Cell phone use at WDW

[ericsgm]

I'm looking to pick up 2 phones just so our large group can stay in touch. It's good to hear that there are at least a couple cost-effective options. Yes, we are prepared that they will be pretty much disposable, but for the peace of mind, they will be worth it! I am hoping we might be able to reactivate them on future trips. Does anyone know if that would work?

[katscradle]

Buying a prepaid phone sounds like a great idea.
Since I am heading for WDW on the 11th of Dec. Walmart is going to be a first stop for me. However we are taking Magical Express where is the closest Walmart?

[Ham Ham]

Originally Posted by katscradle

Buying a prepaid phone sounds like a great idea.
Since I am heading for WDW on the 11th of Dec. Walmart is going to be a first stop for me. However we are taking Magical Express where is the closest Walmart?

You can order a Virgin phone on line and they will ship it FOC to your resort.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/rates/minute.do

Or you can go to the Virgin Mega Store in DTD West Side and pick one up.

[Charleyann]

Originally Posted by katscradle

Buying a prepaid phone sounds like a great idea.
Since I am heading for WDW on the 11th of Dec. Walmart is going to be a first stop for me. However we are taking Magical Express where is the closest Walmart?

Do you have a Walmart nearby? (In the States?)With the Tracfone you can purchase now and activate later from any state or area code. That is what I did. You can also order it directly from the Tracfone website and have it sent to you at home if you have time before you leave on vacation....

Charleyann

[Beechnut]

Does either Tracfone or Virgin Deliver to canada?

How much duty/taxes do you have to pay?

thanks

[Ham Ham]

Originally Posted by Beechnut

Does either Tracfone or Virgin Deliver to canada?

How much duty/taxes do you have to pay?

thanks

Don't think they ship outside of the us.
Click on the link provided to poke around and see what info you can find.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/rates/minute.do

The Virgin USA pay as you go phones only work in the US. I guessing the Tracphones are the same.

Good tip in a previous post about hitting a US store before you head down to FLA to pick up a phone. Activate it with an Orlando Zip code so your phone is a local one while at WDW.

[mjf]

Hi All,

Based on the recommendations in this forum, we decided to buy a couple of Virgin Aloha phones and have them shipped to our resort. We arrived in Orlando yesterday and they were there at SSR waiting for us (Yay!)

We took them back to the room and began trying to activate them. The on-line process appeared to be going well until I got to the point where I had to power on the phone and call Virgin to do the activation. I was assigned a 407 area code phone number, but the instructions on the web site didn't line up with the prompts I was seeing on the phone so I did my best and tried to pick what I thought was right. In the end though, both of the phones wouldn't activate correctly and the phone told me to call the Virgin 1-800 number.

When I spoke to a 'Live Advisor' they had no record of the phone number I had just been assigned on the web or the hard-coded serial number on the phone. They suggested I wait a few hours for the system synchronize or something like that.

This afternoon (after visiting Sea World), I tried again. I spend well over an hour on the phone with two different 'Live Advisors' who were very professional and tried their best but ultimately unable to help me out. The last one I spoke with said that I wasn't supposed to activate the phone the way I did (THE WAY THE INSTRUCTIONS TOLD ME) but instead said that the phone was already activated when I bought it... or something like that. they said they could bump my problem up to the 'Investigation Department' but that it would take 24-72 hours for them to get back to me. As I need the phones to work NOW, I told them that wouldn't do me any good.

I asked if I could return and/or replace the phones to the Virgin Mega Store and they said that I probably could. We just got back from Downtown Disney and the Virgin Mega Store wouldn't / couldn't help me. For starters, they didn't have any Aloha phones and even if they did, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Mega Stores are not really all that closely related.

So, I ended up stuffing the phones into a garbage can on the way out of Downtown Disney. I'm not really all that disappointed about blowing $20-ish on the phones... it's the over 2 hours I spent tying to activate them and on the phone with Virgin. I'd rather have been hanging out on the pool... or nearly anything else really.

Next time, I'll probably go with an AT&T phone again like I did last year. It would cost a little more, but at least it worked.

Oh, one other thing. The kid at the Virgin Mega Store said that they weren't selling the Aloha anymore, so maybe it won't be an option anyway.

[Fellowship9798]

As a counter-point to the post above, I bought an Aloha phone in October, activated it online, and everything worked out fine. I didn't have to call anyone or spend any time on the phone invesitgating anything.

Bear in mind that it does say it will take a few hours to get the phone setup in their system after you do the online activation. I had a day between when I did the activation and the first time I turned it on.

I guess sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't.

[katscradle]

I Think when we go I will just buy the cheapest pay as you go that we can find. 1 month today. I am so excited!!

[Disney24/7]

I left my cell at home and bought a $10 CiCi phone card at Petro Canada to take on our WDW trip last month. I believe the cost to call from the US to Canada was 8 cents/minute.

I was able to use it at both airports (Toronto/Orlando) and at the resort without incurring any charges to the room. Still had plenty of minutes left when we got home.

[beavdisfan]

hi
and yes that will work but you must buy a cingular/at&t card and service.
i have a rogers phone and have done it.

[Csaks]

If you have a Telus phone with the Mike option it will work in the States. It changes over to Nextel and using the Mike it is 20 cents a minute, billed by the second so last year it hardly cost anything to talk to my aunt who was on site at the same time as us. Never called home, always used the Mike, but then again most of the people I know have one.

[FigmentsFan]

Have switched to a US plan for the trip. Cheaper.

[nosbig]

my friend has bought the disposable type in the us for $20 or so. Works really well.

[Canadave]

Just trying to understand how the disposable phone thing works...if I order 2 phones from VirginMobile and have them delivered to the resort, what do I have to do to activate them? Do I need a laptop? Some come with $10 or so of air time...can I get more time? When I'm done my holiday, do I just throw them away???
If this has already been discussed in the earlier 14 pages, I apologize.