Cell Phone charging stations at parks?

[Simba's Mom]

I remember when I was eating lunch at Tony's Town Square, the manager came around and offered me this to charge my phone-



This was mid-October and he said it was only the second day since he'd bought it. He was very interested in my experiences with it, and I told him it was a great idea that my phone charged while I ate. At that time, he said California Grill was the only other place that had them, but maybe more places would if they were popular. You have to have your own charger cord, though.

 

[skriegerjr]

Apple or Android? If Android, most of them have replaceable batteries. Just buy and carry one with, pop it in on the run if needed. Zero time.

I always carry a spare in my pocket, about the size of a matchbook.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Battery-Charger-2600mAh-Included/dp/B00BW0XZO0

DW and I both have Samsung GS3 android phones and we carried 2 spare batteries each with us, and never had to worry about charging in the parks. Was funny watching several iPhone users running around with their chargers looking for somewhere to charge their phones. With the android, just pop the back cover off, swap batteries, turn phone back on, and you're at full 100% charge with virtually no downtime whatsoever!

Even got in to a conversation with an iPhone user on the bus asking me how my phone battery was holding up in the park, and I told him, it was fine and I carried 2 spares with me, so I didn't have to find somewhere to charge. He was very disappointed in his iPhone because it has no ability to swap batteries. I did mention to him about the portable chargers or a Mophie battery case.

I did find that a lot of the time, I just shut off my data & GPS and wifi if I wasn't going to be using them. That way, I could still text and stay in touch with my DW if we were separated, and my battery wouldn't die quickly when I was in rides like POTC where you get absolutely no signal at all.

 

[skriegerjr]

I recommend a Powergen power pack. It can fully charge up to 5-6 times your phone. They sell for around $40 at Amazon. Even you can charge 2 o 3 phones at the same time during your lunch.

PowerGen 1200mAH @ Amazon

Do you think that label should say 12,000mAH instead of 1200mAH? My Galaxy S3 has a 2100mAH battery so the 1200 wouldn't do much to help me.

 

[PacoDF]

Do you think that label should say 12,000mAH instead of 1200mAH? My Galaxy S3 has a 2100mAH battery so the 1200 wouldn't do much to help me.

Yes, indeed! It was a typo. I'm sorry. It is 12,000mAH. You should be able to fully charge your S3 maybe 5 times. (it's not 100% efficient so you can't count using exactly 12,000)

 

[Bethpremier]

Any kind of external hard drive that will power my iphone and our canon camera?

 

[Tasmen]

Any kind of external hard drive that will power my iphone and our canon camera?

Any type of external battery charger will, yes. Not harddrive The two I have can usually charge my phone 2-3 times before it runs dry and needs to be recharged.

 

[Bethpremier]

Any type of external battery charger will, yes. Not harddrive The two I have can usually charge my phone 2-3 times before it runs dry and needs to be recharged.

LOL! Oh boy. sorry about that. Its 4:30p on a friday. I should be focusing on work and I cant because we leave next week.

 

[Echo queen]

If you are using mymagic+ regularly during a park day as well as doing everyday activities on your phone, ie texting, pictures, phone calls there is no way your phone is going to be charged all day. Doesn't matter if you charge it all night and unplug it on the way out the door. On my trip 2 weeks ago my iPhone wouldn't make it to dinner. I carried the charger below and it's literally a little bigger than a tube of lipstick. I hate carrying stuff in my pockets to the parks, but I didn't even notice this charger was even in my pocket.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-C...?ie=UTF8&qid=1385084702&sr=8-4&keywords=Anker

I found the lipstick type at HEB. For $12.99 for a 2600 will try it out before really needing it.

 

[horse11]

If you are using mymagic+ regularly during a park day as well as doing everyday activities on your phone, ie texting, pictures, phone calls there is no way your phone is going to be charged all day. Doesn't matter if you charge it all night and unplug it on the way out the door. On my trip 2 weeks ago my iPhone wouldn't make it to dinner. I carried the charger below and it's literally a little bigger than a tube of lipstick. I hate carrying stuff in my pockets to the parks, but I didn't even notice this charger was even in my pocket.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-C...?ie=UTF8&qid=1385084702&sr=8-4&keywords=Anker

Seems to be a great device but at $89 I would think you would be better off getting a spare battery. Heck you could probally by a few of them and still save money. The battery is small enough that it would not take up much room and like some one else said you would not have to wait for it to charge. Just a thought from a frugal mom of three.

 

[CarrieR]

Except, if you have an iPhone you can't get a spare battery. So a charging pack is the best option. Mine is about the same size as my phone, cost $30-40 and charges my phone ~3.5x before it dies. It is soooo worth it, in all kinds of weird and random situations.

 

[horse11]

Except, if you have an iPhone you can't get a spare battery. So a charging pack is the best option. Mine is about the same size as my phone, cost $30-40 and charges my phone ~3.5x before it dies. It is soooo worth it, in all kinds of weird and random situations.

Just found out that info. Never realized iPhones don't have a removable battery. I have been looking at options for a smartphone so I could utilize the My Disney Experience App. I will have to take your info in consideration when choosing a phone. How well does the App work on your phone?

 

[TurkA77]

Seems to be a great device but at $89 I would think you would be better off getting a spare battery. Heck you could probally by a few of them and still save money. The battery is small enough that it would not take up much room and like some one else said you would not have to wait for it to charge. Just a thought from a frugal mom of three.

The link I provided is the one I used last trip and its listed at $19.99 on Amazon. Where are you getting $89.99 from?

 

[skriegerjr]

The link I provided is the one I used last trip and its listed at $19.99 on Amazon. Where are you getting $89.99 from?

Yeah, if you're trying to be frugal, $19 sounds way better to me than $89!

Sent from my rooted Samsung Galaxy SIII using the DISBoards app

 

[TDC Nala]

The one I bought (the lipstick case size one) cost 20 bucks. I didn't see any that cost $89

 

[FlipHipster]

I carry one of these around with us in my backpack. Takes up very little room. We kept both phones charged all day no problem. Also charges other usb devices like ipads etc so its more versatile than buying an extra cell phone battery. A full charge lasted us several days in the parks charging the phones before I had to recharge the battery pack.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Trent-iCa...385393102&sr=8-1&keywords=trent+phone+charger

just wanted to add, its very liberating not to have to spend time looking for an outlet to charge your phone. Now if I could just get rid of the phone all together....

 

[pitterpint23]

There are several with price changes for the holiday. I saw them ,

 

[butsy113]

I used this in May and June. This charger stays cool to the touch (I've had several types that get very hot), it charges many types of phones and tablets, and can charge multiple items at one time. I was able to charge my iPhone at least 4+ times from almost dead to full charge. It may have been 5-6x, but I had 2 phones plugged in for some of the time. We use it all the time for WDW and comes in handy when at my daughters tumbling meets sitting in the bleachers all day. It can completely charge my iPad mini and phone at the same time also.

http://www.amazon.com/Lumsing-11000...e=UTF8&qid=1385395276&sr=8-1&keywords=lumsing