I’ve no drawback admitting once I’m improper. Simply ask Sarah. Really, don’t. She’ll let you know simply how widespread of an prevalence it’s, doubtlessly undermining my ‘correctness credibility.’ (For no matter it’s value, I’m incorrect principally about issues pertaining to the kitchen and different supposed widespread sense topics—not Walt Disney World.)
However, “I used to be improper about…” is especially its personal style of posts on this weblog, together with however not restricted to Animal Kingdom’s excellence and full-day standing and crowds through the starting of spring break. And guess what? There are two extra such topics within the drafts folder, awaiting publication. I’ve realized to personal my errors and take them in stride.
I want this have been extra widespread. These days it looks as if individuals kind snap judgments and don’t deviate from entrenched positions. One thing is both unquestionably superior or irredeemably terrible, and never worthy of reevaluation. Clearly, this extends far past Disney. Simply because it isn’t wholesome in different elements of life…it isn’t right here, both.
On this case, I’m not a lot admitting I used to be improper as I’m being open to evaluate new info and adjusted circumstances, and ‘evolving’ my opinion consequently. One other factor I want have been extra widespread, however that is about me coming round on one thing I’ve beforehand, fairly vehemently, disliked.
In opposition to that backdrop, it’s time to take a contemporary have a look at FuelRods, one of many few issues that this weblog has been nearly obstinate about since their introduction a number of years in the past. For many who are unfamiliar with FuelRods, they’re transportable chargers that may be bought at kiosks all through Walt Disney World or Disneyland (together with airports, conference facilities, and many others.) parks and used to recharge your iPhone or different gadget on the go.
The ‘twist’ with FuelRods is that if you’re carried out utilizing them, you may commerce out your depleted FuelRod for a fully-charged one on the many kiosks all through Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The enchantment is thus the ‘limitless’ cost the FuelRods supply by advantage of swapping them out. When put that method, it’s straightforward to see the enchantment of FuelRods.
A part of my dislike for FuelRods, I’ll admit, was a response to the over-hype because it was the product itself.
I had heard so many rave evaluations that, once I lastly tried FuelRods myself, I used to be left befuddled as to why so many Walt Disney World and Disneyland followers beloved this, a product that was inferior to mainly each different battery in the marketplace. As lined within the easy We Don’t Advocate FuelRods, the gadget was higher in concept than actuality.
Earlier than you get anxious–no, this isn’t a sponsored put up nor did “Huge Gas” lastly get to me. As a substitute, it’s the circumstances which have modified since I final used FuelRods. It definitely took lengthy sufficient, particularly as time had way back handed by the primary technology of the gadget, however a few months in the past, FuelRod rolled out its first-ever product overhaul.
This launched the next:
- Extra Energy: The brand new FuelRod boasts an elevated capability of three,200 mAh (over 23% extra energy than the unique FuelRod), offering longer-lasting energy to maintain your gadgets charged all through the day.
- Extra Management: With USB-C compatibility, the brand new FuelRod presents versatile charging choices for a variety of recent gadgets. It additionally contains a energy button and 4 LED battery mild indicators, giving customers larger management over their charging expertise.
- Similar Swap: Sustaining the simplicity and comfort that FuelRod is thought for, the swap course of stays easy. Simply go to any FuelRod kiosk, insert your outdated FuelRod, and obtain a totally charged new one immediately.
Right here’s a have a look at the outdated (left) vs. new (proper) FuelRods:
Swapping stays free at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. There was a category motion lawsuit just a few years again that resulted in FuelRod giving “Founder’s Standing” to anybody who purchased their gadgets earlier than late 2019. For some time, this was verified at kiosks at Disney areas, which then offered free swapping.
The verification not happens for no matter cause, which means there’s no cost for swaps at Disney no matter when/how/the place to procure. FuelRod has began to introduce free swaps at different areas, so I’m not anxious that is going to vary at any second. The gadget would have quite a bit much less enchantment to me (mainly none!) if I needed to pay something for swaps.
