Disney is really pushing phone usage!

[DISNEY1975]

I don’t think I’ve ever said this, but the solution was the Fuel Rod kiosks. They come with a small charger and the cables. The idea is you swap out the charger for a new one once you use it up at another machine.

They are in weird places in WDW, like there’s one near the kidani lobby. They have a prominent location in my home airport. I always wondered who would actually need this.

I bought one. $30 and it did basically nothing. It couldnt keep up with me using MDE and checking the weather back home (hurricane was coming and I needed to make sure it didnt affect my flight). I swapped it out once, but my phone never made it over 10%. I needed a full charge and spent hours looking for one (and another 45 minutes standing on the monorail platform at MK, as I was kicked off, trying to get to CR, due to mechanical issues. Not a fun day at Disney.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I'm 50+ and I don't even have a landline any more.

Have been using phone all along at WDW to track down friends and keep track of ADRs, so I'm on it

 

[Leigh L]

Disney is just looking at cultural trends. Do you know anyone under thirty that is not permanently attached to their smart phones? I for one remember the pre cell days when if you wanted to make a call you needed a pay phone.

My mother left her phone behind the other day and says to me, "Did you know there are NO pay phones anywhere anymore???"

Me: "Yes, mom. I took DD down to the Smithsonian a few weeks back and there's one in the American History museum.... " (true story!!)

In all seriousness, I grew up in pre-cell age and resisted converting from a flip top to a smartphone as long as I could. I do a lot more on my phone than I used to because school, sports, and everything else needed group texts, then apps.

Using my phone for everything, nah! Certain things I will only do on my laptop or the old-fashioned way lol. Vision is also increasingly becoming a problem for me like others mentioned above.

I definitely don't like being glued to my phone while on vacation. One of the things I really liked during our pandemic visits was no staring at phones trying to get the next FP...

ETA: Magic Bands are awesome, I will be sad the day they go.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I’m fairly tech savvy but still prefer my landline at home. I rarely use my cell phone. I don’t take calls or make calls ( unless my landline is down ) and it is usually in my purse and on vibrate. I used it more at the parks than I do away and find it is a pain to carry it around . I will not use Genie.

 

[Miffy]

For those of your who need some vital piece of technology while at WDW, remember there's a little something called Amazon. You can get things shipped to you overnight in most cases.

A few years ago the charger for my tablet died while I was at WDW. I ordered a charge pad from Amazon in the morning and it was delivered late in the afternoon of that same day.

So these problems are not insurmountable.

Also, I foresee the time when WDW sells a WDW-specific smartphone. They've got a huge captive audience and anyone without a smartphone or from overseas or whose phone has died would be a possible customer.

Meanwhile, to everyone who doesn't already own a smartphone: perhaps you might consider purchasing one as part of the cost of going to WDW. You don't have to buy a $1,000 iPhone. There are plenty of decent Android smartphones under $200. Yes, that's not an insignificant expense, but neither is your WDW vacation.

 

[cakebaker]

My problem with the phone usage is that I'm mildly farsighted. I can't easily see small text on my phone without putting my glasses on. However, with them on, I can't see six feet in front of me.

Time for bifocals! I hated it when I finally had to make the leap,but it’s was a pain to have to keep taking glasses on and off and I cannot do contacts.

 

[Turksmom]

Time for bifocals! I hated it when I finally had to make the leap,but it’s was a pain to have to keep taking glasses on and off and I cannot do contacts.

Sadly, that was tried first and didn't work, so I'm stuck with on and off ☹

 

[Narcoossee11]

Disney is just looking at cultural trends. Do you know anyone under thirty that is not permanently attached to their smart phones? I for one remember the pre cell days when if you wanted to make a call you needed a pay phone.

Agree... Smart devices are here to stay. The world is now set up for your child/grandchildren tech world.
It is THIER World and we are allowed to exist in it.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

How is this any different really than my dad in the early 90's staring at the map trying to figure which show we were going to catch and which ride was next?

 

[easyas123]

I'm on my phone constantly due to my work. Last thing I want to do on vacation is look a phone.

EXACTLY!

 

[_19disnA]

While a smartphone is convenient and small enough to carry, my life still doesn't revolve around the use of my phone and doesn't need to. I leave it in my car when I go shopping. No amount of clever marketing by the phone providers or trying to make people feel somehow 'left behind' will change that and I manage just fine. I don't need to be instantly connected 100% of the time. If I am at home I put the phone down to recharge and might be outside doing yardwork or somewhere else inside my home when someone calls. Leave a message and I will call you back when I'm available. Texting is annoying with the tiny screen and feel like I have to tap with a toothpick to spell out the words and then have to double check what I typed before sending due to the annoying 'auto-correct' that typically inserts the wrong words. Text 'conversations' always seem disjointed and it far too easy to misunderstand what the other person is saying. If you want to text me with more then a yes/no answer or say what time we are meeting, then I rather you call me.

 

[DISNEY1975]

For those of your who need some vital piece of technology while at WDW, remember there's a little something called Amazon. You can get things shipped to you overnight in most cases.

