Recommend Fuel Rods at Disney

[AngelaVa]

Do you recommend or do not recommend the fuel rods that you can purchase at Disney parks ?
I am looking to get about four to six of them for our up coming trip.

 

[nw6675]

We bought Fuel Rods on Amazon rather than at the parks. Never needed them!

 

[Marionnette]

Do you recommend or do not recommend the fuel rods that you can purchase at Disney parks ?
I am looking to get about four to six of them for our up coming trip.

I have one Fuel Rod. It was purchased directly from the company back in the day when free exchanges were advertised. As a result, I get free exchanges for life rather than paying for them. I bring it with me but TBH the kiosks for swapping them out are not conveniently located throughout the parks. So I also carry a lightweight power bank which can recharge my phone multiple times.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don't recommend them. You can get a better quality power bank for the same price or cheaper than the fuel rods. I recommend Anker in terms of brands. With some models you can charge 2 phones at the same time, though those are a little pricier than the standard lightweight ones.

 

[Dig]

Never used those specific fuel rods, but I definitely keep a couple of battery packs for traveling. I like the Anker ones, but brand probably doesn’t matter too much as long as they are good. I do try to avoid brands I don’t recognize from Amazon, especially when it comes to batteries.

It definitely depends on how long your park days are and how much you use your devices. My phone tends to burn thru battery more quickly in the parks than at home, but we use them a lot with the Disney apps and the little games in the queues. I might be able to last a half day (rope drop to early afternoon) but definitely need to charge mid day. The larger Anker I use is nice because it fits in my camera bag and can charge 2 phones at a time pretty quickly and still have enough juice for a third charge if necessary.

 

[Dug720]

Especially if you're staying on property, it's a big advantage to not have to take up an outlet or USB port in the room to recharge the block. Just swap out a new one at the kiosk in the lobby area every morning when leaving or upon returning in the evening.

People are always complaining about not enough outlets - getting these you don't have to use one on something you don't have to.

 

[afan]

Especially if you're staying on property, it's a big advantage to not have to take up an outlet or USB port in the room to recharge the block. Just swap out a new one at the kiosk in the lobby area every morning when leaving or upon returning in the evening.

People are always complaining about not enough outlets - getting these you don't have to use one on something you don't have to.

It's also helpful to know where they are in the front of the park to do the same. If I've used some and I come upon a place to swap I'll swap even if it's not dead. For me it's so much easier than having to make sure my anker is charged. I go through my battery much more at Disney than other vacations so the anker is great for those if I don't have a rental car I can charge in.

 

[Mle8308]

I like Fuel Rods (buy from Amazon) because they lightweight and come with everything you need, including charging cables for phones. I am always in search of them! The Fuel Rod comes in a clear plastic container that holds everything you need. And it is still free to swap at Disney. I have other larger and more powerful chargers for travel, but for in the Parks, Fuel Rods are my go to.

 

[DaviVascaino]

way better to get a better quality/stronger powerbank off amazon.

 

[Mle8308]

way better to get a better quality/stronger powerbank off amazon.

For sure, and I have many. But I carry a very small bag at Disney and want it as light as possible and the Fuel Rod is both small and light. Best quality, definitely no. But does it do what it needs to do in a pinch - yes! And no need to recharge when in a Park. In my regular bag for everyday life, I carry a more powerful and heavier charger.

 

[Dug720]

It's also helpful to know where they are in the front of the park to do the same. If I've used some and I come upon a place to swap I'll swap even if it's not dead. For me it's so much easier than having to make sure my anker is charged. I go through my battery much more at Disney than other vacations so the anker is great for those if I don't have a rental car I can charge in.

Oh obviously know where the exchange places are in the parks. I just usually will exchange at the resort either at night or before heading to the parks. If I've used it at all and pass one, I'm prone to swapping it just to keep it topped off.