The improve course of can be free at Walt Disney World. All you do is stroll as much as any kiosk, click on the swap button, place your unique FuelRod into the kiosk, and comply with the on-screen directions. The machine will mechanically acknowledge you’ve submitted the outdated technology of FuelRod, and provoke the improve course of freed from cost. You’ll obtain the brand new FuelRod Package, which incorporates the upgraded totally charged USB-C FuelRod together with new cables and adapters. For free.
The opposite circumstance that modified was the value of FuelRods. I found that Amazon sells FuelRod 2-packs for under $30. Once I noticed this as an early Black Friday deal, I simply needed to pull the set off. Paying $15 for an okay charger with a small dimension and free swaps was a no brainer. It’d be like if PizzeRizzo have been providing countless pizza. Certain, it’s not my favourite meals…however I’ll nonetheless eat an embarrassing quantity if it’s limitless!
To place the Amazon value into perspective, the charge for FuelRods at Disney Parks has really gone up elevated lately. The price of a single FuelRod is up from $30 to $38, two rods at the moment are $76, and three rods are $114. In different phrases, Amazon is promoting two for lower than the value of 1 at Walt Disney World…which is about par for the course.
I additionally like the thought of getting two of them. Sarah and I can every carry one, making the swapping much less inconvenient (ditto charging–our batteries often run low across the identical time once we’re on the parks collectively). Despite the fact that I’m coming round on FuelRods, there’s nonetheless no method I’d suggest a household of 4 carry solely certainly one of them. That’s simply unworkable. Everybody in your occasion who has a telephone ought to in all probability have their very own (until they’re like my dad who solely carries his telephone for emergencies and goes days with out even turning it on).
The ultimate circumstance that modified was I discovered myself in a state of affairs the place a FuelRod would possibly really turn out to be useful! My current backup batteries is likely to be inadequate for a latest journey, in order that plus the early Black Friday deal plus the gadget upgrades felt like an indication that it was time to present the gadget one other likelihood. Because it turned out, there ended up being just a few the reason why the FuelRod labored out to be advantageous over this go to.
To begin with, I used to be flying into Orlando Worldwide Airport just a few hours previous to the Christmas occasion. I often like to present myself an enormous buffer, however that simply wasn’t attainable right here. And as luck would have it, my flight was delayed, which means that I needed to take an Uber (as an alternative of my regular Mears Join) to Pop Century earlier than dropping off my baggage and instantly heading to the park.
Usually, I’d spend about an hour on the resort, giving myself—and my gadgets—time to recharge. That wasn’t attainable, so I went into the night time with an nearly completely drained battery. A couple of FuelRods later, and I left the occasion with a full cost—and a full FuelRod—regardless of utilizing my gadgets extensively.
The opposite upside of this was that I didn’t need to cost my regular Anker Nano Moveable Charger in a single day. The Anker 3-Port Charging Block has develop into my go-to energy adapter, however it solely has 3 ports: one for my telephone, laptop, and watch.
Something past that requires switching gadgets once I invariably get up through the midnight (about 50/50 that I keep in mind to do that since I’m half awake, at greatest), or doing so instantly within the morning (additionally about 50/50 for comparable causes).
The massive particular ‘use case’ cause I purchased the FuelRod bundle was as a result of I used to be planning on doing a day of Early Entry, TRON testing, and Lightning Lane Multi-Move at Magic Kingdom on a day when the park was open from 8 am till 11 pm. On prime of that, it was ABC vacation particular filming day and the Detroit Lions have been enjoying on Sunday Night time Soccer. Suffice to say, the stage was set for a historic day for my gadget utilization at Walt Disney World.
Not that it’s actually related, however I’m not certainly one of “these guys” who goes to Walt Disney World begrudgingly, face buried in telephone watching soccer. Outdoors of final 12 months’s playoffs, I’ve by no means carried out this. It was a particular circumstance, as I used to be watching the Disney ABC Vacation Specials being filmed that night time and had quite a bit of downtime in between takes of the musical performances.
