Hi all,
Are fuelrod swaps still free at WDW and do you recommend it.
We need a charging solution because disney basically requires you to be on your phone all day long.
Thanks.
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No they stopped the free program a while ago. There was an option to get grandfathered in but that’s no longer an option.
The fuel rods don’t provide enough of a charge in my opinion anyway. I have an Anker charger that’s about the size of a small smartphone and it can charge my phone to full 3-4 times before it needs charging and it’s not that expensive.
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For the record this is the one I have and I’ve been very happy with it. And it’s only slightly more than the cost of ONE fuel rod.
Power Bank
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Do they let you carry the power bank on airplanes. I know there is a max size for these types of things.
Yes, they have to be carry on, you can’t have them in checked bags.
For perspective purposes only;
I’m actually a TA and I’ve been on 4-5 round trip flights this year alone with mine and never had a problem.
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We used Fuel Rods we bought new from Amazon. They worked okay, we never traded them, but just recharged at night. My son had a small power bank from WalMart that worked slightly better. We did not run out of battery for anyone but I wasn’t impressed by the Fuel Rods.
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My son bought one at The Land and it was a free swap
I swapped mine at AK last week, and the swaps were free. It was the first time I swapped them, though.
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When we were there in April the swaps were still free.
Not ideal for max efficiency but if you’re in a jam hey do well enough to help you along for a while.
Interesting. I wonder if they walked back the paid swaps after uproar.
I do seem to recall something about that. I think there was threat of a lawsuit because of some fine print ensuring unlimited free swaps or something
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Free or not, I don’t recommend fuel rods. Anker has served me well. I can charge the Anker like once a week and it will recharge my phone once a day.
Fuel rods are nice because they are small, but that also means they don’t charge as well. And you will never be as close as you want to be to a refill station. Plus refills are NOT free outside WDW, and there aren’t a lot of other places that reliably have them, so they are pretty much useless if you’re traveling anywhere else. And too expensive for what they are.
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I like my fuel rod because it is soooo light weight. I rarely need a mega charge on my phone, so it always gives me enough.
My DD didnt charge her devices before she got on the plane - she tends to run 2 at once, so the fuel rod didn’t take care of her needs - but I would say she should either charge her devices better or she can carry my heavier charger!
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And honestly with the magicband+ needing to be charged, that now means you need even more charging capability.
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Our family is very device intensive and Ankers are definitely the way to go.
It looks like fuel rods are only 2600 mAh.
Ankers come in different capacities and the size scales up accordingly.
My kids each get a new 5000mAh Anker in their Christmas stocking every year (they generally start losing their full charging capacity after 1.5-2 years of heavy use). A fully charged device and a fully charged 5000 generally gets them through an entire day of very active use. It fits easily in a pocket.
The one @ninjasherrie posted is 10000mAh. It actually doesn’t cost much more than the 5000, but is 7.5oz compared to the 5000 at 5oz.
So each of my kids carries their own 5000, and then I keep a 20,100mAh in my purse as a backup for everyone. It is 12.5oz, but has beast level charging ability.
As mentioned, they should always be in carryon luggage and never checked. The limit without getting special airline approval is 100 watt hours (Wh), which is 27,000 mAh. (Supposedly 100-160 Wh can be taken aboard with airline approval, but I had a friend try and was never able to figure out who at the airline actually is assigned to approve this.)
I also recommend the “UNBREAKcable” brand of charging cable. We started using those in 2019 and have yet to break one. They come in a couple different lengths and with different charging connection configurations, so read carefully to get what you need. (The ones that come included with the Ankers and devices, we use those around the house, but UNBREAKcables are more reliable and resilient on-the-go.). Example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D6NGPNS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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This guy is my jam… 10,000mAh, and at 4 years old with lots of use it still holds enough charge to charge an s22 ultra almost twice. It plugs directly into the wall, and it has built-in lightning, usc-c, and micro USB cables. I paid $60 back then, but it’s only $40 on Amazon now.
Close second is this one. It’s wireless and has the magnet spot for my Samsung watch. It’s also a little bit faster both charging devices and taking a charge. The drawbacks are 1. you need a cable & power block to charge it, and cables for anything that’s not wireless charging, 2. it’s pricy… I got it free with my phone, but I think it costs around $90.
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Cool! I like the fact that it plugs into an outlet to charge. Just ordered one.
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That’s my favorite part… no cables or power block needed, so nothing else to pack. I don’t even take a cable or power block on trips with me anymore.
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You mean the cables are built in, right? Do they extend out like a blow dryer cord?
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