Cell phone use at WDW

We used Roam mobility on 2 phones at POP back in 2012 and it was not very good at all.

We are going again this year and was wondering if it has improved?

Exmo said:

We used Roam mobility on 2 phones at POP back in 2012 and it was not very good at all.

We are going again this year and was wondering if it has improved?

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Can't speak to reception at POP, but I just returned from 10 days at BCV and reception on Roam was great throughout the entire property, Orlando and all the way through to Dunedin/Clearwater (had to catch a couple of Jays games).

bankr63 said:

The Rogers information on the ROAM site is old. Rogers Roam Like Home plan is $5/day to extend all your Canadian bundle into the US. Just back from 12 days. My son was using my ROAM Sim in his Nexus 5. I am now on Rogers RLH on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. DW is part of the that plan as well on a Samsung Galaxy Core LTE. I will have to wait a bit for the final Rogers bill to see if there were any hidden surprises. Will post back with a real world comparison when I get the bill. One thing to consider though is that you are still paying for your Canadian plan while it is dormant up here in Canada - that should be factored into the cost comparison as well.

As far as service goes, Rogers appeared to be better - they roam primarily on ATT which does have better connections in many locations. I did catch my phone on T-Mobile a couple of times as well. ROAM is only on T-Mobile, and DS did have a couple of service issues, but nothing that couldn't be solved by moving a couple of hundred yards. It was interesting that he could never get a signal INSIDE Disney attractions, where my ATT was solid; outside in the fresh air, he was fine. Guess Disney must have a deal with ATT?

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The challenge with Rogers' Roam Like Home plan is that one has to have an eligible (read: newer, with much less data included for the same price as many grandfathered plans) Rogers wireless plan.

So there are a bunch of factors to consider. For example, my Rogers grandfathered plan includes 6 GB of data; a new plan with that much data would cost over twice as much; and a new plan that cost about the same would include no more than 2 GB data. Having done the math, for my situation I am much better off keeping my existing Rogers plan and using ROAM. FWIW, I also have an AT&T GoPhone sim (voice and data only) for my phone, which with Roam I only use when I am having connection issues with Roam.

I do agree with you that AT&T, who Rogers roams on, has better coverage than T Mobile, at least where I have traveled.

-SW

Just to add some data points. I live right by the border and travel to the US every 2-3 weeks. I also vacation there frequently - probably every 2-3 months. I was looking for a phone plan with a little bit of calling, texting and some data (preferably more since I like to surf).

I used to have T-Mobile PAYGO and it was an awesome plan for me. 10 cents a call, 5 cents a text, and a 1-day unlimited data plan I could add on as needed for $2. Only a $10/yr minimum topup. Sadly, that setup is gone and I can only use that SIM for talk and text. I am going to see if any of my friends want to buy it off me since I really want data.

Roam Mobility looked like a good plan and simple to use. However, I would have to schedule each day and plan ahead for use. Plus, the $2 a day ($4 for faster internet) access would add up fast. Most of the time, I don't browse heavily and access 2-10 webpages just to quickly look stuff up (so using perhaps 10-20MB a day). For longer trips (1-2x a yr), I like more data so I can surf to my heart's content. I ended up feeling that Roam's $2/day would end up costing me more in the long run since most of the time, I only need tiny bits of data. I didn't like that I would have to pay $2/day if I just needed to send a few texts or I just need to request an Uber ride (last trip with no data I had to hunt down nearby Starbucks for wifi to use Uber).

I went through every phone plan I could find with my use in mind. I ended up settling on Truphone.

Truphone works on both AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T has much better coverage than Tmobile (which is what Roam uses). I like the extra coverage as I did experience some dead zones with T mobile, even in some large cities. 9 cents a call, 9 cents a text, and 9 cents a MB. 27 cents/min or 9 cents/text to Canadian numbers (We make very rare, short calls back home). No refills required and money never expires. For such limited, occasional use, this is awesome news since I am not tied to spending a a minimum every year. Cost of calls, texts, and data is a little higher but the flexibility will likely make it a wash.

When I travel for 1-2 weeks and really want serious data, I plan to sign up for a prepaid 1 month plan and then cancel it (losing the number) after the trip. For my July 2015, 2 week trip to California, I plan on Pure Talk (also runs on AT&T - worried about the more limited coverage of Tmobile in that area). They have a $5/month plan for 80 mins talk & text with a $20 1G data add-on. Best of all, they offer a free SIM so I can toss the SIM afterwards with no worries. I probably won't upload too many photos but I should be able to surf fairly freely without stressing.

