Honey! We are leaving them at home!

I support others doing it, but I wouldn't be able to not have a phone. I didn't own a smart phone during my last trip, but I'm excited about using apps this time around. Plus, it will come in handy waiting for buses or maybe while waiting in line for rides, or making last-minute dining reservations.

I do need access to my phone and email while at WDW because of my job. Don't have to check it everyday but still need access.
 
Each to their own I say.... I've never taken my phone because of data roaming charges and if any emergency happens back home people know to email since my dad takes his laptop to check emails at night (not much we could do anyway since we're from the UK so journey home takes an absolute age)

However our next trip will be our first with a child so we will no doubt be taking a phone in case we get separated. Not really interested in line apps etc.... We're not a planning family we just take it easy and if we don't manage to get on a ride then so be it we don't let it spoil our day!
 
I can understand not bringing phones if your entire family will be sticking together, but I find it so useful to be able to communicate with my DH or kids in WDW with a text or call that says I am stuck in a line or will be a bit late. My DH may be one of those guys that people say are stuck staring at their phones and not watching their kids. We have taken a variety of photos of him in just such a scene. However, his vacation can be much less stressful if he keeps up with emails at work and avoid coming back to 1000's of messages when he returns. He just uses time in the lines to go through stuff. Unfortunately, he's a guy that doesn't have the luxury of completely going off grid, but his work is also the reason that we can enjoy fabulous Disney vacations too.
 
In another country I can totally understand not taking your phone. ( I left mine in the safe while we were on our cruise... the part I missed was the clock and the camera. I dont wear a watch, so my phone is my watch.)

I do love the app features on the phones. We drain the battery checking the line apps. ( and posting pics to fb.;)
 


We bring our phones. They're for communication only. They're "dumb" phones so not good for anything but calls and light texting. My kids love Disney so they don't want to be looking at their phones all the time anyway, a fact for which I am grateful!
 
Since we are driving my plan is to bring them however while we are at the parks they will be in the safe. After our time at Disney we will be visiting local family and then the phones will be a needed distraction. I find the game apps are a sanity saver on the drive not to mention I feel better in case of emergency but I don't allow my kids to go off on their own and we have a if lost meet here strategy that worked well in the past.
 
I enjoyed being able to take pictures and communicate with family and friends via facebook, instagram, etc who weren't on the trip with us. It was a good way to preserve memories and keep in touch.

So no, I will not leave my phone at home next time I go.

This is me. My phone is mostly for picture taking during my vacation or searching for information. Even DH who is addicted to his phone, takes a break while in Disney.
 


If that's a decision you've made for your family and everyone is onboard, great. Let everyone know back home you will be out of touch for however long you're gone.

My trip in a couple weeks will be my first disney vacation with my iphone, so I'm pretty excited to see how it changes the way we tour. :)

Also, I've only been to Disney once where I've had my entire family with me. I need my phone (previously a non-smartphone) with me to stay in touch with those that are at home.

Just because you see someone on their phone for a couple mins while they are within your sight doesn't mean they are glued to their phone or haven't talked to anyone else in their party the entire trip. They may be taking 5 or 10 mins to catch up on work emails, texts, etc. :)

I know it *seems* everyone is on their phones all the time, but you're really only seeing a snippet of time of thousands of different people.
 
We'll have ours to help navigate the parks with wait times and alarms for our ADRS - it's our first trip so we need a little help.

Dh also likes to split up - bathroom breaks, only one child wants to ride, one child wants to check something out and the other doesn't, etc - it helps us find each other again if we get separated especially if it was a long wait time and we're trying to get back together.

Enjoy your trip!
 
I like to update my social media. Most of my friends or followers get annoyed because im in disney world and they're at work.

But some people enjoy my little updates! (My aunts and some of the older ladies i work with on facebook)

I recently took a vacation to new orleans with my boyfriend. It was the first vacation without my family...so I had to take my phone. I would update my twitter more than my facebook that my mom actually got a twitter to see what I was up to! It was easier to send a little tweet to update whoever than txted everyone who wanted updates!

Plus, my instagram. I like to post pictures! I didn't have instagram on my last trip, but will have it next trip! Im excited for that.

I don't have any kids, so I don't need to give anyone my attention! My next trip, my boyfriend will not be with me, so ill have my phone.
My trip after that I will probably limit my use of my cellphone dramatically since it will be my boyfriends first trip in 15 years! I need to show him the magic! (Ill definitely have my phone on me because my parents will be down there with us and we've already agreed to tour without them for part of the trip...so if they want to meet up, ill need my phone for that!)

Once, I "ditched" my phone (had it on me but it stayed in my pocket 90% of the time) I found that my battery lasted for days! It was amazing!
 
I love everything the OP said, and I agree. But I have to admit, we rely on the phones in the parks. When the hubster runs off to get FPs for TSM, he texts back the return time and I give him the yay or nay. When my parents are back at the hotel napping they text to tell us where to meet them for their return. We use the lines app to determine which rides to go on next. While my son and hubs do Agent P while the girls and I shop he texts to let us know when they are done so we can meet back up. That said, we don't use the phones for texting friends or taking work calls or playing games -- we are too busy being immersed in our vacation. I might upload a pic or two to FB at the end of the day to show family how much we are enjoying ourselves - I like to share the magic.
 
I enjoyed being able to take pictures and communicate with family and friends via facebook, instagram, etc who weren't on the trip with us. It was a good way to preserve memories and keep in touch.

So no, I will not leave my phone at home next time I go.

Same here!!! I would be so mad if my Disney friends didn't update their status with posts and pictures from their current trip! I love living vicariously through their trips until it's my turn to go!! :thumbsup2

We bring our phones. They're for communication only. They're "dumb" phones so not good for anything but calls and light texting. My kids love Disney so they don't want to be looking at their phones all the time anyway, a fact for which I am grateful!

