A US SIM card for a 12 day trip

[Merx]

I'm a visitor from Australia who will be making my first trip to Disney World in October.

Just wanted to know is there any SIM card I can purchase at Orlando Airport with data included?

I've done some searching online and I understand you can get SIM card cheaper outside of the airport, but I won't be renting a car so my options are limited.

90% of the time I'll be covered by Disney Wifi, but I'll be trying to get to Universal Studio for one day and Legoland on another, my main uses of the data will be using the Uber app when there's no wifi, and have a US number so the driver can call me in case he can't find me

I understand this is a common question, and if there's another thread that already answered my question, I'm happy to be directed to that post.

 

[Robo]

Why not order a card in advance?

 

[Merx]

Why not order a card in advance?

Where can I do that?

I haven't been to the US before and don't even know where to start

 

[Robo]

Where can I do that?

I haven't been to the US before and don't even know where to start

Google for "SIM card."

 

[richmo]

Agree, get it in advance. I would think you could find one on Amazon, for example.

 

[Merx]

Google for "SIM card."

Sorry to be rude, but your answer is not helpful to me whatsoever.

Being in Australia, we get redirect to google.com.au and simply googling "SIM card" will only give me the Wikipedia page for SIM card and mobile plans for Australia.

For your information, I have tried google getting SIM card in Orlando, but most answer redirect to users to "purchase a throw away phone" or "better to get a SIM card from Wal-mart", which is not applicable for my situation

 

[Robo]

Have a nice trip.

 

[Merx]

Agree, get it in advance. I would think you could find one on Amazon, for example.

Thanks. Had a quick glance, a lot of them don't ship to Australia, but I'll look more thoroughly and maybe some of them will ship to out here

 

[richmo]

Then maybe try USA Sim card in your Google search.

Have no idea if this is legit, but maybe something like:
https://www.usaprepaidsimcard.com.au/

 

[Merx]

Have a nice trip.

Sorry if I seems rude in my last post. I'm just overwhelmed with doing so much research in the past few months that I took your original post to imply that I didn't do any research before posting here.

Anyhow, your posts and other posters did in fact helped me out

Thanks again

 

[jamesez]

The US has two GSM carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile), but they use different radio bands for data, and so not every phone will give you high speed data. Generally speaking calling and slow data will work though.

Every US GSM SIM runs over either TMO or ATTs networks, no matter which brand name is on the SIM. Those "virtual" carriers lease the underlying network.

Verizon is the other big US carrier and they and Sprint use CDMA and not GSM. Although both carriers use a SIM card they may not work at all depending on your phone. You should avoid getting a SIM that uses either Verizon or Sprint unless you're certain it will work for your phone. It is true that LTE may be cross compatible but the complexity goes up from here.

 

[mousefan73]

Contact your carrier at home what a usa plan would cost. We have german telekom and whenever out of country we get an Sms asking if we want to buy day passes fornthe country we are in. Might be easier and faster. I once bought a pre-paid in the states and it was 25.00 as you get a new nummer etc. things might have changed thougj

 

[gatorlisa]

Try H2O Wireless.
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=planMin
They use the AT&T towers and have some pay as you go options. I don't know if they sell at the airport though. They sell SIM cards at Best Buy and I think Target. One option if you want to order one, if they do not ship to Australia, might be to have it shipped to your resort. I've never done it, but I hear of people having all kinds of things shipped to their resort so they are there ready for them when they arrive (food, water, etc.). Good luck!

 

[Cruisin Spartan]

There is a Best Buy Express Kiosk in at least the A terminal in the Gate area by the Starbucks at the Orlando Airport, and I'm relatively certain that they sold SIM cards there. I just got back from a trip, and I waited by that Kiosk while DW was getting Starbucks on our way home. I also saw at least one vending machine built into the wall at Disney Springs near the restrooms next to the big Toy Store.

 

[JaimeK]

We rented portable personal wifis for our trips to Japan & Spain and they worked great. Have you looked into this option?

 

[Airb330]

There is a Best Buy Express Kiosk in at least the A terminal in the Gate area by the Starbucks at the Orlando Airport, and I'm relatively certain that they sold SIM cards there. I just got back from a trip, and I waited by that Kiosk while DW was getting Starbucks on our way home. I also saw at least one vending machine built into the wall at Disney Springs near the restrooms next to the big Toy Store.

Yes, there is one but I am unsure if they sell SIM cards. It's certainly the best option to check out!

Merx,

I'd suggest Cricket, the at&t owned MVNO. They recently signed a nationwide deal with Best Buy and could potentially be in the Best Buy Express kiosk mentioned above. $40 gets you 2.5GB of data and unlimted US calling. at&t also has a "branded" prepaid named GoPhone which is a similar value but might be harder to find. Most prepaid options here are $5 cheaper with 'auto' refills but that wouldn't pertain to your usage so keep that in mind with some pricing. at&t has the best cell phone coverage on property as they have a deal with Disney to have small cells and distributed antennas all over.

T-Mobile also does prepaid and their owned MVNO is Metro PCS. Similar rates to Cricket but the coverage isn't quite as good, though since you'll be in Orlando and not Kansas it's fine. It might be harder to find their sim cards. There's actually a great $30 plan that includes 5GB of data and 100 minutes but it must be bought from Walmart and not really an option in this case sadly.

You will want to ensure your phone is unlocked and can at minimum access LTE Bands 2,4,5,12,17 for at&t and T-mobile networks. Band 2,5,4 for HSPA+. GSM isn't really useful here anymore except for calls (850/1900 are the bands), most calls here go over HSPA+ or LTE now.

You might want to ask your question at howardforums.com as they might have a better idea of how to obtain a sim. It is a pain trying to find a card ahead of time, I know from previous experiences in Europe & India as well and wish you luck!

 

[Merx]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great info, I'll check out all these options.

We rented portable personal wifis for our trips to Japan & Spain and they worked great. Have you looked into this option?

I'll look into this as well, thanks.