I'll report back if it all works out.

I would love to hear your experiences with PureTalk .. and anyone else that has use this in the states...
I have not used ROAM .. but at $4/day for 15days of vacation ...I was hoping for something cheaper , if available...

would it possibly be cheaper to buy a prepaid throw away? im als curious about how to comunicate while theremy party s 2 groups and we are in different resorts

Yeah - prepaid throwaways are often cheap. I just like using my unlocked phones so I have access to all my apps, etc. It didn't cost much to unlock my phones. For the Galaxy, I think we just went online and bought a code - followed the instructions, and we were unlocked.

My phone is also unlocked i figured i would shut off service and turn on wifi and use fb to message the others in the mornings

I've used a talk & text pkg with Fido in the past that wasn't too bad. But for my last few trips, I decided, since I was on vacation, that I didn't want to be constantly tethered to an $$ cell phone & contract. So I went old school. I bought a pre-paid Bell long distance card before I left home and used the real phone in my room to check in with family in Canada. No phone charges/surcharges from the resort at all. I just dialed the number for an outside line. My parents were impressed. My brother not so much. I got the OMG you didn't take your cell phone? What century are you living in I really wound him up when I told him that I had actually used a pay phone in the lobby. Oh, and a pay phone in the park. With my Ma Bell calling card. I couldn't resist. But you know, old school worked fine & was cheap. To use the MDE, I took my old itouch & used Disney wi-fi. It worked as well. Just so you know that there are alternatives to 75$ plus roaming fees on your Disney vacation. ps I bet many Cdns under the age of 30 have never used a pay phone. Think of it as an educational retro adventure.

I'm Rogers Wireless customer with a Share Everything plan, so I'm going to try out the Roam Like Home option on this upcoming trip. Provided it works as advertised, that will work fine for me and be a better deal than a US number plan .. which is what I've always done in the past. 10$ setup fee + $3/day AT&T Wireless .. data, calls, texts..

CanadianGuy said:

I'm Rogers Wireless customer with a Share Everything plan, so I'm going to try out the Roam Like Home option on this upcoming trip. Provided it works as advertised, that will work fine for me and be a better deal than a US number plan .. which is what I've always done in the past. 10$ setup fee + $3/day AT&T Wireless .. data, calls, texts..

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I am Rogers as well and plan on using this plan. We are going out of country for 16 days, so it will be $50.00. This doesn't seem too high to me. Hopefully I can see some reports of this working well before my trip

bankr63 said:

The Rogers information on the ROAM site is old. Rogers Roam Like Home plan is $5/day to extend all your Canadian bundle into the US. Just back from 12 days. My son was using my ROAM Sim in his Nexus 5. I am now on Rogers RLH on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. DW is part of the that plan as well on a Samsung Galaxy Core LTE. I will have to wait a bit for the final Rogers bill to see if there were any hidden surprises. Will post back with a real world comparison when I get the bill. One thing to consider though is that you are still paying for your Canadian plan while it is dormant up here in Canada - that should be factored into the cost comparison as well.

As far as service goes, Rogers appeared to be better - they roam primarily on ATT which does have better connections in many locations. I did catch my phone on T-Mobile a couple of times as well. ROAM is only on T-Mobile, and DS did have a couple of service issues, but nothing that couldn't be solved by moving a couple of hundred yards. It was interesting that he could never get a signal INSIDE Disney attractions, where my ATT was solid; outside in the fresh air, he was fine. Guess Disney must have a deal with ATT?

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And so now that the bills are all in, I would say that Rogers RLH was a winner for us. Better service as it did switch carrier networks down there, and there were no hidden fees. Used SMS and MMS (Multimedia Messaging) US and Canada, voice local and LD, and data all without hiccups and no extra fees over the $5/day. ROAM came a close second on DS's phone as the price was nearly the same, but he did have a couple of areas where reception was difficult. Note that DW also had her phone on RLH with Rogers, but only used it sporadically while there (days when we did separate things); we were only charged for the 3 days of 12 that the phone actually connected to a network. It hurts to say it, but Kudos to Rogers for FINALLY doing something right for the customer.

elaine amj said:

Just to add some data points. I live right by the border and travel to the US every 2-3 weeks. I also vacation there frequently - probably every 2-3 months. I was looking for a phone plan with a little bit of calling, texting and some data (preferably more since I like to surf).

I used to have T-Mobile PAYGO and it was an awesome plan for me. 10 cents a call, 5 cents a text, and a 1-day unlimited data plan I could add on as needed for $2. Only a $10/yr minimum topup. Sadly, that setup is gone and I can only use that SIM for talk and text. I am going to see if any of my friends want to buy it off me since I really want data.

