Mobile phone rental and airfare help

[patton1j]

I have faith that someone out there will be able to help me. I will be in Orlando in December from the UK and for personal reasons I need to be contactable at any time. Can anyone help me out with information on renting a mobile phone while I am there, my UK phone will not work in the US.

Secondly I need to make a one day trip to Panama City FL - for a job interview!! I have looked at the airfares and the best I can get is $292, going via Atlanta. A direct trip with US Airways was $500 - I could not believe it! I really don't want to drive it on my own does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

SOG - Jul/01
Off Site - Downtown Disney 12/01

PS it is snowing here in England! I can't wait to be in Florida........

 

[Lewisc]

Check with you mobile phone company. I know Voicestream has a program for their US customers who need a phone in Europe. Your company may have a better deal than whatever you can get when you get here. ATT and Verizon have a prepay plans. The phone with some minutes cost about $100.

 

[CarolA]

Are you renting a car? You best bet might be to rent the cell phone from the car rental place. I am pretty sure most of them still do this program.

As for getting to Panama City. Good Luck! This is a very expensive area to fly in and out of. You did not give you dates, but I assume you don't have a Saturday stay in Panama City which makes it more expensive. You might try flying into Fort Walton Beach or Tallahassee and see if you can get a better deal on them.

 

[Chadmanii]

If you want to go the cheapest way for a short term mobile phone, try TracFone. It is a pre-paid system with no standing charge. The minutes can be more expensive than other pre-paid plans, but the low cost of entry makes it the best for short term use.


You can go to Kmart or Wal-mart and buy one for about $40 + tax. Try this link to Wal-Mart for more info:

Walmart TracFone Page

Here is the link to TracFone:

TracFone

Remember that all calls on mobile phones in the US are charged against your account including incoming calls.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lewisc]

Most cell phones have a lot of dead spots in the parks. If it's essential you can be contacted make sure you have voice mail. The cheap Tracphones are analog only and may not be your best bet.

 

[AdrianB]

Cell phones, my specialty. I sell for AT&T Wireless and we offer a prepaid plan that is $100 dollars to start. you get a phone(Nokia 5165), your first $25 prepaid card and a rebate for another $25 dollar prepaid card. The minutes are good for 45 days from the day activated and 25 bucks on a local plan gets you 81 minutes, on the national plan you get 48 minutes. You get voicemail, caller ID. I dont know about the disney parks but my phone worked when I was at Islands of Adventure.