Two-way radios or cell phones?

[bcinohio]

We leave in 8 days for WDW and we used our two-way radios last summer when we were there and they worked pretty well. What has most people used? Cell phones or radios?

Thanks for any info!!

 

[JediMaster]

Radios,Much easier with large families

 

[cindy_k]

We use a combination.
The adults all have cellphones, and we use those when we split up since they will cover park to park communication. They are also good if someone is in a ride where they turned off the radio. The cellphone will at least let you leave a message.

The two-ways are mainly used for me to communicate with my son(10) when he goes into one of those monster kid playgrounds. Like the ones at AK and MGM where its good luck trying to find them when you want them to come out when adult rest time is over.


Have fun!

Cindy in NY

 

[zcomic]

Depends on your cell phone service. If you have unlimited long distance go ahead and use phones. Otherwise radios should be sufficient

 

[crow11ad]

Last April we used the radios. They were fun until DW lost hers. We were just using them while I rode things like TOT and she went and shopped. We didn't realize our plan on our cell phones and when we got back we had a 197.00 cell bill. Next month we are upgrading our phones and our plan to the gps network and have unlimited no roaming charges and no charges to call phone to phone. So if you have a plan like this, then the phones should work. If you have a large group, the radios might be better.

 

[The Sweetness]

Cell phones helped me tremendously last summer when DD and I were sure we had lost DH at SW. As it turns out, he had liked the roller coaster so much (krakensp?) that he cued up do do it again, from the front car (requires an extra wait)

 

[tjkraz]

Many people (myself included) will tell you that cell phone service at WDW is VERY spotty. At times we would get no signal at all--other times the phone would say we were "roaming", but taking two steps to the left and the message would disappear.

My service is through Verizon, but I've read similar reports for other carriers. WDW is SOOOO big, that the quality and availability of service could vary greatly depending on the resort or park you happen to be at when placing the call.

I've never tried the two-way radios, but I suspect they are a lot more reliable than cell phones.

 

[swilphil]

Last summer at WDW we periodically had problems with our cell phones, but we usually could walk around the corner and it would be fine.

We just got back last week, and we never had any problems with getting through on cell phones. We had 5 adults, each with a cell phone, and everyone was able to get through fine. We had T-Mobile and Cingular. I think perhaps the cell phone companies have improved their reception. A few of us also had newer cell phones.

 

[eeyore1226]

We just returned earlier this month and bought a set of radios for our two girls to use. Well, they worked fine around home but did not work well at WDW. We tried to use them several times in the theme parks but there was always a lot of interference with other radio users. We kept resetting the frequency on our radios but it never failed that I would get someone else when trying to reach the girls. It was a really pain the night we went to see Fantasmic; my husband went in early to get us some seats and we went on the Great Movie Ride. We tried and tried to reach him to find out where he was sitting and couldn't. We did get some kid on the radio who was saying obscene things to us though. We finally did find him but it was after a half hour of searching all of the rows. I wouldn't recommend the two way radios at all - bring cell phones.

 

[cnids00]

My husband has Nextel through work and I got one after my Cingular contract was up, we 2-way eachother, we both have unlimited use!

Works out nice and we don't have to buy radios for this trip.

I want to go already now!

 

[cooldisneymom]

We just got home today, and DH and I used our cell phones and had no problem with service (Cingular) we have free long distance so it worked perfect!!

 

[mickeymule]

Just remember your ettiquet (sp?) If using Nextel especially that you set your phone to vibrate and don't use the external speaker for your conversations as not to annoy anyone else. Just use it in phone mode so people around you only have to hear you talk and no chirp, chirp.

Now my dad has Verizon and I have Nextel and we had no issue calling each other in December. Good luck.

 

[jdonat]

We have both -if you need to talk more than
inside the park the cell phones are the way to
go.

Inside a park...radios. We spent a bit more and
got the GMRS radios. they require a licence -75.00
for five years.

But, they have much more range than a FRS
radio, and iif you get a jerk kid spouting obscenities, you can always intimidate them
off the GMRS channels....

We were more comfortable with the kids haviing
radios rather than cells... but both
solutions work well -just check your cell plan
before you go!!!

John

 

[MinnieGi]

We've used both and prefer the cell phones. The radios always seem to be picking up other people's conversations. Sometimes with all the static in the radio background I couldn't clearly hear what DH was saying. We have free long distance on our cells and seemed to be able to find coverage in the parks. Sometimes you just had to move a bit one way to pick the coverage up.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

We have tried both - radios and cell phones. What we have found that works the best is to use the text message feature of our service. Initially we did this because our cell plan is statewide, not nationwide. We found out that t/m's were only 10 cents per message no matter where we were sending to or from.

In addition, there are several other advantages.

1.) A message will go through even with only one or two bars of signal. Great for those "iffy" areas.

2.) I set the phone for vibrate and ascending tone for a message. This way if I'm in an attraction I will usually feel the phone before I hear it. I can then choose to either read the message then, or wait till later.

3.) Reading or writing a t/m is far less intrusive to the others around you that talking on a cell phone. I really like this !

4.) No misunderstandings. What you sent is what they read.

You can also use most phones to send short emails. Once I showed her how, my wife got a big kick out of being able to send and receive emails from her sister at work, while lounging poolside at Stormalong Bay. A tough job, but somebody's gottta do it .....

Try this next time you're down at the World. You may be surprised how useful you find it.

 

[Dis-knee]

Could I hear from the different cell phone company useres as to which ones had the best reception in the parks and the resorts. My contract with T-Mobile is up in Sept and will NOT be renewed. I can't even talk in my own home.

I am thinking of ATT or Cingular which is joining later this year. If I get Cingular and my daughter has ATT, I am hopeing that we will be able to have free mobile to mobile once they join up. If anyone has any info about this issue, please let me know here or in PM. Many thanks, Lynn

 

[bubba's mom]

i have heard numerous people complain about at&t....losing service and such...we have cingular and love it. altho, our plan is 5 years old and not very good, it works for us and it's cheap. so, we won't use cell phones in WDW, we'll use our 2 way radios..which, btw, you can buy with CODES for your channels. they are like $30+at office max/target, but with over 30 codes on EACH of 22 channels, it really eliminates interference with others! good luck!!

 

[judi]

We use our Verizon cell phones and can always get a signal while in WDW. I do update our service once we get into FL but thats not hard to do and only takes about 30 seconds.

 

[chrismiss56]

We have Verizon - how do you update your service once you get to Florida?

Thanks

 

[judi]

to update your cell phone put in #228 and then follow what it tells you to do. It's very simple and will update your phone.