When the whole family visits Disney, we all want to do different things so we often split up at a park or indeed go to different parks (park the car at one of the parks and then the others use the Disney transport which works really well). At the start of the day we do arrange times to meet in the evening, often to eat together and discuss our day but it is good to know we can stay in touch during the day in case of delays or indeed if the heavens open and we decide to head home.
Meeting people in WDW can be and usually is a nightmare if you try to do it by time alone as with queues you can find yourself about to board the ride having queued for a while when you were supposed to be meeting someone – and they have already been there half an hour as it was too late for them to try and do something else so here are two ways to stay in touch to avoid everyone hanging around/panicking because you will be late.
Mobile Phones
Most UK mobile phones are now tri-band so work in the US but remember to advise your service provider that you need international roaming before your trip. Be careful though as the bills can be hefty if you don’t use them wisely. We tend to text as on Orange texts cost up to 50p and calls about £1 a minute and don’t forget if someone calls you from UK, they pay the usual UK charge part of the bill but you pay for the charge from UK to abroad. Also we found some adapters don’t charge some phones so we simply visited one the stands in the mall and bought a US adapter – Nokias seem OK but I had trouble with a Motorola last year as it just wouldn’t charge through an adapter.
Remember to put the vibration feature on, as you won’t hear it ringing in the parks. Remember too to turn your phone off at night as people forget you are away and also don’t realise the time differences!
FRS Radios
Family Radio Service radios are the little "walkie-talkies" that you often see people using at the parks and are only useful if you are in the same park but there is no cost after the initial outlay. You can buy these at Wal-Mart’s etc (prices for a basic model range from about $25 to $40 each but some very sophisticated long distance ones available about $100+). Basic models will work up to about two miles away but buildings and trees etc will cut down that distance. You don’t need a license to operate these. You have to ensure that you are both using the same code/frequency otherwise you can’t speak to each other but a word of warning, the codes cannot always keep other people from hearing your conversations so if you want anything kept private, don’t discuss it on the airways! Again try and purchase radios with a vibrate option and rechargeable batteries.
Meeting people in WDW can be and usually is a nightmare if you try to do it by time alone as with queues you can find yourself about to board the ride having queued for a while when you were supposed to be meeting someone – and they have already been there half an hour as it was too late for them to try and do something else so here are two ways to stay in touch to avoid everyone hanging around/panicking because you will be late.
Mobile Phones
Most UK mobile phones are now tri-band so work in the US but remember to advise your service provider that you need international roaming before your trip. Be careful though as the bills can be hefty if you don’t use them wisely. We tend to text as on Orange texts cost up to 50p and calls about £1 a minute and don’t forget if someone calls you from UK, they pay the usual UK charge part of the bill but you pay for the charge from UK to abroad. Also we found some adapters don’t charge some phones so we simply visited one the stands in the mall and bought a US adapter – Nokias seem OK but I had trouble with a Motorola last year as it just wouldn’t charge through an adapter.
Remember to put the vibration feature on, as you won’t hear it ringing in the parks. Remember too to turn your phone off at night as people forget you are away and also don’t realise the time differences!
FRS Radios
Family Radio Service radios are the little "walkie-talkies" that you often see people using at the parks and are only useful if you are in the same park but there is no cost after the initial outlay. You can buy these at Wal-Mart’s etc (prices for a basic model range from about $25 to $40 each but some very sophisticated long distance ones available about $100+). Basic models will work up to about two miles away but buildings and trees etc will cut down that distance. You don’t need a license to operate these. You have to ensure that you are both using the same code/frequency otherwise you can’t speak to each other but a word of warning, the codes cannot always keep other people from hearing your conversations so if you want anything kept private, don’t discuss it on the airways! Again try and purchase radios with a vibrate option and rechargeable batteries.