walkie talkies advice?

[Moonlightshadow]

Our first trip has 4 families, so I am considering to prepare walkie talkies for communicating and keeping in touch, i guess it's more convenient than holding the cellphone in hand in the crowds. I did a quick search online and found this walkie talkie, because it has a string to free our hands, and the color looks cool.

I am wondering if there is walkie talkie for renting in the park? Will it be cheaper? Will it work well in the park?

Really appreciate to hear your advice.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We used walkie talkies 20 yrs ago before everyone had cell phones.
Why carry both? Why not just text the other parties?

 

[tvguy]

I took Walkie Talkies (Family Radio Service radios as they call them ) to Disneyland once. It was about 15 years ago. There were about 40,000 people in the park. I suspect several hundred if not several thousand had FRS radios. Those radios only have 14 channels. There were a lot more than 14 people trying to use those channels at the same time. It was a garbled mess of "mom, dad, mommy, billy, jenny, jimmy, meet me at the matterhorn...can i have money for a churro".
However, given that it seems some folks give their pre-schoolers cell phones, it might be less jammed with chatter these days.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I don't see how that is anymore convenient than a cell phone. They are a bit bulkier and heavy. Just use your phones and create a group to text to. Should be much easier and a lot less cumbersome.

 

[dreiwhit]

I'm a comm geek and "lover of all radio communications". We carry our cell phones and we also use surplus Nextel/Sprint Motorola i355 cell phones in Direct Talk mode. They are low power 900MHz radios, but work fantastic. We've never encountered anyone else using our same group and code.

Before our first trip, I checked into what radios to bring. The general consensus was to stay away from Family Radio Service radios because everyone was using them. With the proliferation of cell phones, they may not be used as much as they were before. It may be worth a try.

One thing to keep in mind. Some of the attractions at MK are built like Faraday Cages. We've run into issues with a lack of signals with both our radios and cell phones while inside certain attractions - PotC and Princess Fairytale Hall are two that I remember specifically.

 

[Alesia]

Walkie talkies are a waste of money.

The range isn't nearly as good as a cell phone. It may say 5KM, but that's the maximum in an open field. Having a lot of buildings around (such as in WDW) really disrupts them.

They're not nearly as reliable as a cell phone. They're not a good deal when you can't contact the people that you need to contact.

They are bulkier and harder to carry than a cell phone. People are going to want their phones anyway, so you're making them carry two things instead of just one.

 

[momto3pirates]

We tried it but it doesn't work. Too many people. Just text. Much easier.

 

[wenrob]

Agreed, just use your phones. I don't think I'd be willing to add yet another thing to my bag that isn't absolutely necessary. One of my favorite parts of using a cellphone is that I can also SEE where people are as well. We all use iPhones but there's plenty of apps that are cross platform. This cuts out a lot of guesswork when it comes to timing etc.

eta: If you want to remain "hands free" what about Bluetooth head sets?

 

[maxiesmom]

Your phones will be much quicker and simpler.

 

[Moonlightshadow]

A huge thanks to all of you！i didn't realize there are such problems with walkie talkies before, i just thought it may be cool and it's like a playing and discovery game in the park excepting the communicating function, thanks again for all your help in planning our dream trip.

 

[Moonlightshadow]

I'm a comm geek and "lover of all radio communications". We carry our cell phones and we also use surplus Nextel/Sprint Motorola i355 cell phones in Direct Talk mode. They are low power 900MHz radios, but work fantastic. We've never encountered anyone else using our same group and code.

Before our first trip, I checked into what radios to bring. The general consensus was to stay away from Family Radio Service radios because everyone was using them. With the proliferation of cell phones, they may not be used as much as they were before. It may be worth a try.

One thing to keep in mind. Some of the attractions at MK are built like Faraday Cages. We've run into issues with a lack of signals with both our radios and cell phones while inside certain attractions - PotC and Princess Fairytale Hall are two that I remember specifically.

Hi dreiwhit, i am so happy to read your words, this is the only answer who support a walkie talkie, haha. I will discuss with other families and i think i will still give it a try, thanks again for your tips.

 

[marthachick]

Cell phones are multifunctional. Talk, text, pictures, videos, time and games.

 

[kniquy]

I would say the cell phone would be much easier to use with better reception and clarity, as long as everyone in the parties has them. You can text, call and if they are iphones -facetime. i think even basic flip phones will meet the needs without having to carry around something that may or may not have clear communication. Sometimes with the walkie talkies it makes it difficult to communicate because you have to wait to respond and people generally get cut off. We are heading to WDW next April and our (at the time of the trip) 12 yo twin boys want a little freedom to hit rides without us. I am thinking about just getting them a cheap pay as you go cell phone for that trip so that they can have some freedom and i have some piece of mind knowing i can get in touch with them.

I think with 4 families too there should be just loose plans to maybe meet for a QS meal or have a time when you are heading back to the resort for pool time together. It just adds to the stress of the trip if everyone is trying to do too much together, just keep that in mind when working out your plans.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Cell phones are multifunctional. Talk, text, pictures, videos, time and games.

Plus, the Disney app!

The frustrating part of walkie talkies is also that you cant leave a message if the party you're trying to reach is on a ride or some place with poor reception, loud noise/music, etc. With a text, they will know you've been trying to reach them.

 

[dreiwhit]

Hi dreiwhit, i am so happy to read your words, this is the only answer who support a walkie talkie, haha. I will discuss with other families and i think i will still give it a try, thanks again for your tips.

You're welcome Moonlightshadow!

One more story. On our February/March 2016 trip, on one of our MK days, my wife's cell phone went completely dead. After a full day of heavily using MDE to pick up FastPasses and being in rides that doubled as Faraday Cages (the cellphone used more battery trying to get a connection), it was enough to drain her battery completely.
Fortunately, we had our two-way radios and were able to keep in contact with each other.

We actually prefer to use radios to keep in touch, but to each his own.

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to find the right walkie talkies to use. The VHF band doesn't work that well with all the steel and concrete. Not to mention, the rides can give off Radio Frequency Intrerference that can interfere with radios. The UHF and above bands are better than VHF for inside the parks. Also, if a lot of folks are using FRS radios, it will be hard to communicate because of the heavy usage of those frequencies and the interference it will cause. You need to find a clear band and a clear frequency.

Our "radios" are 900Mhz frequency hopping, spread spectrum. They are also using a digital modulation that no scanner can pick up. I've never run into anyone else using them, so we've got a clear band with no interference!

 

[kniquy]

you cant leave a message if the party you're trying to reach is on a ride

This is another good point i didn't think about. Just being able to text - hey meet us at Mine train at 11:30 - would be easier to work with than trying to catch someone and hoping they can hear you. I think the noise level of the park would also make it difficult to possibly hear on the radios. So texting would be a preferred method.