Roam Mobility looked like a good plan and simple to use. However, I would have to schedule each day and plan ahead for use. Plus, the $2 a day ($4 for faster internet) access would add up fast. Most of the time, I don't browse heavily and access 2-10 webpages just to quickly look stuff up (so using perhaps 10-20MB a day). For longer trips (1-2x a yr), I like more data so I can surf to my heart's content. I ended up feeling that Roam's $2/day would end up costing me more in the long run since most of the time, I only need tiny bits of data. I didn't like that I would have to pay $2/day if I just needed to send a few texts or I just need to request an Uber ride (last trip with no data I had to hunt down nearby Starbucks for wifi to use Uber).

I went through every phone plan I could find with my use in mind. I ended up settling on Truphone.

Truphone works on both AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T has much better coverage than Tmobile (which is what Roam uses). I like the extra coverage as I did experience some dead zones with T mobile, even in some large cities. 9 cents a call, 9 cents a text, and 9 cents a MB. 27 cents/min or 9 cents/text to Canadian numbers (We make very rare, short calls back home). No refills required and money never expires. For such limited, occasional use, this is awesome news since I am not tied to spending a a minimum every year. Cost of calls, texts, and data is a little higher but the flexibility will likely make it a wash.

When I travel for 1-2 weeks and really want serious data, I plan to sign up for a prepaid 1 month plan and then cancel it (losing the number) after the trip. For my July 2015, 2 week trip to California, I plan on Pure Talk (also runs on AT&T - worried about the more limited coverage of Tmobile in that area). They have a $5/month plan for 80 mins talk & text with a $20 1G data add-on. Best of all, they offer a free SIM so I can toss the SIM afterwards with no worries. I probably won't upload too many photos but I should be able to surf fairly freely without stressing.

I'll report back if it all works out.

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Reporting back I ordered a Truphone SIM and it arrived quickly. I activated it when I was in the US but had some trouble - it just wouldn't work as they said it would. I called and talked to a super friendly rep in the Phillipines with perfect English. She tried a couple of things quickly and then said that there were problems with the activation which she promised would be fixed within an hour. She offered to call/email me the moment it was fixed. I was leaving the US at that time and told her I was worried because I wouldn't be able to test the data properly since I would be in Canada ($4.50/MB - ouch!. She immediately offered me a $15 credit (my activation fee) to make up for the trouble (and to pay for my data testing in Canada). Wow.

As promised, it worked when I got home and I tested it in Canada, paying $4.50/MB. The credit showed up immediately. I was very impressed now.

Best of all, logging in online displays my detailed bill easily letting me see exactly what I used and when. It promises to show up within an hour (In practice, it showed up almost immediately). Great for monitoring use.

I was at Universal Studios last weekend and it worked flawlessly. With wifi everywhere I knew I wouldn't use data much but still wanted it available. This is what I used:

- 1 call (3mins) to Universal dining to make a dining reservation (did not want to fuss with making it online at that time).

- 1 call to my DH when we split up (9 cents)

- 1.5 MB to make an Open Table reservation when The Kitchen (at Hard Rock Hotel) said no tables were available for a walkup. I tried doing it with their wifi first but it was horrible there. Irritated, I just switched on my data plan and made the reservation super quickly.

That's it - everything else was fine with wifi. I spent about 58 cents all weekend and I am so glad I didn't do something like Rogers Roam Like Home which is just too much for the few little things I needed - that weren't even true emergencies but just convenient. RLH would have cost me $15 for the 3 days I used. Reception was perfect and data was snappy. I am loving this plan and it is entirely possible that I might only use $10-$20 per year (or less) just based on my mood and how often I want to surf. I do still miss TMobile's plan which offered an option of $2/day unlimited OR pay per MB which would have been nice. Since there's nothing else out there that quite matches that, I think Truphone is my most economical, yet reliable option. Particularly since I really want the reliability of being on a MVNO that uses BOTH T-mobile AND AT&T networks. I did find T-mobile's network not as good for many places in the US (although it is fine in Orlando) so this will be a fantastic travel SIM card.

In July, I'll test out Pure Talk and report back.

Just got back from parents only trip and I'm a big proponent of Roam. We had very spotty Wifi in our room at OKW (which is not the norm) but with Roam we had almost full bars of LTE the entire time. And Roam works great in all the parks, which is not something you can say for Disney's WiFi. For $3.95/day its better than anything Telus could offer me.

csmart1152 said:

Just got back from parents only trip and I'm a big proponent of Roam. We had very spotty Wifi in our room at OKW (which is not the norm) but with Roam we had almost full bars of LTE the entire time. And Roam works great in all the parks, which is not something you can say for Disney's WiFi. For $3.95/day its better than anything Telus could offer me.

