Portable Phone Chargers - Worth It?

[emerald3582]

I have a portable charger that my family has used at other theme parks, but it is large and bulky. I am considering buying 2 (1 for DH & I, and 1 for DD16 & DD15) of the $30 chargers at DL in October as we are going to WDW in October 2021. I like the idea of being able to exchange them whenever they run out of juice. However, I can buy an Anker Powercore for $25 which has enough juice for 2 phone charges on Amazon. Has anyone bought one of these? Is the extra $5 worth the convenience? How well does it work (for use when not in Disney)?

 

[coasternut22]

The Ankers are so worth it. I have 3 that I use for Pokemon, kids iPads, etc. when not in parks. We always bring one to the park and leave one in the room to charge. If backpack or park bag space isn’t an issue, it’s a no brainer to get the Anker. BTW, I have the Powecore 13000’s with two USB ports.

 

[AZMermaid]

I forgot my cord last trip and bought the exchangable one. Omg. Where was this all my life? We stay at the Grand in the DVC rooms. I swapped It out on the way in and out of the park each day. I’d charge as needed and then keep my eyes open for the machine to swap again. It was SO easy and wonderful. We have a few chargers already including a powerful yet bulky and heavy one. So I havent used it other than at DL. but it dies come with a charger so I could. I suspect the Ankers are better if you want a charger anyway, but for just DL purposes, the exchangeable ones were awesome.

 

[mentos]

These high capacity batteries are great. However, if your park visit patterns are such that you do retreat back to the room at some point, you might be better served by a rapid charger. We use a 96W brick from our MacBook Pro and that will more than suffice. When we don't pack a laptop, we have this at the hotel to charge multiple devices:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DFFX34P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That said, I do have a swappable battery (FuelRod brand) that I carry in a pinch. It's just slow, but at least there are stations around the park and at the hotel. I haven't had to use it, though. I have an iPhone 11 Pro and the mid-day charge at the room has been more than enough.

Don't forget to do housekeeping on your phone to keep its usage low (I outright turn it off when I'm in a ride that completely blocks cell signal - no use having it try to hit the tower).

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I have the Anker charger. It’s amazing. Doesn’t weigh much. Charges my phone fast. Totally worth it as I use it outside of Disney.

 

[mentos]

I have the Anker charger. It’s amazing. Doesn’t weigh much. Charges my phone fast. Totally worth it as I use it outside of Disney.

Same here, I think we have two -- finding plugs in the hotel room is like the bane of my existence, I swear I will pick a hotel based on plug placement! This helps make that chore easier in that I just have to do it once.

 

[disneycat321]

We have an Anker charger. Worth every penny! We mostly use it at Disney parks, but it's nice to have for other day trips and such, too.

 

[MonocularVision]

... finding plugs in the hotel room is like the bane of my existence ...

I purchased two of wall chargers that I bring on any family trip along with cables. They are absolutely perfect for keeping our myriad of phones, tablets and watches charged.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I have a portable charger that my family has used at other theme parks, but it is large and bulky. I am considering buying 2 (1 for DH & I, and 1 for DD16 & DD15) of the $30 chargers at DL in October as we are going to WDW in October 2021. I like the idea of being able to exchange them whenever they run out of juice. However, I can buy an Anker Powercore for $25 which has enough juice for 2 phone charges on Amazon. Has anyone bought one of these? Is the extra $5 worth the convenience? How well does it work (for use when not in Disney)?

Are you asking about Fuel Rods? Help me understand how fuel rods work
Personally, add us to the list of people who use Anker chargers in the parks. We got ours for a great price on Prime Day -- they are about the size of a candy bar and work great!

 

[StormyCA]

I have one about the size of 2 stacked lipsticks that I either carry in my purse or stash in the locker. Between MaxPass, checking wait times, online ordering, & pics I seem to use a lot more battery than before.

 

[sherilaine]

Our last trip to DLR we brought chargers with us and never used them once. We keep our phones on lower power mode and turn off wifi, as your phone drains a lot of battery trying to find a signal in the parks as the signals are poor and drop often. If I need to use the wifi I turn it on as needed rather than leave it on all day. It all depends on your phone though but we noticed a big difference in doing these two things. The ones we bought were small and cheap from Amazon as we did not hear good reviews for the fuel rods. One other note, if you are going to buy one and you are going to be charging many devices over night, bring a cube you can plug into an outlet to expand the number of items you can plug in. I know most hotels are great now at having lots of outlets and even USB charge stations in the rooms, but some places might not be renovated to that extent yet.

