We just learned that one of our favorite services at Disney World is getting a change and we’re SO sad!
Cinderella Castle
One of our fav ways to keep our phones a-runnin’ on those long park days has been FuelRods, but starting soon we all will be paying a new premium to take advantage of this service at Disney World. With all the recent ear price hikes and price increases on foods around the parks, it’s not the most shocking thing to happen at Disney, but it still is majorly bumming us out. 🙁
FuelRods have been available around the Disney Parks as well as other theme parks, airports, malls, and more for the past few years.
FuelRod Station
This service is simple and convenient to use — simply pay for the initial FuelRod (at Disney they cost $30, but you can possibly find them cheaper outside the parks) and then it’s yours to keep. You’ll get the charger and cables to connect to most popular phone models and whenever the charger is dead, you simply pop it into a Fuelrod machine around the parks for FREE and get a fully charged replacement in return.
Learn more about FuelRods here!
We are HUGE fans of this service and use it frequently in the parks. We never have to worry about running out of battery or having to wait for our devices to charge! But now, a dark and ominous cloud has fallen over the FuelRod machines. Just look…
FuelRod Machine
A new sticker is being displayed on machines around the parks notifying that, as of November 1st, it will cost $3 to exchange a spent FuelRod for a new, charged one. NOOOO!! (pretend we said that in our best Darth Vader voices. ;))
New Price Increase on FuelRod Machine
Why!?!? 3 bucks to exchange our FuelRods?! That can add up over the course of a trip for sure if you use the service frequently like we do! We spoke with FuelRod and confirmed this change is happening across Walt Disney World AND at most airports effective November 1st. It is dependant on the kiosk and its location if there is a charge or not (and how much) so there may still be free swapping kiosks out in the real world if you look. We’ll keep you posted if anything changes, but for now, if you want to keep using those FuelRods, it’s gonna cost ya.
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An article I read earlier today stated that it’s FuelRod that is putting in this charge, not Disney. It’s everywhere, not just at Disney.
Agree with Vicki, I noticed the charge appear at a couple airports, and was surprised to find the charge hadn’t hit Disney machines. I suspect the free replacement approach ultimately wasn’t a sustainable business model over the long haul.
But it was sold to us as a FREE replacement. We could have bought these cheaper outside of WDW but didn’t
Ugh! I just got my fuelrod in the mail yesterday! I was so looking forward to the free swap! Looks like I’ll be bringing my extra back-up battery and just recharge the fuelrod in the room at night. *sigh*
We use them in the Disney parks all the time! Still will, but free was so much better!
This is why I bought a larger portable charger a few years ago. I also have one that can recharge itself via solar power so when I am not using it, it is charging.
I understand the theory of Fuel Rods being free but that is a lot of maintenance to not make any money on the back end. I would have rather seen them start at a dollar to trade them in because $3 seems a bit high and will probably hurt their business model.
I got one at my local airport for $20 (or whatever the non-Disney price was) with the intention of swapping it out during the Disney trips this year.
But I never did.
These things suck. I could barely get a 40% charge to my iPhone even if I turned it all the way off and let it charge.
Luckily I have a massive barging brick that can charge 3 phones 100% before dying.
I’m actually surprised it took this long for Disney to do this. EVERYWHERE else in the country charges to swap them out. It was only a matter of time before Disney started.
We’ve always used our own battery rechargers and have a multi port charger for the hotel room. With my new phone even with heavy use I can get a full day out of it. I guess Memory Maker is going to be used more this trip though.
One reason I bought a mophie charging case for my iPhone. Keeps it charged all day and into the night as well. I only charge it at night. Cost was around $100 but so worth it.
Ever since I got a large brick charger from Amazon for about $30 I haven’t used the Fuel Rods. They machines are not always easily found when I need them and the brick can be taken in my pack pack to the park so that I can charge the brick in my hotel and charge my phone in my bag during the day if it starts running low. Had the Fuel Rod stations been more available around the parks, I might have used them, but as it stands, I figure the company is going out of business in about 3 years (given the fact more and more people have solar chargers or otherwise find the rods inconvenient and unnecessary) so I’ll stick with the item I own. If you buy the Fuel Rod at Disney now, you are paying $30 + $3-$6/day for recharging since that My Disney app drains the battery. A week long trip would easily cost about 470 on average so you are better off buying your own brick charger if you don’t have a solar option.
I bought a pair of lipstick size chargers at Costco for under $20. They work fine and are small enough to carry in my pockets if I need a charge in the parks. Of course, my phone is a modest flip model, but even so, I bet most people would be served fine by bringing a couple of their own and recharging them at night – or ask a CM where a plug is and recharge while you have lunch (bring the cord).
It can be really dangerous to your phone’s health plugging it into a shared device like that. Especially if you don’t know where it’s been. Sure, Disney recharges the bank but they have no way to debug or run health checks on each one. Buy your own charging banks and keep them with you!
Hmmm….I wonder if the Disney Parks app will get an “upgrade” to use up even more battery power? I’d swap at least twice a day even when I was in “battery saver mode.” (LG Stylo 2)
I had two of them in case I was on the wrong end of the park to swap out.
Time to get a solar.
I guess I’ll just be recharging my fuel rod and packing a back up charger from now on
Or… Get off all of your mobile devices constantly, and enjoy the parks in real time instead of feeling the need to record every little thing. You’re missing out on a lot of fun by trying to capture every little bit of everything
With the initial steep up front cost of the fuel rod, the charge per swap will disincentivize people from using it. It’s cheaper to buy three portable chargers and charge them up at home. That way, you’ll have three charges on reserve each day. I will stop using my fuel rods.
Er, i just bring my actual outlet charger and in emergencies plug it in at a restaurant while i eat for 15 minutes. If your phone is losing that much charge in one day before you get home/to your hotel, I’d question the apps or your batteries.
I charge my fuel rod and phone at night in my hotel. The are all charged and ready for the next day in the Parks. Of course if you need to recharge your phone more than once then you will need to pay the $3.
Honestly I’ve never needed to recharge my phone. It lasts all day. Glad I don’t have to deal with battery anxiety.