Lol....My girls love Disney too, but we're not going without our iphones! Good for you if you don't want to bring your phones, but for my family iphones just make Disney all the more fun!
 
I like to put updates and checkins and an occasional on Facebook for the grandmas back home, and I'll probably use it to check FP return windows before trekking across the park, but other than that, I don't play on my phone too much, and particularly not at Disney World. I am disabling my work email (per a request from my boss) and not checking in at work at all, which is my main distractor with my smartphone. Unfortunately, we have a big family emergency going on so I have to keep a phone with me just in case. I am telling everyone not to call unless it's a dire emergency, though. Real life can wait for seven days.
 
Lol....My girls love Disney too, but we're not going without our iphones! Good for you if you don't want to bring your phones, but for my family iphones just make Disney all the more fun!

We do bring our phones. They just don't do anything except for call and text. I am a cheapo who won't pay a gazillion dollars for a phone data plan. I would rather waste the money on an overpriced Disney vacay. ;) I'm sure your family doesn't use the phones excessively anyway--I just went on a vacay with someone who was looking at her phone CONSTANTLY (on rides, in line, while walking between rides, while eating, in stores, etc) so I am a bit touchy on this subject, haha!
 
Yeah we couldn't go without at least one phone. We use it to navigate roads. Check wait times at the park and anytime we just need any info you just pull out the phone. We don't use it to play games on while we're there though. Boy does it come in handy sometimes though.
 
We don't have smart phones to begin with. I HATE seeing people playing on their phone vs interacting with their family, CM's, everything.

So kudos to you!

I would, honestly, rather NOT have a phone than have a smart phone.
 
did though....we only have a vacation once a year...we wanted to spend time with our kids, not our phones...lol.
 
Good luck to the OP! It sounds like it's a good idea for your family, and I hope you have a wonderful time. :goodvibes

I don't even know what people are doing with those "smart" phones besides alienating themselves from the real world & other humans beings.
We were just having the same conversation the other night. We were out on a rare date, at a concert, and everyone there was busy recording on their phones or playing with something...and it's like, whatever happened to being present in the moment?
Personally I want to know what's up with people judging others simply just because they're using their phone. You don't know anything about those people.

A friend and I were discussing this not too long ago. People might see us sitting together in a coffee shop on our phones and think God knows what, but we're perfectly happy. We have our own reasons for doing what we do, it's not bothering anyone else, we don't feel we're alienating anyone or missing out on anything, so anyone judging us can take their holier than thou attitude and stick it somewhere unpleasant.

I know it *seems* everyone is on their phones all the time, but you're really only seeing a snippet of time of thousands of different people.
:worship:

I can't imaging going to WDW without my phone. Besides using the Touring Plans app, I have one of the Hidden Mickey books on my Kindle so I can look at that while waiting in line or somesuch. And I love taking pictures to share with my friends. Oh, and of course there's the whole "using it as a phone" thing, which comes in handy now and then when we split up, particularly in the World of Disney store.
 
I can't imagine traveling without my smart phone and my ipad (although I certainly don't need it in the parks and don't use it outside of the resort). Got my first bb in 2002 and have never looked back. We go for a long weekend a few times a year to WDW (save the long vacations for international travel) and have been using apps for touring for years now. If one park is crowded we just consult our phones and hop to what looks to be less crowded for instance, or we might want to check the weather, etc. I also don't print things (pretty much ever) and keep all our info in my phone with backup copies emailed to my DH so he has a copy with him as well. That said we don't usually check social media (I will admit to doing it on the bus, monorail or boat) and we are there to enjoy our time between ourselves or whoever we are traveling with - like my folks with F&W each fall, but the access to easy info, the convenience of having a camera if I don't want to bring the big one, and being able to get in touch should we lose each other in the crowd (which has happened as I skip a few rides DH loves like Mission Space) is priceless to me. My iphone easily fits in my wristlet and serves several functions which could be served in other ways with bigger, more clunky solutions but that would be mean checking a bag etc. For me, a smart phone is an ease of use kinda thing. We're not plugged in every moment, but I will say my 60 year old folks can be SUPER annoying with their iphones and contast tweeting, etc. I swear they are worse than any of the teenagers I'm around and were the first people to get the iphone 5 the day it came out, even my DH could wait until the one he ordered was delivered to the house. LOL:)

It just depends on what works for your family. I don't judge people that go without phones but it would make me uncomfortable being completely out of communication, we even have international calling plans for the 3-4 times a year I am overseas. I also realize that WDW is for quality time. I think that there is a moderate stance there that works for us but to each their own.
 
=

A friend and I were discussing this not too long ago. People might see us sitting together in a coffee shop on our phones and think God knows what, but we're perfectly happy. We have our own reasons for doing what we do, it's not bothering anyone else, we don't feel we're alienating anyone or missing out on anything, so anyone judging us can take their holier than thou attitude and stick it somewhere unpleasant.

=

I wonder about this too. DH and I sometimes will play games like "Ticket to Ride" or "Words with Friends" on our iphones or our ipads, most commonly on flights or at the airport. Some people could look at that and say we weren't interacting. We LOVE games and certainly ARE interacting as we're actively playing each other, not the AI. If we had our physical copies of those games, no one would judge us for being on our phones, but we have burn up a quick flight very happily with a few heated games, and I can't see what's wrong with that. We've never had that kind of down town in a WDW park, but if playing games TOGETHER in a coffee shop, or even just saying "hey did read X piece in the Times today" how is that not the same quality time with the phone acting as the game, newspaper, etc. that is binding the conversation together?

Anyhow, I thought the above quote was a great point and just wanted to say "yeah!"
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top