after we found by accident that switching brnads of handset made a gigantic difference.

We've used sprint at my company for about 5 years now and have had phones from qualcomm, motorola, samsung, LG, and sanyo. So far sanyo is hands down the best, and qualcom (now qyocera) is the worst. Funny thing is qualcomm invented and owns CDMA (basically the opposite of GSM) which is what verizon and sprint use- so you'de think they made the best- trust me - just not the case. Currently we have sanyo, motorola, and kyocera and side by side in the same place at the same time a sanyo can be perfect, a motorola ok and the kyocera's roaming analog- its amazing the disparity. Never had much luck with the qualcomm(kyocera's) but sprint and verizon are both upgrading their networks with new lucent software to increase data speeds and the kyocera has definately been majorly affected.

So on top of all the plans to wade through do your best to find out about the phones you get. I dont know anyone rating them so i guess best bet is to find a friend who gets great service and buy what they have. I really havent 'experimented' with a couple different models from a 'bad' brand to know if maybe some models just stink- once we get a bad one, we just dont buy that company's stuff anymore- so it may be possible that some qualcomm phones might be good for example (have had 1900's, 2700's, the flat one's, and now the qyocera's with changable faces so I wouldn't try anymore...)

[DMRick]

So far sanyo is hands down the best, and qualcom (now qyocera) is the worst.
*******************

Do you mean Kyocera? I assume you do. We traded up to this one, and it's been wonderful...so obviously different folks have different experiences. In the Northeast, mountains are the norm, and so Sprint seldom works when we need it to. Not all of our areas have digital, and Sprint told me I would be out of luck when camping..the time when I use my phone the most. I think it's best for people to talk to others who experience life like they do, and ask what phone works for them. It definately depends on where you spend most of your time using the phone as well. Most campers in our area use Verizon..so we switched to them.
The best phone we've ever had..except it's not practical and isn't digital, was a Motorolla Bag phone. High wattage and perfect for the mountains. But I can't get on line with my laptop with it, so it wasn't a good phone for me.
Contract doesn't bother me at all..since I have just about always had a cel phone, and one year is not a lot of time. Once it expires, I don't renew..and they have never said I had too..unless I wanted to upgrade my service.

[safetymom]

DMRick, you are right about the NE. That is one of the pleasures of visiting Florida since it is flat and usually reception is better. I have a Nokia and love it. I have had several models and didn't have any problems. I think a lot of it depends on where you live.

I used to be a fanatic about using my digital phone but found it was just as easy to say to the family meet me at .... at this time. Works a lot better than cell phones or 2 way radios. My kids enjoyed listening to all the dumb conservations on the 2 ways.

I know technology is nice but really we all survived before we had cell phones. So I don't use mine as much anymore.

[Barbruka]

Ok - Everyone listen up!

Go to www.lowermybills.com and they will give you the cheapest cell phone plan for your area. They will also tell you about the cheapest plan for insurance, charge cards, regular phone service, etc. for your area. A great site!!

[safetymom]

But isn't always about the cheapest plan. I need a plan that has a lot of coverage. If that costs a little more it is worth it.

[adisneynut]

Since I live in Ga. I have decided for next months trip that I would use the 4 States One Rate Plan. I have srvice with Cellular One(it hasn't been changed over to Verizon yet). This will give me 400 anytime minues nad if I go over it will be .25 cents per min. I don't plan on going over. I also purchases a 200min. phone card to use.

I don't know if this helps.:rolleyes:

[Minnie's Mate]

adisneynut

I have had service with Cingular prior to being Cingular since 1988 so I have a little brand loyalty; however, according to www.lowermybills.com, the cheapest in Atlanta is Verizon. I mention this because I believe Cingular covers the entire state of Georgia. As it turns out under their current promotion, Nationwide service is included for the same price of less than the local and regional plans. You might look at this if you ever need your cell phone when traveling outside of the southeast. I have used mine in New Hampshire, Texas, Colorado and Nevada with no extra charges, long distance fees or roaming.

By the way, I grew up in Hazlehurst, where do you live?