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Glad that Roam worked out so well for you. It really is a decent option for travelling Canadians. I was impressed with their offering. The major reason I didn't go with Roam was because Roam uses only T-Mobile while Truphone uses both At&T and T-Mobile. Also I was looking for a more flexible option for very, very limited use that was still reasonable for more extended use.

I am with Bell and for my last trip they had an add on that gave unlimited incoming and outgoing texts and calls while in the USA for $30. I thought it was a fantastic deal at the time but since I had virtually no cell reception in my room in Pop Century, it ended up being kind of pointless to have the unlimited talk. Also, they have since changed the deal to 500 minutes talk (I think) and unlimited texts for the $30.

elaine amj said:

Just to add some data points. I live right by the border and travel to the US every 2-3 weeks. I also vacation there frequently - probably every 2-3 months. I was looking for a phone plan with a little bit of calling, texting and some data (preferably more since I like to surf).

When I travel for 1-2 weeks and really want serious data, I plan to sign up for a prepaid 1 month plan and then cancel it (losing the number) after the trip. For my July 2015, 2 week trip to California, I plan on Pure Talk (also runs on AT&T - worried about the more limited coverage of Tmobile in that area). They have a $5/month plan for 80 mins talk & text with a $20 1G data add-on. Best of all, they offer a free SIM so I can toss the SIM afterwards with no worries. I probably won't upload too many photos but I should be able to surf fairly freely without stressing.

I'll report back if it all works out.

Click to expand...

disneyred said:

I would love to hear your experiences with PureTalk .. and anyone else that has use this in the states...
I have not used ROAM .. but at $4/day for 15days of vacation ...I was hoping for something cheaper , if available...

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I just ordered my Pure Talk SIM for my July trip to California. I found a promo code for 20% off (TEACH20) which brought my $25 plan down to $14.92. I debated upgrading to one of the bigger plans but that would have been $30 and really more than I need for a 12 day trip. I figure 1G will give me about 44 hours of surfing so I should be fine. I did have to agree that they can charge my CC monthly. I set myself a reminder to cancel before a month is up. I'll report more when I return. For now, $25 was the cheapest I could find and with the promo code, $15 is CRAZY cheap for my particular set of needs. (What I have learned when researching cellphones is that there is no 1 "best" plan. All depends on your circumstances and needs). Rogers Roam Like Home would cost me $60 or Roam Mobility would be $48 in comparison (and both use TMobile, which does not have as good coverage as AT&T, which is what Pure Talk uses).

We have a Roam phone (and it worked very well on our 2014 trip), but on our May vacation we added on unlimited talk and text to our existing Telus cell, and it was a good choice for us. A nice benefit....it allowed our son (who was home alone) and my Mom (also back in Canada) to call us from their cells without using any of their "other" minutes or incurring any long distance charges (as the Roam number would not be considered a local call).

Service was excellent....not one problem the entire 9 days.

I did Roam Like Home and it was awesome to not have to worry like you use to when you had to buy the travel packs. Made the trip so much more enjoyable because I was able to keep up on MDE and phone home whenever I wanted.

We visit 2-3 times per year and are looking for options. We have never switched out Sims before. So far Puretalk sounds good especially with the discount code. We leave in 2 weeks.

Am I understanding this correctly?
You sign up for their monthly plan before your trip & switch the SIM card
Do you get to keep the same # or does it change?
When your return you cancel the plan and switch the sim back

Am I missing anything?

elaine amj said:

I just ordered my Pure Talk SIM for my July trip to California. I found a promo code for 20% off (TEACH20) which brought my $25 plan down to $14.92. I debated upgrading to one of the bigger plans but that would have been $30 and really more than I need for a 12 day trip. I figure 1G will give me about 44 hours of surfing so I should be fine. I did have to agree that they can charge my CC monthly. I set myself a reminder to cancel before a month is up. I'll report more when I return. For now, $25 was the cheapest I could find and with the promo code, $15 is CRAZY cheap for my particular set of needs. (What I have learned when researching cellphones is that there is no 1 "best" plan. All depends on your circumstances and needs). Rogers Roam Like Home would cost me $60 or Roam Mobility would be $48 in comparison (and both use TMobile, which does not have as good coverage as AT&T, which is what Pure Talk uses).

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