mobile phone

Am going with my wife and two daughters age 19 and 15. Will be splitting up at least occasionally (have you tried 2 wks without a break with 3 females!!).

Conequently, need to be able to contact each other. Between us, we apparently have 1 phone which will work there (tri band?), so need at least one more, but only to use there for 2 weeks. Having spent a fortune on tickets, etc etc, dont want to spend lots...what is the cheapest way of getting a functional mobile?.

mobile phone

why dont you buy walkie talkies from argos or somewhere like that, alot of them have a really great reange so that will be cheaper than phone calls. also i think you may be able to rent them from disney not 100% but its worth looking at buying them and then maybe selling thema gain on ebay when you get home

mobile phone

You can look into hiring a mobile while in America, it has been a topic on this forum before.It might be worth searching past Threads.

Thanks, will look. Talking about too great a range for walkie talkies. For eg, two of us going to discovery cove, other two shopping. We can hopefully relax at the villa occasionally while %26#39;kids%26#39; go exploring, etc, then phone dad for a lift.

Tracfone (www.tracfone.com) is offering a basic Nokia phone (a reconditioned model) plus 60 minutes of air time for about $20. Some caveats:

1. I know that Tracfone has been around for at least several years but I know nothing about the quality of their service, how good their signal coverage is around Disney World, etc.

2. I assume your existing phone has a UK number. Will calls to it be considered international calls? This could be a big issue, because I imagine the air time you get from Tracfone or any similar company will not include international service. The international long distance charges could be excessive.

3. I don%26#39;t know whether Tracfone will ship outside of the US. If not, you might be able to get a similar deal at a big discount store like Walmart or Target or an electronics store like Best Buy or Circuit City after you get to Orlando.

In the long run, walkie talkies are cheapest. They go up to 3miles and you can have as much alone time as you need. You only will have to check the channels and if it is used by someone else, switch to another one. They work great!

yeh, but showing my ignorance now, have no idea of scales yet...surely will need over three miles?

Orange are doing a seimens phone for 拢18.99 that is tri band. It%26#39;s pay as you go which is what I am presuming you want if it is only to be used for two weeks.

If you are like me and have to buy an idiot proof Nokia then the cost is 拢34.99. I%26#39;m not sure if these are just web offers or can be purchased on the high street.

Thanks everyone, a lot of great ideas.

I brought 2 walkies on our trip to disney we spent close to 50 dollars on them and with all the other people having them they reaaly sucked. Returned them when we got home. I would do my research on which ones are the best. Good luck.

There are two problems with walkie talkies at Disney. One, the number of people trying to use them means very few unused frequencies. Two, Disney is in a very low area, so even if you get the expensive five mile reach, the terrain makes it difficult. Even people with Nextel phones have trouble using the walkie talkie feature at Disney. We have had some luck using them when both parties are at the same park, but not from one park to another, or from the resort to the park, even when well within the distance requirements.

I would stick with a cheap pay as you go format. I did that when I went to London last year, because my US phone wasn%26#39;t the right frequency to take over there. I got the cheapest phone I could, and it was worth the money. Although I could probably use it here if I bought a US sim and adapter, I just consider it a cool souvenir, and if I ever get to go back, I%26#39;ll already have a phone. There are several pay as you go phones available here. Try searching the forum for T-Mobile, Cingular, Tracfone, Verizon or Virgin. It%26#39;s a very competitive market for pay as you go here in Orlando.