cheap phones to use in parks

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We are staying in Disney in 5 weeks time and would like to buy 2 cheap phones to use in the parks. We are 2 families and there are two teenagers, who would like to seperate from us in the parks, so we would like to keep in touch with them. We will be going to Walmart the evening we arrive and could buy phones there. I think using our own UK phones would probably be expensive. Can anyone recommend any particular makes please?

 

[DjdBrit]

Go to Walmart or Target .com and buy trac phones. The cheapest ones are $10 then buy cards or fill them over the phone with a credit card

 

[Snowy-girls]

I highly recommend the Net10 phones you can buy in Walmart.They are $30 each and come with free 300mins call time.To call each other is 10cents a minute,to call a UK landline number is 15cents a minute.If someone from the UK calls you on the mbile then you will also be charged for the call(i don't know how much this is though-sorry).If you go to the electrical desk in Walmart they will even set them up for you,which takes about 10mins.To set them up to call the UK you have to follow the instructions on the automated message line that you call-Walmart won't do this for you as you have to give over personal information.
We had not one problem using these phones,always had a perfect full signal and after your call it always shows on the screen how many minutes you used and how many minutes you have remaining .x.

 

[Head_in_the_clouds]

Another vote for Net 10 here! We will be using ours again this year and they are really convenient for using in the US and for calling home!

 

[davidmolliesmum]

why not buy a good quality walkie talkie set then no need to top up!

 

[virginatlantic]

Or get a USA sim card AT&T for example. You can put this in any UK tri band phone, and top up as you would here in stores such as 711 in USA

 

[TOONMADLAD]

why not buy a good quality walkie talkie set then no need to top up!

The problem with using walkie talkies is that with the amount of people in the parks they will be on the same frequency, all talking when you want to talk, also the size of the parks would mean you would need a really good strong unit to get a good signal, the cheap mobile phones are the best bet and would probably end up the cheaper option.

 

[buffer]

Thank you all so much for your really helpful advice. i think i will go to walmart desk and have a look at the net 10.

 

[Snowy-girls]

Thank you all so much for your really helpful advice. i think i will go to walmart desk and have a look at the net 10.

Net10 LG300 to be more precise,comes with case,charger and in car charger .x.

 

[Pegasus928]

Just had a quick look at the net10 and they have them as a buy it now on ebay for just under £14 - shipping however is £17 so it would be cheaper to wait until you are in US, unless you can get the seller to do a deal on shipping if you are buying multiple handsets.
One thing that I noticed was that it says that there is 60 days of service upon activation. Is the phone then 'dead' after this - or will I be able to use it again next year if I buy a new sim card??

 

[Snowy-girls]

Just had a quick look at the net10 and they have them as a buy it now on ebay for just under £14 - shipping however is £17 so it would be cheaper to wait until you are in US, unless you can get the seller to do a deal on shipping if you are buying multiple handsets.
One thing that I noticed was that it says that there is 60 days of service upon activation. Is the phone then 'dead' after this - or will I be able to use it again next year if I buy a new sim card??

Hi ya Kenny,
Keep the phones,just re-activate them next time you go over with a top up card with however minutes you think you will need .x.

 

[Pegasus928]

Sounds simple enough - thanks Michelle

Pleased to see you back on the forums and hope you are feeling better.

 

[Snowy-girls]

Sounds simple enough - thanks Michelle

Pleased to see you back on the forums and hope you are feeling better.

Thank you Kenny .x.

 

[Graeme]

Hi ya Kenny,
Keep the phones,just re-activate them next time you go over with a top up card with however minutes you think you will need .x.

I've used Net 10 and they really are cheap, especially to dial the UK. If you go outside your service days though, (about 120 days), you can't reactivate the same sim, you'd need one sending out, which makes them a bit of a faff on to do for your next trip. I just bought a new one, which at $30 was cheap enough.
You also have to wait two days before you can dial international.

 

[Pegasus928]

Can someone just confirm that the LG 300 is available in Walmart. I've been online and it says that that particular phone isn't available in the shops - only online. The 600 is available but that is double the price.

 

[Snowy-girls]

I've used Net 10 and they really are cheap, especially to dial the UK. If you go outside your service days though, (about 120 days), you can't reactivate the same sim, you'd need one sending out, which makes them a bit of a faff on to do for your next trip. I just bought a new one, which at $30 was cheap enough.
You also have to wait two days before you can dial international.

Yes,that is what i meant-i am not very good all the time with explaining what i mean,i just sometimes assume others will know what i mean .Thank you.
Yes ours took 2 days to 'register' for UK calling-so Kenny make sure you set them up for UK asap .x.
Also if i remember rightly the 300mins phone card was $30 anyway the same price as the phone with the free minutes.x.

Can someone just confirm that the LG 300 is available in Walmart. I've been online and it says that that particular phone isn't available in the shops - only online. The 600 is available but that is double the price.

Kenny i don't know why it says that,it has done since last year when i was looking at them .When i went last month there was lots of them,i went to the Walmart on Turkey/Sand Lake road.
The guy on the electrical counter even said it was a very popular phone with 'us' Brits.x.

 

[Pegasus928]

Yes ours took 2 days to 'register' for UK calling-so Kenny make sure you set them up for UK asap .x.

To be honest we really only want them for around the parks and local use. We are going as a group and may get split up into 3 different parties at some points. We have the radios but were getting increasingly frustrated last time we went with the amount of people on the same channels, so this seems like a good alternative.
As for calling the UK the villa has free international calls included, and we will have the laptop (villa has wi-fi as well) for video calls.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Snowy-girls]

To be honest we really only want them for around the parks and local use. We are going as a group and may get split up into 3 different parties at some points. We have the radios but were getting increasingly frustrated last time we went with the amount of people on the same channels, so this seems like a good alternative.
As for calling the UK the villa has free international calls included, and we will have the laptop (villa has wi-fi as well) for video calls.
Thanks for the info.

We mostly used them for splitting up in the parks when Hubby went off to do the 'big' rides and me+the girls went on the kiddie rides(they suit me fine ).When i did ring the Uk,it was only to say i am in the hotel and i would hang up,so my family then rang the hotel.x.

 

[castanea1985]

We are staying in Disney in 5 weeks time and would like to buy 2 cheap phones to use in the parks. We are 2 families and there are two teenagers, who would like to seperate from us in the parks, so we would like to keep in touch with them. We will be going to Walmart the evening we arrive and could buy phones there. I think using our own UK phones would probably be expensive. Can anyone recommend any particular makes please?

We have tracfones, they are great! I call my family all the time.. and although we have free calls at the villa, I use my tracfone all the time..... I just spent 1/2 hr on it, describing every dress in Dillards to my daughter back home!!
How sad is that! LOL. She was on line trying to tell me which one she wanted!
I gave up in the end as they didn't have a size 3 in the style she wanted!

Oh yes, you can also text a UK mobile from a Tracfone and it only uses 0.3 units.

Tracy xx

 

[1andrea]

We have tracfones, they are great! I call my family all the time.. and although we have free calls at the villa, I use my tracfone all the time..... I just spent 1/2 hr on it, describing every dress in Dillards to my daughter back home!!
How sad is that! LOL. She was on line trying to tell me which one she wanted!
I gave up in the end as they didn't have a size 3 in the style she wanted!

Oh yes, you can also text a UK mobile from a Tracfone and it only uses 0.3 units.

Tracy xx

Do the tracfones expire after 120 days like the Net10?

And does anyone know if you can use the Net10 phones to text each other and to the UK?

Thanks