A few weeks ago, we broke the news of the addition of FuelRod to the Walt Disney World Resort. The kiosks were rolled out over the holiday weekend, so we decided it might be a good idea to try them out and see how they work.
Kiosks can be found in all 4 theme parks, Disney Springs, and ESPN Wide World of Sports currently. Here are the locations:
- Magic Kingdom
- Tomorrowland Light and Power Co.
- Big Top Souvenirs
- Pecos Bill’s
- Curtain Call Collectibles
- Epcot
- Disney Traders
- Camera Center (Future World)
- World Traveler (International Gateway)
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Celebrity 5 & 10
- Rock Around the Shop (exit of Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster)
- PizzeRizzo
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Island Mercantile
- Disney Springs
- Marketplace Disney Photo Imaging
- DisneyQuest
- ESPN Wide World of Sports
- ESPN Clubhouse Shop
- Resort Hotels
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Boardwalk Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
FuelRod kiosks dispense portable charging batteries for $30.00 each, which includes:
- A portable charging battery
- 6″ USB Type A to micro-USB cable (for most Android devices)
- One Apple 30-pin to USB cable
- One Apple Lightning to USB cable
This iPhone’s battery life was depleted to 20% when the FuelRod was purchased. While the phone was being used for a good portion of the time, the FuelRod managed toi get the battery up to about 90%. Now, this might not be the best phone charging battery on the market, but it is fairly small and let’s not for get you can simply trade it in at a kiosk for a fully charged one.
You don’t have to go back to the kiosk where you bought the FuelRod to exchange it, just go to any of them.
Simply insert the FuelRod as pictured. If it si rejected, it will simply come back out of the slot underneath, meaning you won’t simply lose your FuelRod should it not scan correctly.
Upon a successful scan of the depleted FuelRod, a different fully-charged FuelRod will be distributed to the guest. You of course keep the cord and attachments you received upon your initial purchase.
The other nice thing is the kiosks are fairly small, so no one is going to have a problem reaching them.
I have a hard time trying to find the downside of FuelRod service for frequent Walt Disney World visitors. While the battery is small and the cost is $30, it does offer you the ability to constantly get a new one without worrying about having to recharge it, and even if you should need to charge it on your own, you can. The kiosks are well themed and it really is an invaluable service for those who need to keep their electronic devices going. FuelRod is a brilliant addition to Walt Disney World that I think most guests will find very helpful.
can you return it forever? or is it like free refills for the day
It’s my understanding that you can swap for a fresh one at any of their kiosks worldwide (mostly located at airports, convention centers and some shopping malls).
Awesome! Thanks for the review! We’re going soon and I was definitely wondering about how this was working, especially now that we’ll be playing Pokemon Go throughout the parks! Good to know the $30 is well spent.
Fuelrod seems to sell them elsewhere (and on their website) for $20. It would be a much better purchase if they had more locations to swap them in the real world (airports seem like a natural place).
Ive seen it at a few airport for $20. Seems like if you were going to do it you’d be better off grabbing one there for $20 and doing swaps at disney
Great Idea as long as it is good for exchanges over a long haul.
I bought a portable battery on Amazon with all the extras for half the price. And it gives me 3-4 FULL charges before it needs to be recharged. For me that’s 3-4 trips to a park or a ball game or whatever. I don’t see the inconvenience in that, and it costs a lot less. These kiosks would be good in emergencies, but other than that I don’t see the value.
I have one of those, too, and it’s great for business trips, road trips, recharging while not near an in-home outlet, etc. However, you have to look at this from a purely convenience perspective. Not everyone has or will bring a portable charger with them to the parks. The nice thing about this service is that at least people now have an option if their device is almost dead in the middle of the day.
They’re convenient, useful, inconspicuous and well-themed. What more could you ask for? I’m all about Disney providing this service.
I hate carrying extra stuff with me, so this is not a solution. If they’d fix it so I can use the charger, return it and then pick another one up later using my credit, I’d think it’s a good idea.
Why not take your charger and plug in by the table at lunch? That’s what I do.
Can this swap I defiantly over multiple stays or this limited to s certain length of time?
No length of time, as long as the kiosks exist.
Can you pay with Magic Band? It doesn’t look like it.
This is a great idea for people that don’t have/forgot their extra chargers.
I got one in the Atlanta airport a few weeks ago after seeing your earlier post It was 20 bucks there. It works well and much smaller than a stronger charger I have for long trips
Can’t wait to start exchanging at the parks as Disney kills my battery between the app and wifi searching when in some rides
I’m at WDW now and bought a new charger from Amazon right before this program was announced. Given the price of these, I’m pretty sure I still would have gone with the Anker I got from Amazon. I’m extremely happy with it. It’s so much better than previous chargers I’ve had. It’s probably 2-3x the size of one of these lipstick chargers, but it has recharged my Android phone and tablet 2-3x before requiring recharge. Of course, heat and other environmental factors play a big part in how well they work. But I like Disney’s plan where you can swap for a fully charged replacement. Just not sure why the $10 upcharge over airport prices. That should tell you something. My new charger is an Anker Powecore 10000.
It is not worth it buy your own and carry it with you Amazon has plenty. Anker brand is best. Also they do not work for Google’s latest phone.
Of course it works on Google’s newest phone… It works on anything that can charge using USB. I just used my cable that came with the pixel phone to connect the Fuel rod to my USB-C phone port.
Best money I spent there. I hope this isn’t going anywhere.
YES YES YES!!!!!!LOVED this product and convenience! Wish I had known about it the first day. I had brought 2 of my own backup batteries and they each only lasted 1-2 hours each, They were expensive too! I was using my iphone to video plus take pictures, I barely made calls. I was so mad since my iphone would be dead by the end of the day at the park even with my 2 backups. The last night I forgot to charge my phone. We were so tired the kids & I laid down for a few minutes and we never woke up until the next morning. Well I Woke up to a completely dead phone, Wouldn’t even start up. I was so mad at myself. I remembered seeing the kiosk in the lobby of our resort at (All Star Movies) I went and bought the kit – came in a clear hard plastic case fully charged with the cord & adapters for all devices. 7:00 AM I plugged it in my phone & left for the park. My phone turned on within 10 minutes on low power mode and then was went to full function power within 1/2 hour. It was 100% charged within 2 hours . That one lasted over 8 hours. I swapped it once. Very Convenient and easy to do. There were at least 1 kiosk in each land plus main street, Then right before I left the park ( just so I knew I had a full one, not because it died) I was at Magic Kingdom from 8am until 1:30am. 17 1/2 hours! Started with a dead phone at 7:15am, and only needed to swap it once. VERY simple to do and it comes fully charged! I then used it all night and swapped it in the hotel lobby the next morning before we left for Epcot. We were there 14 hours and it never died. I didnt need to swap it until we were back at the hotel. THIS IS AMAZING PRODUCT AND TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT!!!! It was $30 in the park but I was desperate. I see on their website you can order it in advance for $20 and have it mailed to your house