Keeping my phone charged

[xtina!]

So this is more of a tech question than a Disney question but... I want to download the Disney app and use Maxpass and I'm thinking that between running the app + using my camera often, I'm going to probably kill my phone battery quick. I am not tech savvy at all but I think there are things you can buy to charge your phone on the go? Any advice? If it matters my phone is an Android.

 

[VandVsmama]

There are portable batteries that you can purchase which you connect to your phone using a regular charger cable. Walmart and Target have them. Amazon and other places online have them, too. Best Buy also sells them. A small lipstick-sized one will probably charge your phone almost 1 time. Or if you get a larger battery brick thing, then you can get a few charges out of it before you have to recharge the battery itself. This one is a good example of a larger battery. Here's an example of the lipstick sized one. Or for $30, you can buy a Fuel Rod in the park and when you need a new one, you go to one of the Fuel Rod kiosks to get a new one (it's a 1-time $30 fee).

 

[RynB11]

You can definitely purchase a portable charger from any electronics store or department. Some will work better than others, as in some can charge your phone multiple times before they need a charge.

However, Disneyland and WDW have a portable charger called FuelRod. They sell these in the parks for $30 at various FuelRod stations throughout. The initial purchase includes the charging connectors for android and iPhone. Whenever the FuelRod dies or whenever you’re walking past a FuelRod station you can swap your FuelRod for a fully charged one at no cost. It may not be the best portable charger, as in you only get about 1 full charge out of it, the convenience of being able to swap it for a fully charged one makes it nice and my choice while in the parks.

 

[az4boys]

My phone has battery issues anyway, so being in the parks drains it even faster. We have 2 of the portable charges, but I've only needed one. I try to keep apps closed when I'm not using them, especially the camera. I also turn off wifi since I don't want to try and connect in the parks. I had pretty good luck with verizon data. I also turn on airplane mode when on certain rides like Indiana Jones and Soarin' because I know I won't get a signal there and I don't want to waste my battery searching for a signal.

 

[mousecrazy]

Fuelrods can also be recharged. And there are many other locations where they can be swapped out including airports. www.fuel-rod.com. It's nice to not have to worry about keeping the battery charged.

 

[dina444444]

Fuelrods can also be recharged. And there are many other locations where they can be swapped out including airports. www.fuel-rod.com. It's nice to not have to worry about keeping the battery charged.

The airports also sell them for cheaper. I bought mine for $20 plus tax at the Reno airport compared to the $30 at Disney.

 

[Winnowill]

My iPhone 6S needed to be recharged around 1:00 when using MP the super-busy week between Christmas and New Year's. I used a 3000 mAH charger, which charged it fully, and it did not need to be charged again (largely because FPs ran out for everything that week by around 4:00 so MP was of no further use by then - less crowded days might require more battery power).

 

[22Tink]

I just took a portable charger that I purchased on Amazon for $20. It had enough juice to fully charge my iPhone once, which was all I needed even though I was on it pretty constantly taking pictures and checking the app. I did make sure to turn the wifi off and the brightness down and that helped a lot to preserve battery life.

 

[Shanti]

Portable chargers help. My Andriod phone drained quickly during our Disneyland trip, so I needed a portable charger.

 

[mom2rtk]

I bought a 50000 mah portable charger, about the size of a cell phone, on Ebay for $15 before our trip. It would fully charge a phone about 3 times. It was great to use in the parks and on our travel days.

 

[sherilaine]

I have been reading up on this topic and am purchasing a more powerful charger that can get me through the day better than relying on the overpriced $30 fuel rod. I have an iPhone 8 Plus which takes even more juice to charge so I wanted to have that with me before we arrive. The trick will be making sure that thing is charged overnight.

I have also found, if you can swing it, to switch to airplane mode when you can helps as well as switching to low power mode when you are at 100% not waiting until you get lower down in your charge. Lots of great recommendations here so thanks for starting this thread!

 

[figment_jii]

I like the concept of the FuelRod, but can't quite commit to the $20/$30 price. From what I've read, the FuelRods themselves don't have a lot of capacity, so you might need more than one to fully recharge some phones (I asked FuelRod about the capacity once and got a vague "plenty of power" type of response, which makes me think that's not one of their selling points). I also have one higher capacity candy bar battery and several lipstick batteries. I carry one with me and one stays in the locker to be swapped later in the day. I like the Anker brand of portable batteries and have pretty good luck with them.

 

[whoever]

Wife uses the external batteries. I have a battery case for one of my two phones (and thusly use that phone the most). I perfer the case, but I have several external batteries and charging cables in my backpack.

 

[dina444444]

I like the concept of the FuelRod, but can't quite commit to the $20/$30 price. From what I've read, the FuelRods themselves don't have a lot of capacity, so you might need more than one to fully recharge some phones (I asked FuelRod about the capacity once and got a vague "plenty of power" type of response, which makes me think that's not one of their selling points). I also have one higher capacity candy bar battery and several lipstick batteries. I carry one with me and one stays in the locker to be swapped later in the day. I like the Anker brand of portable batteries and have pretty good luck with them.

I personally don’t mind that the fuel rod doesn’t have that high of a capacity, the reason I got it is cause of the weight and the convenience of being able to swap them. I have a 10,000 AMPh charger but it’s not light and when I’m in the parks all day I try to keep my backpack as light as possible.

 

[Geemo]

So this is more of a tech question than a Disney question but... I want to download the Disney app and use Maxpass and I'm thinking that between running the app + using my camera often, I'm going to probably kill my phone battery quick. I am not tech savvy at all but I think there are things you can buy to charge your phone on the go? Any advice? If it matters my phone is an Android.

For Christmas I picked up some nice recharging units at Costco.
While I was reading the product info, a worker came and changed out the price card. It had been $19.99 but the new card changed the price to $9.97.
For $9.97 I picked one up for each grandkid.

 

[xtina!]

Wow thanks for all of the responses! When I google tech questions I just get confused. I will definitely get a portable charger (maybe one for DH too). And turning off the wifi is an awesome tip I never thought of.

 

[ParkHopper1]

While the Fuel Rods are not the most powerful or cheapest...the perk of free swaps for charged rods whenever park wide is what makes them worth the $$. No need to make sure another device is charged before you depart...battery low? just get a fresh one on the go.

 

[Ellek07]

Another bid for fuel rod.

 

[StarlitNight05]

...battery low? just get a fresh one on the go.

You should make a commercial for them!

 

[bumbershoot]

Love the Anker brand external batteries.