Mobile Phones

[paul_toria96]

We are going with another family and tend to split up when we get to the parks and this time our DD may go off with her friend, I'm wondering about purchasing micro sims to put in our mobiles. Last time we went we purchased a cheap cell phone with an amount of credit on it.

Can we purchase US Sims before we go or would it be easier to go to Walmart when we get there and purchase cheap cell phones.

We tried walkie talkies last time and they can't cope so bought the cell phones

 

[2Tiggies]

Does everyone in your party have a smart phone? With free wifi if you do, it would cost you nothing to just use instant messaging

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

I was going to say, if you all have wifi use whatsapp or if you all have an iphone, imessage will work!

 

[duffdo]

I bought US SIMS off eBay before my trip in 2011 and went through the rigmarole of unlocking my phone (iPhone.) Only to get there and find out that the online activation couldn't be done because I had a non-US credit card. They (Simple Mobile) wanted me to go to the Florida Mall to buy top up vouchers. I couldn't be bothered to be honest so stuck to my UK SIM (Vodafone.) I found the US phone plans to be strange, especially if you wanted data, the price seemed to jump. I was looking at $60 per phone to get 30 days service, with some inclusive calls, texts and data. I just plan on using complimentary Wifi this time around!

 

[bxccah]

or if you all have an iphone, imessage will work!

Yes, we did this, we have two iPhones and two iPads so it worked very well in our family.

Just remember the wifi isn't perfect, especially near Tomorrowland. A lot of people were having issues there.

I was with my 3 y/o niece who desperately wanted to ride Buzz (5 min queue) and get a snack, but i was under strict instructions to take her to see Minnie and Daisy then meet at Space Mountain for her lunch.

Could I manage to get though to my sis on FaceTime to tell her we were going to jump on Buzz? No -.- it was really quite frustrating. I took her on the ride anyway, and eventually found my family- but yeah, could cause some issues if you're simply relying on wifi!

 

[wayneg]

WiFi in parks is getting better but still not perfect. We use http://www.kakao.com/talk/en which is very good as long as the Wifi is there when needed.

This trip our Son has bought a Micro Sim from Walmart due to him staying here in the US to study til next year, it costs $30/month (initial pack was $40 incl first months payment) there is no contract and it gets you unlimited internet(4G for first 5GB) unlimited texts and 100 mins. He has been using it over 2 weeks now contantly and still only used 280mb of the 4G allowance.
Walmart inserted the SIM and set up the phone so he was all set to go, great service. This is the one he bought http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996

 

[sandshal]

We've always bought Tracfones from the Tracfone website $19.99 for a recon phone and top up card ...... Only problem is they only ship to the US. You can buy them in Walmart, the phone costs $14.99 and the top up card $20. Sounds a lot but great coverage throughout the whole of Orlando (no wifi at Universal, Seaworld or those outside WDW). Worked perfectly for us if you search for a code before you use the top up voucher you get extra minutes (we got 160 minutes from a $20 card) added bonus is you can use your minutes to phone internationally including the UK at the same low local rate! Perfect for catching up with friends and family while you're in the parks or sitting on your sunned! :0). Well worth the money, we use them every trip.

 

[paul_toria96]

WiFi in parks is getting better but still not perfect. We use http://www.kakao.com/talk/en which is very good as long as the Wifi is there when needed.

This trip our Son has bought a Micro Sim from Walmart due to him staying here in the US to study til next year, it costs $30/month (initial pack was $40 incl first months payment) there is no contract and it gets you unlimited internet(4G for first 5GB) unlimited texts and 100 mins. He has been using it over 2 weeks now contantly and still only used 280mb of the 4G allowance.
Walmart inserted the SIM and set up the phone so he was all set to go, great service. This is the one he bought http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996

We've always bought Tracfones from the Tracfone website $19.99 for a recon phone and top up card ...... Only problem is they only ship to the US. You can buy them in Walmart, the phone costs $14.99 and the top up card $20. Sounds a lot but great coverage throughout the whole of Orlando (no wifi at Universal, Seaworld or those outside WDW). Worked perfectly for us if you search for a code before you use the top up voucher you get extra minutes (we got 160 minutes from a $20 card) added bonus is you can use your minutes to phone internationally including the UK at the same low local rate! Perfect for catching up with friends and family while you're in the parks or sitting on your sunned! :0). Well worth the money, we use them every trip.

These look great, will look into them

 

[Elise79]

We are going to use t-mobile next time having used AT&T for years.

If you want data they are about the cheapest now

 

[paul_toria96]

We are going to use t-mobile next time having used AT&T for years.

If you want data they are about the cheapest now

thanks, data might be nice, we are going for 22 days so getting a months package will be worth it!

 

[15isto2]

I used t mobile on my last trip, coverage was really poor and data extremely slow, after 3 days I went back to using AT&T even though I lost about $60 on T Mobile it was just not worth the poor service. I was using my Iphone 3GS