These days, it’s nearly impossible to go to Disney World without a smartphone.
Spaceship Earth
Okay, it’s not totally impossible, but having one certainly makes your life easier when you’re trying to use things like Mobile Order, MagicMobile, Disney Genie+, and virtual queues for rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. But unfortunately, the My Disney Experience app and its many features can be a bit of a battery drain, and if you forgot to pack that portable charger, you might find yourself without enough juice to snap all those vacation photos. Thankfully, EPCOT has a solution!
If you’ve been to the new Connections Eatery in EPCOT, you may have noticed that the booth seats have built-in USB ports and outlets so that you can charge your phone while you eat. But unfortunately, that only works if you’ve remembered to bring a charging cable.
These are going to come in handy!
Thankfully, there’s a solution even if you DON’T have a cord or a battery pack — tables with wireless charging capabilities! When you’re looking for a seat in the restaurant, pay special attention to the long oval tables that seat 8 or more people. They’re typically overlooked by guests because they feel a bit like “community” seating, but they have a hidden feature that you may not have noticed before.
Charging stations at the tables in Connections Eatery
In the middle of each of these tables is a raised shelf, and at each end of the shelf is a little phone charging logo. When you lay your phone on it just right, it’ll wirelessly charge! We tested it out with an iPhone 13 and it worked splendidly.
Sit your phone right on that logo!
So if you’re running out of battery life, this can be a good temporary solution while you’re eating your lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, we found that the charging stations were relatively slow at charging the phone, and after 20 or so minutes, the battery life had only increased by 3%. (It’s possible that it was a problem with the particular station we used — we didn’t get to try them all because other guests were in those seats.)
Only a select number of tables have them.
If you’re looking for a more long-term solution, we recommend buying a FuelRod from one of the many kiosks around Disney World. For $30, you’ll get a portable charger and a set of small cords to go with different phones. Then, once you’ve used all the battery life on that particular FuelRod, you can either recharge it yourself or swap it out for a fully-charged one at a station for free.
FuelRods can be found all around the parks!
Also, some gift shops sell phone charging cords. We spotted a few for sale inside Creations Shop that same day at EPCOT. You could purchase one of these for slightly less than the cost of a FuelRod, then go back to Connections Eatery and plug your phone into the booths the old-fashioned way for a more substantial charge.
We found this one in Creations Shop
Even though the wireless charging stations aren’t the most efficient way to charge your phone, they’re a definite bonus for those who don’t want to spend money on charging solutions or who want to give their phones a little boost while they eat. Keep in mind though that there are only a few of the oval tables in Connections, so there is a limited number of charging stations.
Seating inside the restaurant
If you’re traveling to Disney World soon, we’ve got plenty of tips to help you out on your trip, whether it’s advice on how to navigate the parks or our recommendations for what to pack. Stay tuned to DFB for all the tips, news, reviews, and more!
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Wow, it was amazing to have features like this in the restaurant. The thing I loved the most about this restaurant is the tables are also rechargeable which was awesome. I just bought a wireless charging station from an online store and it was good to.