Bringing my own cell or Buying one in the US

[Think I'm Tink]

I'd highly recommend having an American prepaid phone. To the poster in Halifax looking to buy a US phone in Canada, I'd check the websites and see if you can order a phone online to be delivered to Halifax and then activate it once you are in the US. It's a good idea to check the websites anyway to find the one that will work best for you.

I have a TracFone that gets turned on after we cross the border, and my Telus phone gets turned off until we return. Something I love about my TracFone is that the minutes don't expire in an unreasonable amount of time which is much different than my experience with Canadian pre-paid phones. That was why I hesitated to get a TracFone until I found out that little tidbit. My phone cost around $20, and it came with double minutes for life. So if I buy 100 minutes, I automatically get 200 minutes and I have to double check this, but I believe double the length of time before they expire. It's a pretty sweet deal. I got it on a military base in FL when my friend took me to the BX, so I'm not sure if that double minutes for life thing is normal or a military perk, but they do sell cards with double minutes at Walmart and online.

Like mentioned above, calling back to Canada is done by dialing a 1-800 number first. It costs me 1 minute for 3 texts (incoming or outgoing). Other than using minutes, long distance and local calls are free and there are no roaming fees or long distance charges so I have used it a LOT. The money it's saved me in roaming/long distance charges from Telus is crazy! The roaming charge in the US on Telus is $1.45/minute now plus long distance charges (I have to check my DD's bill but I think it's around 90¢/minute). My DD now owns a TracFone too.

You are not allowed to use the TracFone in Canada because that's a violation of the Terms and Services so I usually make sure I'm about 25 miles inside the US to make sure I don't bounce off a Canadian tower. I have a sweet deal and I don't want to mess it up!

 

[Sue M]

Sounds easy, and cheap, enough to just buy one when I get there. Thanks so much for the responses! I told DD we would be buying new phones when we got there and right away she said, I want an iphone I said I didnt think they would be $10 at Walmart!

I'm on Telus, contract. I just add the US add-on calling plan for however long I'm down there. they give several options. It's pro -rated. When I get back I let them know I'm back and cancel the add-on. So I don't pay for roaming, have my same cell # etc. Because I have a text plan at home, I don't have to pay for US text, the roaming for that seems to be incl. in the US phone plan.

 

[DISDANCEMOM]

My question is this - I have no option of picking up a pre-paid phone in the US before we go, and when we get there, we're relying solely on Disney transportation. Does anyone know of anywhere in Canada (namely Halifax, NS) that I can purchase a pre-paid phone before the trip and activate it that way?

We bought our phones on line from Virgin USA in 2008 and had them shipped to the hotel. Because they will not let you use a Canadian credit card you have to pay for it using paypal and add the hotel address as an alternate shipping address on paypal. It was super easy. The phones were waiting for us when we got to the hotel and we just called Virgin from the room to activate. Each phone was 9.99 and came with $10 in calling minutes. Calls are $0.10 per minute anywhere in the US and $0.15 to Canada. Virgin to Virgin calls are free...we didn't get texting as we are not texters. We have kept these phones and use them any time we are in the US. My dh took one to Vegas last year and he called home ever day and called his buddies quite a few times too. His total usage on the phone was less than $20 and his buddies ended up with $200-$300 cell phone bills when they got home!!!!

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

We bought two Virgin Mobile phones two years ago when in Florida. We paid $15 for each phone and then $20.00 minute packages. When we first used them only in the parks it was $0.10 a minute if calling only in the US, but we use them every time we go across the border and sometimes call home with them to. So it then changes to $0.20 a minute because we are calling the US & Canada. We love having them. We did the walkie talkie thing, but the channels are way to busy and they are bulky to carry around. We just bought ours at a Walmart and activated them online.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

US pay-as-you go phones work great with some exceptions:
* Net 10 phones have "no international calls / text" by default. Changing this requires the calling Net10 to activate international calling, and waiting with the phone active for up to 24 hours. I tried to change my setting while flying (phone off) and it failed. It was another 48 hours before I could call Canada. I paid $30 in hotel phone charges before I could us my cell to call Canada for $0.15/minute.
* some US pay-as-you-go phone providers cannot process Canadian credit cards to top up a phone with a US number. You should buy top-up cards seperately, just in case.

 

[tamarabannon]

Do you know, does DW sell additional minute cards?

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Do you know, does DW sell additional minute cards?

Maybe. It appears that Disney stores do not sell them. However, you might find them at the military-run store at Shades of Green, the Hess gas station in Downtown Disney, or non-Disney hotels in the Downtown Disney area. I'm trying to pin down a more definitive answer on other threads and through Bob Sehlinger.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

I'm on Telus, contract. I just add the US add-on calling plan for however long I'm down there. they give several options. It's pro -rated. When I get back I let them know I'm back and cancel the add-on. So I don't pay for roaming, have my same cell # etc. Because I have a text plan at home, I don't have to pay for US text, the roaming for that seems to be incl. in the US phone plan.

We're with Telus too and change over to the "Talk North America" plan for our trips and then when we get back home, call and change back to our home plan (time used is pro-rated as well). We too have a text plan at home, so don't have to pay for texting in the US.