FuelRod

[Mickatie]

Do you all use the FuelRod kiosks at the park or do you bring your own portable charger? If the latter, which brand do you recommend? I have an iPhone that drains its battery after about 4-6 hours of active use.

 

[Daisybelle]

We used the fuel rods for the first time on our last trip and I thought it was easy to use and really convenient. My daughter and I could charge up on one rod and it was easy to find kiosks. We had one in our hotel lobby too, I realized at the end of our trip.

 

[midnight star]

I almost bought a fuel rod, but I heard that they charge your phone very slow. I think if you use it while it charges, it won't charge all the way. So I stick with my Villain portable charger. I just don't like that it is so heavy. It charges very well though. And there are 2 USB ports to charge 2 phones at once. I go with friends a lot so we share sometimes.

 

[Mickatie]

We used the fuel rods for the first time on our last trip and I thought it was easy to use and really convenient. My daughter and I could charge up on one rod and it was easy to find kiosks. We had one in our hotel lobby too, I realized at the end of our trip.

Good to know! Which hotel were you in? We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott.

 

[Ryan120420]

I bring my own. I recommend Anker. For the price of 1 FuleRod you can get a very high quality and high capacity battery.

Those FuelRod chargers have way too small of batteries for most smartphones. Plus when you do get a fuel rod, you have no idea how many cycles that battery has gone through. And recently FuelRod has started to charge to swap out batteries at their kiosks, not a Disney Parks yet, but the day of free swaps are coming to an end.

 

[O'12ears]

We use the Mophie Powerstation. We have the largest one and it is a bit heavy, but I carry it in my backpack. It has 3 usb ports for multiple devices at the same time and one of those is high speed charging. We charge it over night and use it for 4 phones all day and still have 1 bars (out of 4) at the end of the day. Based on that, one of their smaller devices may work just fine.

 

[WonkaKid]

I know that there are at least two vending kiosks in DL: one is near the exit of Space Mountain, the other is in the pin store in Frontierland. I’ve never used them myself because, like most people, I bring my own. The advanctage of the vending service, though, is that when the charger is depleted, you simply drop it back at the kiosk and another fully-charged one will be dispensed. Unlimited use, $30.

 

[Joestoppable]

I use Fuelrod's everytime I go to Disneyland. I have never heard of Fuelrod charging for swaps. I could be wrong but I was in San Diego a few weeks ago and none of the one's I saw charged for swaps.

Saying all this, there are pro's and cons. The PP mentioned the battery capacity. These are very small capacity batteries and usually are only good for about 1 full charge (I use an iPhone 7 plus). There are a lot of other chargers about the same size or so for a cheaper price that do have higher capacity. This also means that I wouldnt use this for any other purpose other then going to SF, SD, DL, and WDW. Because outside of those places this battery really doesnt do well in comparison to its competitors.

The pro's are there are many many stations located at DCA, DL, and WDW (including Disney hotels), while it might only be able to charge your phone once you can just swap it for a fresh one whenever you'd like. In the past I have forgotten to charge my portable charger the night before and was basically scr*wed in the morning. Even if you arrive to the parks having forgotten to charge your Fuelrod you can just swap it as soon as you enter. The disneyland map shows locations of the stations all around the parks and hotels. I dont like bringing a lot of things when I go, usually whatever can fit into my pockets. This makes Fuelrods very convenient for me.

In the end i love my FuelRod, but I also understand its limitation. Just know that if you buy it, just know that you'll have to buy another portable chargers for trips outside of DL because it's not good enough in comparison to its competitors.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Moiphie battery charging case. They are a bit bulky for everyday wear for my taste, but I run my phone down then slap on the case and keep going without missing a beat or worrying about a charger to plug in or cables dangling anywhere.

 

[cmwade77]

Fuel Rods are the only way to go at any theme park in my opinion, they are small and lightweight.

No, they won't give most phones a full charge, but it should get you up to at least 60% or so and then you can swap for a fully charged one for free and top your phone off if you so choose.

Here is the current list of locations at the Disneyland Resort:

• Disneyland
  • Main Street Lockers (2 kiosks)
  • Tomorrowland - Starcade on the way back to the exit of Space Mountain
  • Frontierland - Westward Ho! Pin Shop
  • Fantasyland - it's a small world Gift Shop
  • Critter Country - Pooh's Corner
• DCA
  • Kingswell Camera Shop (sometimes move to the Candy Shop)
  • Carsland - Ramone's
  • Hollwood Land - Gone Hollywood Shop
  • Pixar Pier - Knick's Knacks Shop
• Hotels
  • Grand Californian in the walkway between Downtown Disney and the lobby
  • Disneyland Hotel Lobby
  • Paradise Pier Hotel Lobby

Additionally, many other Southern California attractions have fuel rods, here are the ones I know of:

• SeaWorld San Diego (They show the locations on their map)
  • Manta Patio
  • Calypso Bay
  • Wild Artic
• San Diego Zoo
  • Store at the entrance
  • Mercado - Reptile House
  • Roar & Snore Store
  • Panda Shop
  • Tuskers Trunk Store
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park
  • Front Entrance
  • Okavango
  • RIFT Elevator, 2nd Floor
  • Oasis Deli
• San Diego Airport (Both Terminals) - There is a small fee for exchanges at this location
• Pala Casino - Small fee for exchanges
• Del Mar Race/Fair Grounds - Small fee for exchanges
• San Diego Visitor Information Center - Small fee for exchange

There are other locations, even in some malls and such, generally speaking, if it is inside a theme park, there is no charge for the exchanges, there is a small fee at other locations. Additionally, you can download the Fuel Rod app to find locations and get some free swaps at the locations that do charge for the exchanges.