The above photograph could not appear to be a lot, however this was my “workstation” for the night–Sunday Night time Soccer, Peppermint Brownie Sundae from Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (maybe multiple), and an ideal view of Cinderella Citadel with fireworks exploding overhead about each 10 minutes or so. It was an incredible night time.
For his or her half, the FuelRods carried out admirably. I did burn via just a few of them that day, however I additionally arrived on the park at round 7 am, stayed till after midnight, and used my telephone quite a bit. Had I taken my regular go-to charger, it will’ve run out of juice by halftime. Which means I might’ve had a useless gadget earlier than Jake Bates nailed a game-winning subject purpose within the sport’s closing seconds to safe an unbelievable comeback for the Lions. I might’ve left Magic Kingdom feeling a bit defeated, assuming that they had misplaced, as an alternative of on cloud 9. The FuelRods paid for themselves with that night’s vibes alone.
Altering out FuelRods that night was exceedingly straightforward, as there’s a kiosk lower than 100 yards from the place I used to be sitting in Casey’s Nook. Nevertheless it was additionally straightforward all through the journey.
I knew FuelRod kiosks had develop into pretty ubiquitous round Walt Disney World, however I used to be stunned at simply how usually I randomly noticed them. So even when my battery was nonetheless half full, I’d make a fast swap when passing a station on the best way to the bus or leaving a counter service restaurant, and many others. By no means as soon as did I’ve to exit of my solution to change a depleted FuelRod.
I used to be additionally pleasantly stunned by the pace with which the FuelRod charged my telephone. Don’t get me improper, it’s nonetheless sluggish in comparison with any trendy Anker battery, however these items was once glacial. I’d nonetheless like to see the gadget cost somewhat faster and have barely greater capability, however it’s adequate now–particularly with kiosks in every single place.
Finally, the second technology of FuelRods have exceeded my expectations and at the moment are our go-to batteries for Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The capability is adequate, swapping is straightforward, and it’s extra handy for us than utilizing conventional chargers as we’ve got been for years. Particularly now that we’ve got a child and are sometimes “distracted” when getting again to our resort for the night time–generally plugging in all the pieces slips via the cracks.
I do need to supply the caveat right here that we’ve decided FuelRods are proper for us, however that doesn’t essentially imply the identical is true for you. We’re Annual Passholders on each coasts and spend a ton of time within the parks. We’ll simply swap FuelRods over 50 instances in 2025. Possibly over 100 instances. (I ought to’ve stored depend of what number of instances I exchanged them on this one journey, as I really feel prefer it was properly over a dozen.)
For those who’re a Walt Disney World or Disneyland first-timer or rare customer, the calculus is totally different for you. For those who’re judging the gadget itself, FuelRods are nonetheless not an objectively product. These chargers are nonetheless properly behind the competitors and I’d by no means suggest them for day by day at-home use or for non-Disney journey. The place FuelRods excel is as a service. It’s the free limitless swapping that holds all the enchantment, so in case you can benefit from that considerably often, we extremely suggest FuelRods.
For those who can not, we nonetheless don’t. By which case, we nonetheless suggest buying one of many Anker gadgets on our checklist of the Greatest Backup Batteries for Disney. There’s a variety of fast and high-capacity transportable chargers on that checklist, most of that are quicker and cheaper than FuelRods. For what it’s value, you in all probability will want a transportable charger within the parks. All the pieces from Cellular Order to checking wait instances to discovering showtimes to Lightning Lane Multi-Move at Walt Disney World and Disneyland are severe battery drains.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Inns Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the pieces you could know!
Your Ideas
What do you consider FuelRods? Excited concerning the second-generation improve that gives greater capability gadgets and quicker charging? Suppose the gadget/service is a no brainer given the present value of solely $30 for a 2-pack at Amazon? Will you give FuelRods an opportunity at Walt Disney World or Disneyland? Or have you ever already been utilizing them for years?! Do you agree or disagree with our new FuelRod overview? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
