FRS (walkie talkies) worth taking?

[robb_w]

We are leaving in a week for WDW, and I am curious about using our FRS (walkie talkies). It seems like a good idea since we will have 2 families, but I am wondering if thousands of others will have them, and with so many in use, they would be nearly useless. I have a set of 2 channel and a set of 14 channel.

Robb

 

[wondermom]

Robb,
we just returned from WDW and did it without walkie talkies. However, I wished I had bought some before we left as there were times we wanted to split up and didn't due to not being able to communicate. Yes, almost everyone had them there, but I didn't notice a problem with anyone trying to communicate with their separated party. I will definitely take some next time we go!!

 

[ToTLaugher]

Robb:
We're just back from 9 magical days...

We brought 2 FRS and attached them to the kids (7 and 4). We figured that if we lost one in a crowd, we could grab the radio from the remaining kid and call the other one. We never needed it for that, although it was nice to have them.

We did use them twice - when we separated, one parent with one child, doing different things. It was quite handy to hook back up.

We had the 14 channel, 38 privacy code versions. Usually we would get a squawk once a day fromm someone else using the same channel/code combination. At that point, we just switched the code, and didn't get a lot of chatter.

 

[Suflay1]

We used walkie talkies while visiting Animal Kingdom with my brother and his wife. She didn't like some of the rides so she'd wander around sightseeing while we went through the rides, and it was very convenient to give her a call on the radio and arrange to meet at a certain spot, rather than wandering around aimlessly hoping to find her in the crowds. We used the 14-channel sets and I don't recall hearing any interference at all. One thing to remember - turn the volume down (or off) when you're in Hall of Presidents or other indoor attractions. Forgot to do that a couple times and was totally embarassed to hear my brother's voice screeching, "Where the heck are ya?" while one of the Presidents was speaking.
We were also able to communicate from All Star Music, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom to my brother's motel which was a couple miles off-site, which was nice for coordinating first thing in the morning and in the evening.

 

[BuzzandWoody]

My dh said we needed them and I said we didn't.

Yesterday I did check them out at Radio Shack, just looking LOL
They were like $60 a pair.

Had to go to Wal-Mart later in the day and checked them out again, even though I didn't think we needed them.

Got 2 Cobras 14 channel 2 mile radius, with am/fm digital radio for $15.00 each. WOW I couldn't pass them up! The radios sound great and have head phones, so even we don't use them for our trip to WDW in 7 days we always have the radios.

Couldn't hurt to check out your local Walmart.

 

[Gemm01]

My husband and I had this same debate before we went to WDW this past July. We ended up coming across a deal (heard about it on this board) for Motorola Talkabout 250 on sale for $19.44 with a rebate of $15. Couldn't pass it up. We only needed 2 but found 4 and bought them all. I will say they came in handy a few times. If you can get a set with the sub-channels I think you will find them useful.

 

[welovemickey]

We've never used the walkie talkies. However, I'm thinking they may not be a bad idea in case a child gets lost (as someone posted). I do find them to be totally annoying though if you're in a quiet theatre and they go off.

 

[TartanFan]

Definitely worth taking - we bought some last year when we (me DH and DD) went with DB and family and my mom. We did get a lot of others' conversations but always managed to hook up with each other - even when we sent DH to get seats for Fantasmic and we found him!

And we use them now we're home when DD goes out to the park (only across the road and within eyeshot) so we know exactly where she is!

 

[DB Washington]

We used Walkie Talkies last year. They do not work well if you have a limited number of stations as everyone is using them. I think they work well if you have plenty of stations and were very helpful when family members needed to split up. We decided to use our cell phones this year as the calls are included in our plan and there is less likelyhood of having the static issues you may have with walkie talkies if you are far apart. Hope this helps,

 

[Bennet]

We use Motorola 250 FSR radios in the parks and they work great.

When choosing FRS radios be sure to get the privacy codes also known as coded squelch. With them finding a combination of channel and code that is fairly quiet is possible, even when there are a lot of radios there.

Using some radio etiquette helps everyone. When calling someone to start an exchange say who you are calling and who you are.

“You off the ride yet?” vs.
“Bob, Sally here, are you off Space Mountain yet?”
In the first Bob doesn’t know he is being called or who called. In the second Bob knows the call is for him and to reply to Sally. Anyone else on the same channel / code knows it isn’t their family.

Turning them off in shows and quite rides keeps you from getting a disturbing call on the channel / code you are using.

The radios are a big help with kids. Think - one need to use the potty - the rest of the clan keeps moving and you use the radio to get back together.

Also in Downtown Disney - dad, one radio and the boy go to the Lego store mom and the girls shop. Dad and the boys go to McDonalds for a coke and fries, eventualy dad and the boys get too bored and call mom on the radio to go back to the hotel.

 

[snowwhitemom]

Yes, we are afamily of three and I would not go near WDW without them. We split up often to save time , it helps so much...it is more than worth your trouble.

 

[Mskanga]

I can't tell you enough how much our two way radios saved out trip!!! we will never go again without them, ours have the subchannels ( Motorola FR 60 ) and they worked wonderfully, dh sometimes would be at the top of the contemporary and we would be in toontown , we could speak very clearly, sometimes we split up to go to different rides and meeting up was a breeze. He also thought it was a big waste to get them....guess who kept asking for them?? HIM! Now he would not go without them!

 

[phins_jazy]

We use our radios at the mall. It's really nice to know where everyone is at all times and there is so much more that you can get done when you split up.