 

[Doctor Who]

If you buy them from their website they're cheaper. I love mine.

 

[cmwade77]

If you buy them from their website they're cheaper. I love mine.

Follow them on Facebook, there is almost always a code that makes buying them from the kiosks cheaper than buying from their website.

 

[figment_jii]

I've often thought about getting the FuelRod because of the convenience, but ultimately, I end up bringing my Anker portable battery. I asked early on about the capacity of the battery and the answer from Customer Service was very vague (they wouldn't say how big the battery was, which seemed a little odd), but I've also heard that you probably won't be able to fully charge a completely depleted phone at this point, but you would just switch out the rod for a new one and continue charging. I agree, it's a little cheaper to pre-buy it ($25 including shipping online or $30 in the park).

 

[cmwade77]

I've often thought about getting the FuelRod because of the convenience, but ultimately, I end up bringing my Anker portable battery. I asked early on about the capacity of the battery and the answer from Customer Service was very vague (they wouldn't say how big the battery was, which seemed a little odd), but I've also heard that you probably won't be able to fully charge a completely depleted phone at this point, but you would just switch out the rod for a new one and continue charging. I agree, it's a little cheaper to pre-buy it ($25 including shipping online or $30 in the park).

I think the reason they don't answer it is because depending on how old they are they have different capacities, newer ones tend to have higher capacities in my experience. You can often get codes that bring in park costs down to $20 or so if you follow them on Facebook.

 

[figment_jii]

At this point, I agree that would be a good reason. But I asked when they were just starting the service, because I wanted to know if they would be able to fully charge my phone or not. I suppose they could have already had rods of wildly different capacities at that point (enough that they didn't want to state some minimum capacity and not be able to meet it).

I did not know that you could apply the discount codes to the ones in the park. That's good to know.

 

[smchristy]

Before our last trip in 2017 I purchased a PowerADD battery charger, 12000 mAh with the lightning plug from Amazon. It worked great for us. Was cheaper than the fuel rods sold in the parks and holds multiple charges so we didn't have to worry about tracking down a place to exchange them. I still use it to this day. It also holds charges for a long time when not in use, but I could also charge it back up at night when we were back in the hotel room. It was perfect for the airplane ride to charge Ipads while the kids played games and watched movies. It can charge two devices at a time which comes in handy with three of us with phones being used for MaxPass in the parks. I am planning to bring the same charger with me for our trip this June.

I did just purchase a chargeable case for my son to use while we in the parks in June. He has an older iphone 7 that runs out of battery pretty quickly due to his almost constant usage of it so I am hopeful that works well for him.

 

[Daisybelle]

Good to know! Which hotel were you in? We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott.

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. And there is just the initial $30 charge and then the exchanges are free. I found it charged it up really well and I kept topping it off throughout the day and then I'd exchange as needed.

 

[cmwade77]

At this point, I agree that would be a good reason. But I asked when they were just starting the service, because I wanted to know if they would be able to fully charge my phone or not. I suppose they could have already had rods of wildly different capacities at that point (enough that they didn't want to state some minimum capacity and not be able to meet it).

I did not know that you could apply the discount codes to the ones in the park. That's good to know.

Yeah, the discount codes can be applied at kiosks, but not online anymore.

 

[pharmama]

I love the Fuel Rods. It's true that they aren't the highest capacity (the two I have at the moment and all the ones I've received recently are 1A/5V and 2600mAh. Originally they were more like 1300mAh) but they are so easy to swap that its not a big deal. The small size is also very convenient- I can easily fit the rod and mini charging cable in my pocket for charging (in girl jeans pockets, no less) which I love because I prefer to go bag free at the parks. Either start charging your phone before its too low (I usually put it on around 30%) or just swap the rod if you need more. Last trip with my new iPhone XS I found my phone battery was finally able to handle a day at Disney without needing a recharge so I didn't use them as much.

We do have a larger, non Fuel Rod charger that we use on other trips but I still use the fuel rods too due to the aforementioned small size. You can charge them yourself with a USB cable if you're not somewhere there are swap stations.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I've often thought about getting the FuelRod because of the convenience, but ultimately, I end up bringing my Anker portable battery...

Same here. We've thought about the Fuel Rods, but really like our Anker portable battery. They really work well and, between the two of us, have enough backup to cover us through an entire day in the parks with MP and photos or a full 8 hours of MHP with lots of photos. Usually one portable battery is enough, but having two brings peace of mind in case DH gets a work call while we're in the parks.