Disposable Cell Phones?

[esk]

Hi, wondering if anyone can help ---

we're coming from Germany and don't want to use our European cell phones because we'll pay HUGE for it. But we need a way to contact each other in the parks, since one of us will take DD2 back to the room for naps.

We have walkie-talkies but have read here on the DIS that those don't work so well.

Has anyone heard of/can recommend disposable cell phones......where can I get them, how much are they, are they by day or by minute, etc?

Thanks very much!

 

[Robo]

Hi, wondering if anyone can help ---

we're coming from Germany and don't want to use our European cell phones because we'll pay HUGE for it. But we need a way to contact each other in the parks, since one of us will take DD2 back to the room for naps.

We have walkie-talkies but have read here on the DIS that those don't work so well.

Has anyone heard of/can recommend disposable cell phones......where can I get them, how much are they, are they by day or by minute, etc?

Thanks very much!

That's is a good plan for you. The phones will work much better than the talkies.
(I don't know if a Euro talkie's frequency is legal to use in the US, either.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one brand's site, Tracfone, that will give you info and a way to order.

http://www.tracfone-orders.com/bpdi...com=&locale=en&siteType=TR&gotoPhonelist=true

If asked, the area code for Orlando, FL is 32808 (this code will help make sure the phone will work in the area.)

You can also simply buy the phones while you are in the Orlando area from nearly every drug store (chemist) and discount store (Walmart, K-Mart, Target, Dollar General, etc.) for about the same price as you see on the Tracfone site.

 

[fla4fun]

There are several prepaid cell phone companies to choose from. I use T-Mobile prepaid for my regular cell service (I was wasting too many minutes on a contract plan). You can buy refill cards at many stores like Walgreens, Walmart, Target, CVS. The phones you can buy at most of those as well. The more minutes you buy, the less the per minute cost is. Prepaid cell phones are always paid by minute. Don't waste money buying an expensive phone. I bought the cheapest phone they offered and it's still going strong nearly two years later. It doesn't have a lot of fancy electronics in it - it's just a good basic phone.

Tracphone is prepaid only, but most of the big cell companies, like T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Virgin, all offer prepaid service as well. You might want to look on the Internet and see which one offers the fewest minutes at the cheapest price, since you won't be using a lot of minutes. I think I used about 200 minutes on a two week Disney vacation, and I felt like I was on the phone a lot.

 

[lexmelinda]

My DD uses Virgin Mobile. They have several free phones for new customers if you purchase air time.

 

[WillCAD]

A variety of pre-paid mobile phones, from several providers including Tracfone, AT&T, Cingular, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile, are available at WalMart. The nearest WalMart to WDW property is just a few minutes away on State Road 535. Here is a map to it. Of course, to get there you will need transportation; if you are not renting a car, you can take a taxi from your WDW resort.

Once you get to WalMart, find the Electronics section; all of the regular and pre-paid mobile phones are clustered in the same area.

Prices for pre-paid phones will run from about $20US up to $80US. I don't know how much airtime is included with the phone purchase, if any, but a wide variety of refill cards are also available at WalMart, with prices starting around $15US.

You might have to shop around a little to find the best combination of cheap phone and enough airtime for your trip, so plan on being at WalMart for about an hour (you might want to write down the phone number of the cab company, so that you can call another taxi to take you back to WDW when you are done.)

Hold onto the packaging and paperwork from your phone after you buy it, because most pre-paid mobiles allow you to buy more airtime directly over the phone or over the web, so that if you run out of airtime, you won't have to make a second trip off-site.

 

[scotlass]

we got phones at walmart.it was a set of 3 for $40 and the charge was $1 for the first call made a day and the rest free.we topped up with $15 and it did us the whole vacation.

 

[esk]

Thanks everyone, so much, for the info.

We planned to hit Wal-Mart first thing (well, probably at 4 am the day after arrival, depending on how our body clocks are doing) not only for the phones, but, well, when you don't have Wal-Mart, you do miss it in some strange way.

WillCAD, thanks very much for the map....we just printed it for use in our rental car. An hour at Wal-Mart looking at phones ought to eat up some time until the parks open....

 

[mum of two pirates]

I got a new fliptop with two 60 min cards from thier websight for $20. Then $5 for shipping then WE charged the phones added the first card for 60 min and then the code 50722 and that added 90 more min to the phone and then repeated that with the secound card. Also when you activate the phone you get 20 min just for doing that. So we got 320 a new fliptop phone for $25. I would think you could ship it to the resort you are going to stay at, and have them hold it tell you get there. Mum

 

[HGD24]

Not sure if there is a way to do this in the states, but when we traveled to England and Ireland last year, we brought my husband's cellphone and then purchased a Vodaphone chip to insert into his phone. We then called a number and put a set amount of $ on the Vodaphone account associated with that chip. We were charged $.10/min in England and almost $.50/min in Ireland.

 

[fla4fun]

Not sure if there is a way to do this in the states, but when we traveled to England and Ireland last year, we brought my husband's cellphone and then purchased a Vodaphone chip to insert into his phone. We then called a number and put a set amount of $ on the Vodaphone account associated with that chip. We were charged $.10/min in England and almost $.50/min in Ireland.

They don't seem to sell the SIM cards here like they do in Europe. It is great to just pop out one chip and put in another, if your phone works on both sets of frequency. You need at least a tri-band, and a quad-band works best. You could do an Internet search for US prepaid SIM cards and see what comes up.

 

[taylorsmom2315]

just wondering in response to scottlass what brand were the phones and did you get them at walmart in florida? I live in NC and this sounds great but would like to buy before leaving home if possible.
Thanks
Rebecca

 

[HGD24]

Thanks for clarifying fla4fun! My husband handled planning that part of our trip so I wasn't sure what it entailed.

 

[Ashes8380]

I work for a cell provider, and here are my suggestions...

Get an ATT prepaid phone for everyone. You can get them for about $20 at Walmart, and that includes a $10 card. To call to other people on ATT, it costs a dollar a day and no per minute rate. So you can talk to each other for a dollar a day, no matter how long you talk for. Unless you go for more than ten days, the card included should get you through the vacation.

But for an environmental point of view, please don't think of these as disposable phones. Recycle them, donate them,g ive them away, just don't throw them out!

 

[theparsons]

But for an environmental point of view, please don't think of these as disposable phones. Recycle them, donate them,g ive them away, just don't throw them out!

Most women's shelters can really use these prepaid phones.....they give them to the ladies to have a safety net to be able to make a phone call if threatened. They can use the prepaid style phones (with or without minutes) and also your regular cell phones when you change plans/phones. Our church collects "old" cell phones to give to the shelter and we donate minutes as well. It has saved several women's lives because they were able to call the police when their abusive husband's found them (they had restraining orders, but of course that's just a piece of paper, doesn't stop the abuser from hunting for them!)

The phones can be reused with any plan....and many of the cell companies actually donate minutes to shelters for this purpose. So it's definitely better all around....the environment doesn't get landfill that may never break down and these victims have a little bit more protection.

If anyone would like to donate their phone after their vacation but isn't sure where....just PM me, I'd be happy to have you mail it to me and I'll pass it on to my church.