One of my biggest challenges at Walt Disney World has always been my phone battery life. Taking videos and photos, posting on social media, and using the My Disney Experience app for Lightning Lanes, checking wait times and mobile ordering drains my phone’s battery.  Some days my phone would barely make through the afternoon without going in to “low battery” mode from the full charge I started the day with!

You can charge your phone here too!

​There are places in the parks that you can charge your mobile device if needed.  One spot that has some great access to charging stations is over near the Tangled washrooms in the Magic Kingdom.  There you will find  are some very cute little tree stumps with ports to charge your phone and/or plug in your Electric Scooter (ECV).  You can find access to power if you need to plug in, but for me that just isn’t convenient for my phone.  I want to be able to charge on the go and not have to sit in one spot.  That’s the big benefit of portable chargers.

I had purchased a portable phone charger from Amazon, and that served me well – but I had to remember to recharge it up every night when I got back to the hotel room.  While these other chargers are helpful on other vacations, this one was pretty convenient while at Disney.

The FuelRod kit is available at many locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort or on Amazon.

Inside of the Fuel Rod package you will find:

• One fully charged portable phone charger
• One 3.5” USB to micro-USB cable (for most Android devices)
• One USB C Adapter (needed for some Android devices)
• One 3.5” Apple Lightning to USB cable (for iPhone generations 5+)

Having that first fully charged FuelRod enables you to charge your phone immediately after purchase.  The convenience of it vs the portable battery you can buy on Amazon is the free unlimited swaps at no additional cost available at the Disney parks and some resorts.  

Contemporary Resort FuelRod Station

The challenge with the FuelRods are that the swaps are not free if you’re visiting Universal.

Universal Orlando Fuel Rod Kiosk

I always carry my own charging cable to plug in to the FuelRod USB port so that it’s long enough to keep the FuelRod in my bag while my phone is out.  The cables that come in the kit are great, but they aren’t long enough for me to use my phone and charge at the same time.

You probably never noticed the FuelRod Kiosks on Disney property before, but now you’ll be looking for them.  The machines are actually themed depending on their location, check out the pictures to see the different looks.  While they’re all the same shape and operate the same way – they do look a little different at each location.

Animal Kingdom FuelRod Station

If you are heading to the theme parks and want to make sure that your cell phones are always charged, you should have a portable charger.  If you’re visiting Walt Disney World you could buy 1 of the FuelRods to share with your family because the unlimited free swaps means that you always have access to a fresh battery.  Just make sure you stop by to swap it out when you see one of the FuelRod stations – while there are a lot of them, they aren’t always close when you NEED it.  I got caught on a trip where I should have stopped in the store at Epcot on my way out via International Gateway and of course the ONLY FuelRod swap was at the Boardwalk.  That wasn’t where I was going!  I waited until I got to Disney Springs to swap it out instead.

You can check on the Disney site for a list of FuelRod locations here for Walt Disney World and here for Disneyland.

Coronado Springs FuelRod Station

View my YouTube short here on how easy it is to swap them!

While these were my answer to keeping my phone charged at Disney, I have recently switched to a different charger that I bought on Amazon.  I love the idea of the FuelRod chargers, but they just don’t offer the convenience if I’m visiting other locations.  They do have kiosk locations all over the world, but just not enough in places where I need them to be.  If they were handy to swap (like in Walt Disney World) that would be one thing, but now that my travels take me to other places – it is just not as convenient anymore.  I of course will still pack them for my next Disney vacation because they ARE lighter and easier to carry around in the parks.  

The FuelRod kiosks are now being restocked with new ones that offer over 20% more capacity (3200 mAh) than the original FuelRod.  The problem with these are that you don’t always get a full charge out of them because they aren’t THAT powerful.  If you’re paying for swaps, that isn’t very cost effective.  There was some talk about a fee for swaps at Disney some time ago and a class action lawsuit, but that went away as quickly as it appeared.

How do you keep your phones charged?

Read here for up to date information on the FuelRods at Walt Disney World:  FuelRod is one of my ‘must have’ items

The FuelRod is one of my ‘must have’ items when I visit Walt Disney World, so I was very concerned when news broke in 2019 that they were going to start charging $3 for every swap!  I know that I could use the one I bought on Amazon instead and charge it myself, but it is convenient!  I have to charge my phone probably 3 times per day while I’m in the parks.  Taking videos and pictures, doing live streams – it drains the battery.  Having the ability to swap the FuelRod is better than carrying one of the bigger batteries that would hold 3 or 4 charges worth, the FuelRod is much lighter in my bag.

In late 2019 Disney had started putting signs on the FuelRod kiosks announcing the $3 fee for a swap after they had previously had unlimited ones.  They updated the website to say the same:

From the Disney site when the charges were first being communicated

My friend was there on October 27th 2019 and snagged a pic for me of the stickers on the FuelRod stations

Stickers showing $3 Charge as of November 1st 2020

There was quite a backlash from the Internet about the charges and a lawsuit was even filed?  Really?  A lawsuit over the fact that you were promised unlimited swaps and now it’s $3?  I think the world has gone mad… and I refuse to link to the ‘lawsuit’ articles because I personally think it’s ridiculous.  Anyway…

As of November 1st – Disney has reconsidered and has taken the stickers OFF of the FuelRod locations and has released the following statement:

“A decision has been made to not implement the $3 portable charger swap fee until further notice. Guests can continue to swap their FuelRod portable chargers using FuelRod’s owned and operated kiosks at Walt Disney World Resort for no additional cost at this time.”

The Walt Disney World website now shows this again:

Back to normal

I am happy about the reversal in the decision – but can’t for the life of me figure out why they would change it?  Did they not KNOW there would be people complaining?  Did they get more complaints than they realized?  We may never know… For now – I’ll put the FuelRods back in my travel bag and enjoy the unlimited swaps!

UPDATED JULY 2020 – The company has created a “Founder” Status to grandfather people who bought the original ones under the impression it was unlimited free swaps.  They released this statement:

“SAN DIEGO – July 10, 2020 – Tricopian, Inc. (DBA: FuelRod) announces the availability of the “Founders” status in recognition of the continued support and loyalty of the most valued customers and “early adopters” (*) of FuelRod’s world-first, power-on-the-go program. The creation of the “Founders” status also resolves pending litigation against it pertaining to changes in its policies regarding charges for swapping its devices.(**) As a Founder, the customer can continue to enjoy free, unlimited swaps at any FuelRod kiosks (***). There is no cost to eligible customers to become a Founder.