Portable Phone Chargers - Worth It?

[MonocularVision]

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.

I had the Smart Battery case from Apple back when I had an iPhone 6S. Even though the capacity isn’t the highest, it made my phone last the whole day at DL with heavy use and extra battery at the end of the day. All with some amazing integration into the OS. While they are expensive in comparison I found it totally worth it.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

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!

They actually instituted a charge in parks a while back and then rescinded it.

 

[The Goof]

They actually instituted a charge in parks a while back and then rescinded it.

Ahh, so now it makes sense to me. I thought when I was looking into them before I was looking at the parks since I was pretty sure that was the place I heard about them. So that was likely during the time they had a charge to swap out.

 

[dina444444]

Ahh, so now it makes sense to me. I thought when I was looking into them before I was looking at the parks since I was pretty sure that was the place I heard about them. So that was likely during the time they had a charge to swap out.

They never actually started charging in the parks. They made the announcement and then the uproar was big enough that they say they were suppose to start charging they reversed course.

 

[mentos]

They never actually started charging in the parks. They made the announcement and then the uproar was big enough that they say they were suppose to start charging they reversed course.

they even had stickers on the machine announcing a date the charge would start, and they disappeared on my next visit.

 

[GenGen22]

we have a fuel rod we bought at Disney and we share it between myself and my daughter. They are so small to store and swapping it out when one of us needs it is so convenient. We used it at DL and WDW which was awesome!

 

[lalasmama]

I bought a fuel rod last October, I think. It was $24-ish at whatever airport I was passing through. I knew they had them throughout the parks, and had considered buying one anyway, so I went for it.

Totally in love with it. So flipping simple. Like others have said, I just automatically swap out whenever I see a kiosk. And no more forgetting to charge it overnight (like I did all.the.ding.dang time with my old portable charger). I just put it in the kiosk when I need a fresh one (including as I'm heading out of the park at the end of the night).

For me, it's totally worth the minor initial investment for the ease of exchange and lack of anxiety about remembering to charge it!

 

[Epicnemesis]

I read somewhere a few months back that fuel rod was planning on charging for an exchange. Any truth to that or did they walk that plan back?

 

[Magicinmy50s]

I read somewhere a few months back that fuel rod was planning on charging for an exchange. Any truth to that or did they walk that plan back?

i thought i had seen somewhere that the swaps were again complimentary , but I can not find a specific reference. The Disney World site does not specify a cost for the swap, but does not list it as complimentary either.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/portable-phone-chargers/
The Dis does list the swap as ‘No Charge ‘

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/portable-phone-chargers.htm

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I read somewhere a few months back that fuel rod was planning on charging for an exchange. Any truth to that or did they walk that plan back?

According to the thread which I linked in post #9 (see the last page of that link), this article from 11/01/19 covers the planned exchange fee and the resulting law suit: Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against FuelRod Over Swapping Fees at Theme Parks.

 

[sogy]

Fuel rods. they can't charge for swaps in Disneyland. there was a huge lawsuit about the swap charge that they had to remove it

 

[montreid]

Still using backpack and the mule for all things to minimize room stops--so am the brick holder too for all the recharging -- usually 2 bricks will keep the family of 4 phones charged for the day.

For those with more nimble bag free; the in-park fuel rods are quite popular swaps. As people mentioned, uproar on the pending charges for swap that was walked back last year.

With our transition to DVC stays now, we may dump the bag and take up a few fuel rods too

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Update (7/10/20):
FuelRod Settles Class-Action Lawsuit With New Founders Program

 

[emerald3582]

So much for that idea :/

 

[Howry]

I have a battery case for my phone. Found it easier then having to worry about carrying around a second item. Was really nice. Was still at 100% by the end of the day

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I have a fuel rod, i filled out the on line form to continue getting free swaps... all new purchases they are going to charge you. When you download the app you get one free recharge...
But I think I am changing to a diffrent brand. I have a note 10 and the fuel rod only charges it to 75%
So I am going to keep following this, please update us on what you choose.
https://touringplans.com/blog/2020/...users-eligible-to-continue-to-get-free-swaps/

 

[bluecruiser]

I have a fuel rod, i filled out the on line form to continue getting free swaps... all new purchases they are going to charge you. When you download the app you get one free recharge...
But I think I am changing to a diffrent brand. I have a note 10 and the fuel rod only charges it to 75%
So I am going to keep following this, please update us on what you choose.

I mostly use my FuelRod at DLR and WDW. I just find the closest FuelRod kiosk and swap out for a new, charged one when my current one gets used up. So I'm not too worried about the fact that my FuelRod won't fully charge my phone.

 

[whoever]

I would never rely on external sources. I carry my own.

 

[emerald3582]

From the OP:
Since they are going to start charging $3 to exchange FuelRods, I have decided to go with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-RAV...4662365&sprefix=portable+phone,aps,207&sr=8-3
It has a high-speed charge for the device itself (PD 3.0), multiple charges (15K mAh), it can charge 2 devices at once, and it was $10 off (I paid $25.99).

I also took size, weight, price and customer reviews when considering this one against the Anker and Rav. This should be perfect for my 2 DD's. DH and I will continue to use the big, bulky one that I got from Costco for about $50. (FYI, we used it to jump start my mom's car last week!) It also has 2 ports so it will have us covered too, if and when we ever get back to the parks.

 

[bearette]

I have an Anker and I love it. I use it on all my vacations because it allows me to charge up to 2 phones to 100% from nearly dead. It is relatively small, it fits in a small square purse, but it is a little.heavy, it is a battery afterall, but not any heavier than a bottle of water. The only issue is you have to make sure you carry the cord to connect to the battery. What I like is others may use it as well, such as my brother in law who has a Samsung, while we have Apple phones. You can charge iPads etc with it too.