What phone/carrier works best in Disneyworld

[piccolopat]

We are in the market for new cell phones. Ours are too old and AT&T won't support them after next February. We've been looking at what's available and although we have always had Android we aren't necessarily against going Apple. For me, I prefer a smaller phone because my hands are small and so far am considering the iPhone mini or the Google Pixel 5. DH likes the later Samsungs because of the camera. We've been on AT&T for years but can consider another carrier. For this post, I am specifically looking for people's experiences with a specific late model phone and carrier to see which options work best in the parks. Cost is not that important a concern though I'm not too keen on spending more than necessary. Photo quality is important but we also still use real cameras. These certainly won't be the only factors in our decision but I saw the disadvantage we had trying to get a boarding pass for RotR in January 2020. The delay in my phone connecting almost cost us the chance to ride but thankfully we got one of the last boarding passes for the day.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I have an Android moto g(7) play. Bought it about a year ago. Verizon is my carrier. I do Verizon because everywhere I travel, I usually at least have cell service, even in the mountains or middle of nowhere NM. I always do Android phones because they are meant to work so nicely with Google apps. I heavily use Google apps.

Anyway, it's been fine at WDW for looking at wait times, getting reservations, mobile ordering, etc. Boarding pass issue was not about my phone, but my party not being pre-selected, that shouldn't be an issue anymore from what I hear. Anyway, I was able to get an afternoon boarding pass no problem.

I went with the moto g(7) play because it's a bit smaller and lighter with good enough battery life, camera and storage.

 

[kcool]

I got the iPhone 12 mini last December. I also have small hands. I absolutely love it! Perfect fit for my hands! I loved the older smaller iPhones and the mini is comparable in size. I like apple, we had an Android 1x and just didn’t care for it, but that is just an opinion. We have never had issues with service at Disney world. We had sprint, which is now t mobile. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend them, nothing stands out, but haven’t had issues.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have Android (Samsung) Verizon, never a problem.

 

[Moliphino]

I have Android (Samsung) Verizon, never a problem.

Same. I had one dead spot last trip (in my room at Pop, which was a little inconvenient but we had decent hotel wifi there so it worked out ok), but aside from that no trouble.

 

[disney212]

I have a Android (samsung) with Boost Mobile who took over Virgin Mobile, zero issues in the hotels (used at all the DVD resorts) or the parks. No issues at Disney Springs either. I have unlimited everything for $55 a month.

 

[Christine]

I can't do a comparison vote because I've only ever had ATT. It has never failed me at Disney.

 

[KristaZ]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 - photo quality is largely why I stick with Samsung - it's great on the days when I don't want to carry my big camera. I use Simple Mobile - which is on the T mobile network. Never had an issues with service anywhere really and reasonably priced ($25/month/line).

 

[wfjny]

As for service, I would go with Verizon or AT&T. I think AT&T is still the main provider for WDW. Never had an issue there with my Verizon phone...

Other service is cheaper, but you get what you pay for...

 

[tvguy]

Within Disneyworld, I don't think it matters. Everybody has service there. Verizon is by far the best when you get away from big cities and tourist attractions.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The same carrier that works the best everywhere, which is Verizon.

 

[_19disnA]

Even if one carrier works better at Disney, doesn't it matter more how well they work when you are back home? You are only on vacation for 1-2 weeks, so I would rather have a phone that works well the rest of the time. Over the years have used various phone services and all of them seem to have limitations on where they work well or don't and still find random locations at home where the service is spotty or when out and about. Cell phones are great for the convenience, but the trade-off is you will probably places/times where they don't work well regardless of which carrier you use.

In a public setting where there are LOT of phone users in a small area, you can run into issues you won't have elsewhere. All of the circuits may be in use or you get cut off unexpectedly. I don't believe any provider has a solution for that.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I have an iPhone and Verizon and have never had any issues.

 

[MillauFr]

I have Verizon through work but found it didn't work any better than Boost Mobile on my wife's phone. If Verizon offered a plan with unlimited data for $30 per month I would have signed her up but they don't.

 

[Miffy]

I have a Pixel 4a and my carrier uses the AT&T network. Used it in May at the parks and resort and it worked great.

 

[piccolopat]

Even if one carrier works better at Disney, doesn't it matter more how well they work when you are back home? You are only on vacation for 1-2 weeks, so I would rather have a phone that works well the rest of the time. Over the years have used various phone services and all of them seem to have limitations on where they work well or don't and still find random locations at home where the service is spotty or when out and about. Cell phones are great for the convenience, but the trade-off is you will probably places/times where they don't work well regardless of which carrier you use.

In a public setting where there are LOT of phone users in a small area, you can run into issues you won't have elsewhere. All of the circuits may be in use or you get cut off unexpectedly. I don't believe any provider has a solution for that.

Both Verizon and AT&T work pretty well in my area. Both have some dead zones but nothing we can't deal with. I asked about Disney because it is a place we like to travel to and so service is important. We're also looking into service overseas and in other places in the U.S.

 

[piccolopat]

Appreciate all of the feedback so far. Thanks!

 

[bcla]

I have Verizon through work but found it didn't work any better than Boost Mobile on my wife's phone. If Verizon offered a plan with unlimited data for $30 per month I would have signed her up but they don't.

Boost operates through T-Mobile's network.

 

[bcla]

In a public setting where there are LOT of phone users in a small area, you can run into issues you won't have elsewhere. All of the circuits may be in use or you get cut off unexpectedly. I don't believe any provider has a solution for that.

The big bandwidth hog isn't going to be phone calls or texts, but all that data being used for internet and maybe images/video sent through texts. It should be alleviated if there's good public Wi-Fi (which WDW claims to have) but then people would need to use it rather than rely on cellular data.

But if the Wi-Fi is good enough, then I'd recommend using a Wi-Fi calling setting where the calls are all routed through the internet (kind of like voice over IP) rather than through the cellular network. It's going to be a lot more stable than an overworked or iffy cellular network. I know some criticize the use of it because one is supposedly paying for the access (it obviously reduces the impact on a cellular network), but it's supposed to work seamlessly when one transitions between being connected to Wi-Fi internet and then back to the cellular network.