Cell phone use at WDW

[bankr63]

And that is the ROAM magic. Much less expensive than using your Canadian carrier's roaming, but the convenience will cost a bit more than a pure US carrier. Your sim is shipped to you in Canada from a Canadian company, activated in advance, and can be programmed to be active as soon as you expect to hit the US (in 15 minute increments) by land or air; no hurried stop south of the border, and hassles with setup and activation (I've been through that a few times). If you are first timer, you have your number in advance, so if you want to forward to your cell phone or leave a contact number, you can set it up before you leave.

Last night I setup for a trip next week. Five minutes online selecting the number of days, and what date and time I wanted to start. That's it. When I cross the border that night it'll be active. This is a huge benefit for those who take the "all in" Disney vacations with ME from the airport to the resort. They don't have the opportunity to make a field trip to Wal-Mart to pickup a phone or SIM card.

There is no wait for your Canadian dialling to activate. 3 years ago with Net 10, we bought the phones in Orlando on day 1 and requested activation of international dialling. I think they claimed it could take up to 72 hours to activate. The first call I was able to make back home was from the airport before we boarded to return home 6 days later.

Having lived through a few rounds of getting setup in the US on our first day, this is heaven and worth a little extra cost.

 

[ottawarob]

Adding on to this - Roam's phone number does expire, but you have a year to "pay for another day" to keep it active. T-Mobile's SIM theoretically expires after 90 days if you haven't topped up your account (if I recall, the minimum top up is $10 and if you don't use it in the following 90 day period, you lose it).

If you are a frequent traveler down south, T-Mo is the way to go - you will have access to other companies cell towers that T-Mo roams on where they don't have coverage, plus you have unlimited data. As I have noted in this earlier, you can set up a Google Voice account once you are in the US and you will have that number forever - and that is the number you will use to call back to Canada for free. On a per day basis, T-Mo is also less expensive than Roam - although once you have committed to spending thousands on a Disney trip, what's another few bucks, right?

That being said, T-Mo is also a pain in the rear, as it requires you to find and stop at one of their corporate stores and then go in and go thru the whole purchase/set-up process. That is 30 minutes that is probably better spent elsewhere.

Despite what I have said above, I like using T-Mo/Google Voice and think it is a better value (for me, the unlimited data is important), but am the first to admit that for many, the benefits don't outweigh the hassle.

Great info -- thanks. This is obviously a big issue for Canadians traveling south of 49, so I think the discussion will be helpful to many. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about your setup...

1. How's the quality of Google Voice? I've used Skype in the past and been, at various points, anywhere from delighted to disappointed. Does it work well over T-Mobile's data network?

2. Do you pay roaming fees on T-Mobile when connecting via non-T-Mo towers? The broader coverage is obviously a plus, but I'm wondering if it comes at an added cost?

For me, the new higher data caps on Roam are close enough to unlimited to make than a non-issue. Lower price and better coverage by dealing with T-Mobile directly would be a plus. But since I'm on a Telus iPhone 4S (which only works in areas where T-Mobile operates a re-farmed GSM-1900 network), I'm not sure whether roaming onto partner networks would work for me or not.

I suppose all this gets solved if/when I upgrade to an iPhone 6 once my 3-year contract runs out...

 

[ottawarob]

...by the way, is anyone aware of an active discount code for Roam Mobility's talk/data plans?

I have the SIM already, thanks to Roam's SIM swap program, but was wondering if there was any way to save a few bucks on the 14-day plan, which runs about C$49 -- plus HST, I believe (13% in ON).

Signed up for the Roam newsletter about a month ago, which they claim included their promo offers, but haven't received one yet. I've also scanned the usual suspects for active e-coupons, but no dice.

The last valid code I saw was for 25% off back in February, for SXSW...

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Answers in bolded italics following your questions.

Great info -- thanks. This is obviously a big issue for Canadians traveling south of 49, so I think the discussion will be helpful to many. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about your setup...

1. How's the quality of Google Voice? I've used Skype in the past and been, at various points, anywhere from delighted to disappointed. Does it work well over T-Mobile's data network?

In general, T-Mo's data network has been hit and miss for me. I found that it worked better in Southern California than in Orlando. During our trip in March, there were a number of areas in and around WDW where I could not get a data signal.

That being said, the majority of the time I have used Google Voice, it has been on a wifi network, where it has worked really well. About the only time I used it on T-Mo data was in San Francisco, where it worked just fine.