 

[KornBred]

We bought ours at WDW shortly after they debuted. I took a lot to get me to spend $30 on something I knew was $10 at Target. But we have used that thing religiously every time we go to the parks (& on a lot of other travel as well). We are AP holders & live less than 5 hours away so we go a good bit. We always make sure the Fuel Rod & a phone cord is packed in our backpack when traversing anywhere on property or in Orlando in general. That thing has earned its money back many times plus we are legacy members so we get free swaps even at the places that charge (like Universal). I highly recommend it. The swap feature when your phone is low battery or worse is the best. There is so much you use the phone for in park now it’s a lifesaver, not to mention when we get separated & need to find each other & someone has a dead phone. We love ours.

 

[HopperFan]

I think it depends on how will you use them in the future. We have two, bought at Disney YEARS ago when they first got them. We take them every trip and change them out each morning. Once you plug in to your phone it will deplete so it's kinda a one use thing. But we've changed them out so many times for FREE that we have more than got our monies worth.

But when we need packs anywhere else we take our regular ones that we get several charges out of it. So unless you are going to Disney or Universal or Conventions (they are usually at convention centers) I don't know that it will be worth it.

 

[masupo]

Count me as another person who bought it on on amazon and uses it because it's small and light.

Exchanges are free. I've been learning about the various exchange locations. It's a little frustrating when the exchange machine is down. There's one in the Land Pavillion that was down so I went to the gift shop at the Seas.

The locations are listed in the MDE app on the map with wait times. Choose guest services - a location will have a battery icon and they're called Portable Phone Charging System Kiosks.

 

[ScarletFire]

Disney has upped their game on the fuel rod exchange locations!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/portable-phone-chargers/

 

[loves to dive]

We used to buy them and exchange them all the time. My son was forever forgetting to bring them every trip so we would buy a new one. I bought one (not that brand) on Amazon and use it. I can usually go 2 days without having to charge the rod and I'm usually charging my phone with it at least once a day. I just plug it in at night in the room and re-charge it there. I don't actually use my phone a lot for MDE but when I'm standing in line, I read my kindle on it and that really sucks battery. I can plug the fuel rod in, hold both the phone and the rod in one had and no problems. It also fits in a woman's skort pocket, since I rarely carry a bag the smaller the charger the better.

 

[DVCjj]

Disney has upped their game on the fuel rod exchange locations!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/portable-phone-chargers/

Some locations are missing from the map. I know for a fact that one of the Crescent Lake resorts has it in their lobby. Either BC or BW. I'm thinking it's BW because I stay there a lot. Just saw it in May. I've also seen it at other resorts but don't remember. (I'm thinking Contemporary near the monorail). Definitely in some resort lobbies along with the parks

I have Ankers and others but I like Fuel Rod because of the size and weight. It's the one I always toss in my backpack/tote even though it doesn't last real long. The recharging kiosks are genius.

 

[masupo]

Some locations are missing from the map. I know for a fact that one of the Crescent Lake resorts has it in their lobby. Either BC or BW. I'm thinking it's BW because I stay there a lot. Just saw it in May. I've also seen it at other resorts but don't remember. (I'm thinking Contemporary near the monorail). Definitely in some resort lobbies along with the parks

I have Ankers and others but I like Fuel Rod because of the size and weight. It's the one I always toss in my backpack/tote even though it doesn't last real long. The recharging kiosks are genius.

I've been playing around with the map and the kiosk at Boardwalk is there. If you move the map around with your finger it shows other parks and resorts.

When it first opens there are numbers by Epcot - on my screen there's a 9 and a 2. When I click on the 9, it expands to show more locations including the kiosk at Boardwalk.

Disney has upped their game on the fuel rod exchange locations!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/portable-phone-chargers/

This is helpful thanks!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Do you recommend or do not recommend the fuel rods that you can purchase at Disney parks ?
I am looking to get about four to six of them for our up coming trip.

One of us always usually ends up needing a portable charger, I have one from amazon that's flat and charges two devices at one time and will recharge several phones throughout a full day's visit. I like the idea of fuel rods and have tried them in the past but sometimes locations are out and other times it's not as convenient if I'm not near them. I prefer just carrying my own.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Do you recommend or do not recommend the fuel rods that you can purchase at Disney parks ?
I am looking to get about four to six of them for our up coming trip.

Also, to buy that many of them upfront will be so much money if you need that many. You're likely better off just buying a few that charge multiple devices especially if you won't be in back in the parks often.