Just got back from Disneyland and California Adventure. We had a big group, so we needed to split up from time to time. We brought three walkie talkies to stay in touch, and we were worried that there would be so much cross-talk that they'd be useless.

They were very handy. You could have a three-way conversation, which really helps in coordinating things like meals. Only once was a stranger using the same channel. We'd lose contact now and then if some of us were all the way across the park, but they usually worked fine. I'll add that we brought the walkie talkies with a whole bunch of channels (100?), so maybe things would be more crowded if you used a lower end model with fewer channels or a smaller range.

I hadn't seen this subject raised before, so I hope this helps.

Great to have and more than just at Disney. Shopping at the Mall with my wife and kids. Traveling in separate cars to same destination. At the beach. My wife was confined to bed for a few days after her C-section. She had me running around like a wildman with that radio! I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, who's at the door, I'm still hungry, rub my feet. Sheesshh!

Cindy, did you rent or purchase them? And from where? We are going to Disney in May for a soccer tournament, and my husband has suggested getting some.

This past Sunday the local newspaper's add inserts were full of ads for these at the various electronic stores as well as Sears. Prices ran from $39 to $89 a pair depending on number of channels and brand name. So they are not too expensive. I think I will get a pair as they would be handy for a variety of reasons. I suspect that for casual use such as mentioned above the low end pair would be adequate, since the specs on most of them indicated the same range of about 2 miles.

We took our walkie talkies on the Voyager of the Seas and it was really helpful tracking down my 13 year old son. A funny aside, while he was talking to me, a woman yelled at him for being "on her channel". I said lady, with only 14 channels and 3500 passengers, someone is always going to be on your channel.

We took a pair of the low end walkie talkies to Disneyworld, and I would not reccomend them. Too few channels for too many people. We were constantly being called by people who were not with us. If you need to take these to a large amusement park, invest in the more expensive units which have over 100 channels. Then they'd be a great asset.

Yes, I agree that the low-end ones aren't very useful. We had the high-end ones. It was a Motorola with 100 channels, and we were on channel 11.4, whatever that means. It is important that the unit have a "lock" feature so that you don't accidentally find yourself on the wrong channel and missing out. Ilisa, hubby bought them, and he says he got "refurbished" ones off of the internet for $35 each. I assume new ones would be a lot more. I don't think you can "rent" them -- yet.

BTW, they're also useful for sending children of a tender age on little errands in the neighborhood, like walking the dog around the block.