That being said, I am still using an iPhone 4, so there are still some compatibility issues with the upgrades that T-Mo has done over the past two years, that I understand don't exist with the newer generation iPhones.

2. Do you pay roaming fees on T-Mobile when connecting via non-T-Mo towers? The broader coverage is obviously a plus, but I'm wondering if it comes at an added cost?

I've never used Roam before (I will this upcoming trip, as they had a promo on Canada Day where if you purchased a SIM, you could have a week free). In my previous trips using a T-Mo SIM, I was never charged any more than the pay-by-the-day rate.

If you are planning to stay in metropolitan areas, there should be minimal issues connecting with T-Mo.

For me, the new higher data caps on Roam are close enough to unlimited to make than a non-issue. Lower price and better coverage by dealing with T-Mobile directly would be a plus. But since I'm on a Telus iPhone 4S (which only works in areas where T-Mobile operates a re-farmed GSM-1900 network), I'm not sure whether roaming onto partner networks would work for me or not.

I suppose all this gets solved if/when I upgrade to an iPhone 6 once my 3-year contract runs out...

 

[mabba18]

Roam includes unlimited calling back to Canada.

Yup, looks like this is the biggest difference. From what I can tell, PAYG T-Mobile calling to Canada is 50¢/min or jumping through a few hoops to set up Google voice. For the amount of times we expect to call back to Canada, it won't be an issue.

Coincidentally, we'll be driving from Ottawa and catching a flight out of Syracuse, too. Maybe we'll see you at the Walmart in Watertown.

lol, looks like you're going soon, we still have another month!

That being said, T-Mo is also a pain in the rear, as it requires you to find and stop at one of their corporate stores and then go in and go thru the whole purchase/set-up process. That is 30 minutes that is probably better spent elsewhere.

No need to hit a T-Mobile store, just grab a SIM kit at Wal-mart. Since we can do that without going out of our way, it's no hassle, and no time wasted. Plus if we really had to, we could stop at the T-Mobile store in Carousel Mall when we go for lunch.

Thanks for the info everybody. I'm going to try for a free SIM from ROAM with the swap program (which I just found out about tonight), but I think I'll still go with T-Mobile. The promise of better coverage and lower prices is more important than convenience. I understand the appeal, but I've gotten lucky this trip, everything's been booked for a while and was very simple. So I really don't really mind having one complicated thing to focus on, lol.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

No need to hit a T-Mobile store, just grab a SIM kit at Wal-mart. Since we can do that without going out of our way, it's no hassle, and no time wasted. Plus if we really had to, we could stop at the T-Mobile store in Carousel Mall when we go for lunch.

Are you certain about this? Last time I dealt with T-Mo - granted it was about a year ago - all pay-by-the-day accounts had to be set up through a corporate store, and Wallyworld was not equipped to set up those types of accounts.

 

[mabba18]

Are you certain about this? Last time I dealt with T-Mo - granted it was about a year ago - all pay-by-the-day accounts had to be set up through a corporate store, and Wallyworld was not equipped to set up those types of accounts.

As far as I understand this is all you need: http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996

I'm not 100% sure if they can activate it in store, but I am sure it can be done online.

 

[MrMike77]

Hi, has anyone experimented with the roam mobility SIM while on a caribbean cruise with DCL?

we're doing land and sea and I took a Roam sim for the 2 days we will be in WDW, would I be able to use it while I will be in the US Virgin Islands?

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Hi, has anyone experimented with the roam mobility SIM while on a caribbean cruise with DCL?

we're doing land and sea and I took a Roam sim for the 2 days we will be in WDW, would I be able to use it while I will be in the US Virgin Islands?

Not going to work while you're on the boat. Once you're offshore (3 miles? 5 miles?), you will lose the cell signal and the only way you can call on your cell is through the "Cellular at Sea" signal. There is more about this on the DCL website, but I seem to recall that it's somewhere around $3 per minute to connect.

With respect to being on land in the Virgin Islands, I put that question to Roam quite some time ago, and was told that the answer was "no", because T-Mobile (the network Roam roams on) has no native towers there. Might be worth you giving them a call to see if anything has changed - if you do, please let us know.

The alternative would be to find a wifi hotspot and to use something like Skype.