 

[Jimsig]

I recently bought the Acesori Power Slim 10 Thin 10000AH Power bank at BJ's. They were something like $25 for a 2 pack. You get multiple charges out of them. I have not used them at the parks but did use them on a long weekend trip to FLA where I knew I would need to recharge my phone. They are a big bigger then an IPhone 7 if you have a case on your phone. Very easy to use and it charges them pretty quickly. It also has an LED display that tells you the percent of power left in the charger.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Is the extra $5 worth the convenience?

If you’re the person in your party who is stuck being in charge of carrying the charger, the Fuel Rod is worth the extra $5. It actually had been less expensive to buy the Fuel Rod online or at an airport.

https://fuel-rod.com/
We have 1 that we’ve used at DL and WDW. Whenever we are near a Fuel Rod dispenser, we exchange our FR for a fully charged one no matter how much charge is left.

We never have had to worry about running out of charge even when we’ve entered a park on a whim with phones that aren’t fully charged and a dead Fuel Rod. A quick stop at the closest FR dispenser and we’re good to go.

 

[emerald3582]

If you’re the person in your party who is stuck being in charge of carrying the charger, the Fuel Rod is worth the extra $5. It actually had been less expensive to buy the Fuel Rod online or at an airport.

https://fuel-rod.com/
We have 1 that we’ve used at DL and WDW. Whenever we are near a Fuel Rod dispenser, we exchange our FR for a fully charged one no matter how much charge is left.

We never have had to worry about running out of charge even when we’ve entered a park on a whim with phones that aren’t fully charged and a dead Fuel Rod. A quick stop at the closest FR dispenser and we’re good to go.

Looks like these are at all or most of the major airports as well as major attractions/theme parks. MSRP is $21.99. And yes, I'm usually the one stuck with carrying our bulkier one when we travel so this may be a game changer for me. Then, everyone can be responsible for their own.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Then, everyone can be responsible for their own.

Some families just buy 1 and rotate charging the phones. But if everyone’s using the Play App, then more than 1 would be better.

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

I had just bought a Ravpower 26800mAh power bank for our May trip and this thing is a beast. It is a bit bigger but still easily fits in my Alpaka Go sling pro, it is very fast charging, can charge up to 3 devices at once and lasts a long time. It is also the biggest you can legally take onto an airplane.

https://www.powerbankexpert.com/ravpower-26800mah-review/

 

[dina444444]

Looks like these are at all or most of the major airports as well as major attractions/theme parks. MSRP is $21.99. And yes, I'm usually the one stuck with carrying our bulkier one when we travel so this may be a game changer for me. Then, everyone can be responsible for their own.

I’m a huge supporter of fuel rods. While the capacity isn’t the greatest out there, they weigh almost nothing and I can easily swap them in the park at no additional charge (it costs to swap them at the airport and other places).

 

[mentos]

I think my holy grail of park experience (with a kid) is going with only a phone & slim wallet. So far I’ve whittled it down to a small sling bag, but I’m getting there!

Kid-free trip is already there, fuel rod is part of that strategy...as terrible as it is as a charger, it makes up for it in convenience.

I use an Away bag and it comes with a 10,000 mAh battery with a specific pocket on the bag (removable). If you’re in the market for a new bag anyway, it comes with it.

 

[Renarr]

Instead of the power banks, I went the rechargeable phone case route. It's a little heavy for some people's tastes, but I'm never having to charge mid-day, and an overnight charge will get me use for a full day.

 

[The Goof]

I’m a huge supporter of fuel rods. While the capacity isn’t the greatest out there, they weigh almost nothing and I can easily swap them in the park at no additional charge (it costs to swap them at the airport and other places).

We have a couple of power packs that we use, inside and outside the parks, but I was interested in the fuel rods until I saw there was also a charge to swap them out. Learning there is no charge in the parks just resparked my interest!