Need advice on Walkie Talkies please!

[Mama2sean]

I am taking our 3 and 5 1/2 year old sons to WDW at the end of May, and thought a walkie talkie might be a good idea for my 5 year old in case he's separated from me (yours truly doesn't have enough hands when alone with 2 active boys in WDW!). Can anyone suggest a good brand or model? Does anyone have firsthand experience using them? Thanks for the help!

 

[zurgswife]

Your basic walkie talkie won't work to well at WDW, you will need to buy the FSR (family Service Radio) that most electronic stores now sell. Best Buys, Radio Shack, Target, Walmart etc. The Motorola 250 model is the type that our family uses at WDE. It is about $60. It has multi channels to keep down on interference. It also has a large push to talk buttom in the middle of the front. Our boys have been able to work them since they were about 5 so your son probably won't have to much trouble.

Besides using radios just in case you get separated make sure your son understands who CM's are and how to identify them Name tags that have the white background....We have taught our kids to find a CM and tell them that they are unable to locate us, then understand that the CM will take them to a playroom to wait for us. That way we know where to start looking for them.

 

[Serena]

I don't have any advice, I just wish I had them at the time.

 

[Braque]

I would suggest you find ones that are:
1. Water-resistant
2. Rechargable

This will increase the costs but are well worth it, IMHO.

 

[TmnsnMD]

We bought the kind that had just the 14 main channels before we went on vacation to the beach, they worked ok while we were at home but it seemed like everyone at the beach had the same kind and were on all the channels. I saw the kind that have the 1 thru 14 channels and 1 thru 38 sub-channels (Cobra microtalk 2), we went to our local festival and they seemed to work GREAT -- no one else on the channels we had picked out in advance. My DS is now 11 so when he wanted to ride the rides with his friends I could still keep an *ear* on him. I would say if you can find the kind with sub-channels give them a try.

 

[castmbr]

If you are interested in the Cobra radios, try their website http://www.cobraelec.com/. They run specials. We have the 310's and used them in November. Just loved them! They have a vibrating mode, so when you are somewhere loud, which you inevitably will be in WDW, if you can't hear the person calling you it will vibrate too, to alert you. Some of the packages you can buy include rechargeable batteries. These are a money saver. You could go through quite a few regular batteries.

 

[Aggie89]

We also have Cobra's microtalk 3's. We used them on our WDW trip last year and use them all of the time now. We never get separated in the mall anymore. Just be sure to figure them out before you go so you know how to use them. We bought ours from Alfenterprises.com and got a good deal. Have fun!

 

[WorknFires]

for about $45 a pair before we went. Altho we didn't use them inside the parks alot (used them much more at the resort) they were great! Very handy. especially for telling DH to run the bus was coming LOL! and mine only has the 2 channels but we never heard anyone talking besides us. The others are right. They are very easy to use and your son should have no problems.

Cheryl

 

[MinnieMe2]

Thank you for asking about this. We will be taking DD and her friend, both of whom are 15, in July, and I'd feel better if we had some way of communication. I've checked a few prices/features in the various sites, and I'm very confused, but hopefully we'll figure something out!

 

[aec]

I just picked up a set of Corbra 220's at Costco today. It is a two pack with 8 batteries included. They have 14 channels and 38 sub-channels. They have a "ring" but not a vibrate mode. The 2 pack was 69.95 less a $10 rebate. That works out to $30 per radio.