 

[Maytai]

Looks like Teambuy has a deal on a Roam mobility phone, talk, and text plan. It's too bad that it takes 3-4 weeks shipping though or I would have bought it for my dh for our upcoming trip. I bought the SIM on its own and planning to unlock my phone with Telus, so this deal works out better. (If only I knew about it before.) It would have been great to have two phones so that we could separate and take the teens to the big rides and pre-school to smaller rides.

 

[cmmc]

Don't know when your trip is but if you're staying at a Disney hotel you could have it shipped there and they'll hold it for you.

When we stayed at Beach Club Villas, we shipped all sorts of things including cell phones from Virgin. It was really handy, everybody having a cell phone.

 

[kc1]

I don't know if this has been brought up before, but to add to the T-Mobility vs. Roam argument, I believe that TM does not allow tethering while RM does. That's important to me because I was hoping to have the kids share an access point on the drive down. I think the data speeds will be low, so maybe they'll have to limit their use to just browsing and checking email.

Our decision is easy; my sister has a Roam sim card that she is lending us. I can't find any reports on Roam from Canadians driving down to Florida. Anyone have any reviews?

BTW, I unlocked my son's Koodo phone on eBay for ~$4 and am planning on doing the same to my Bell phone. I think it's quite a bit cheaper and more convenient than getting the carrier to do it.

 

[petbren]

Could you please post the site you used to do this? I need to unlock 1 or 2 phones we have with Bell for March break trip and there are so many sites out there, I'd like to use one people can recommend.
You can PM me if that's easier.
Thanks

 

[kc1]

PM sent.

 

[Salinger]

So, has anyone had any recent experience with Roam in WDW? In particular, I'm wondering about data speeds. I've read very mixed reviews.

T-Mobile is notoriously spotty for data but I can't seem to find many real-life reports from the Disney Parks (which is the only place I really care about).

I got a free Roam SIM but if coverage is spotty, I'd rather pay a little extra and go with an AT&T MVNO (like Redpocket). Now that AT&T has done all their upgrades at both WDW and DL given they're the official wireless partner, I'm assuming their connections and speeds are quite good. But again, first-hand reports are scarce.

 

[Maytai]

I am leaving FL right away and have been using ROAM for the 12 days I have been here. I was glad I had data, other than just relying on park wifi because the wifi in the parks was so slow I would get disconnected sometimes. But I could rely on my ROAM data plan. The only thing I noticed was that I couldn't watch Netflix using ROAM data because I would get an error saying it was too slow. Not that I would watch Netflix over data, but it would happen when I would get disconnected from the house wifi.

 

[CanadianDISfan]

I'm considering buying an unlocked cell phone so that I can switch SIM cards when we travel to the US. Has anyone done this before? How much would I save on Data because with my plan (Virgin) I pay $1/5MB. Are there pre-pay unlimited data plans? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Maytai]

I'm considering buying an unlocked cell phone so that I can switch SIM cards when we travel to the US. Has anyone done this before? How much would I save on Data because with my plan (Virgin) I pay $1/MB. Are there pre-pay unlimited data plans? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just returned from vacation and did just that. I bought the SIM card from ROAM Mobility and unlocked my own phone (Note 2 with Telus). While I was still in Winnipeg, (I was excited so this happened about a month before our trip) I put the ROAM SIM card in my phone. This allowed me to receive my US telephone number and give it to anyone who might need it. Then i put my own Telus SIM card back in. I then bought a talk+text+data plan from ROAM and scheduled it to start at a certain time. Since I was driving from Winnipeg to Grand Forks to catch our flight, and the plan only works in the US, I scheduled my plan to start around the time I arrive at the US border (about 2 hours from when I planned to leave my house in Winnipeg). After we crossed the US border I switched out my Telus SIM card for the ROAM SIM card. It was easy!

My kids and hubby were able to tether on to my phone so that they could use Facebook, Twitter, etc.

After our trip, I switched back my SIM cards. Without sounding like a ROAM Mobility salesperson, which I'm not, I was really happy with their service.

 

[CanadianDISfan]

Thanks so much for all the info!! That sounds easy even for a non-techie like me. I will try it out this summer when go to WDW in July. I didn't even know Roam existed.

 

[MikeyNS]

We used ROAM in February and March and it worked fantastic, both for us in Orlando, Port Canaveral and the US Virgin Islands (didn't think it would work there).
Friends of ours tried them out and it worked great in Maine, Tampa and elsewhere in Florida.
No complaints what-so-ever.