This would have worked if my phone was charged so I could make the order......OR if the Contemporary Resort had a business center and/or available computer to use. I was out of luck. I may not be phone tech savvy with apps, but I do have a brain and tried everything I could think of.

We stayed at a hotel on I Drive the 1st 3 nights of vacation to go to Discovery Cove/Sea World/Aquatica. For $119/night, we had a suite and the hotel had a business center (I used their computer every night checking for availability at Beaches and Cream, which I finally got ) and free buffet breakfast with made to order omelets/mickey waffles/toast/bagels/bacon/sausage/cereal/fruit ...everything!

Then we moved over to CR for $459/night with the tower basically shut down and smelling strongly of paint, mobile app needed to buy an apple juice!, no activities due to major renovation etc..etc... If it was anywhere but Disney I would have complained, but I love Disney too much. Id be happy in a closet there !!!

 

[fla4fun]

I have a prepaid smartphone that I use for calling and text only. It does not have a data plan. It’s too old for the latest version of MDE, although it does have a usable version on it. I have plans to upgrade the phone next year, but until then, I make do when I am at Disney. I have a battery case for it, and so far I haven’t had an issue with keeping a charge in the parks. But I don’t keep it on all day. There hasn’t been a need to. Since I have no plans to pay to ride, I think my phone will be fine until I can do the upgrade. I also have a much newer tablet, which I also bring on vacation and do most of my pre-planning with, since it is easier for me to work with than the phone.

Everyone has the freedom to choose how much or how little they want to use their phone in the parks. If you want the full Genie/Lightning experience, you will be on it a lot. If, like me, that’s not a priority, you won’t. So long as Disney has so many international guests, I believe they will provide workarounds for most items that require a phone.

 

[DISNEY1975]

How is this any different really than my dad in the early 90's staring at the map trying to figure which show we were going to catch and which ride was next?

OK, Ill give you the showtimes, but in the early 90s you didnt need to reserve ride times. You went on the next ride you walked by. Even the past FP+ you booked your FPs before you left home (I did this from a desk/lap top). Now you will have to do it the day of from your phone, which is hopefully charged!!

 

[honeymo78]

I think it's likely that the old FP+ kiosks will be available for booking G+ rides and $LL for those without a smartphone or those who chose not to use their smartphone, for whatever reason. Plenty of people used those successfully for same day FP+. Also G+ and $LL aren't required to enjoy the parks - with the exception of RotR and Remy, everything has a standby line

 

[OhDannyBoy]

OK, Ill give you the showtimes, but in the early 90s you didnt need to reserve ride times. You went on the next ride you walked by. Even the past FP+ you booked your FPs before you left home (I did this from a desk/lap top). Now you will have to do it the day of from your phone, which is hopefully charged!!

Maybe this is an age gap thing (making a HUGE assumption here, that you may be older than me, if I am wrong don't beat me up LOL), but is charging your phone not part of a normal everyday routine? That is an honest question as for me plugging my phone in nightly is part of my everyday. If i leave my house for long periods I always carry a spare battery charge thing as they are cheap and work great.

And back in the day it was a map, so we used it as such to know kind of where we were going (yeah I know it's a circle) and what was coming next. We didn't go often enough to have everything memorized.

My point is he (and from what I saw a lot of other dads) spent a lot of the day staring at that thing. I'm trying to figure out why this is different. That's all I'm saying.

Maybe your party in the 90's didn't study the map like you were in Vietnam on some sort of recon mission, but we did. LOL

 

[Heather1101]

*warning-old lady rant* My issue is I need my glasses with bifocals to see my phone's small font and trying to see it in bright lighting (sun) is even harder. I don't need to wear glasses full time so I'd need to keep pulling my glasses out and stopping multiple times to read my phone. Then when it dies halfway through my day I have to either carry a charging block now or find somewhere to sit that has a charging area. I don't want to be a phone zombie all day. I want to enjoy the sights and being in the park, not face down in my phone multiple times a day. I guess the upside for me is both DH and DS(21) have had surgery and have perfect vision so that will now be their job to deal with the phones...one less thing on my plate I guess but I'm still irritated that so much emphasis is put on having to be on your phone all the time but I'm 47 and not part of the phone zombie generation. My 21 yo son has always stayed off his phone for vacation time and reserved it for hotel downtime but I guess that's over. It's really a shame how everyone walks around now with a cell phone jammed in their faces (and I live in DFW so don't get me started on the number of people I see on our 70-75mph freeways scrolling on their phones while driving).

 

[loves to dive]

Yes, I need reading glasses to see my phone, but can’t walk around with them on. People complained that FP+ required you to be on your phone too much, but Genie sounds a whole lot worse.
And scrolling though my phone for the menu at a table service restaurant is a pain. I was appreciative that California Grill gave out paper menus, but that is the only TS restaurant that automatically provided them.

I buy the bi-focal sunglasses that have a small reader at the bottom. I just use over the counter reading glasses, used to get prescription but I lose them a lot. At WDW or anywhere other than home, I usually have a pair of reading glasses hanging from my neck and my bi-focal sunglasses on my face. I've been known to just keep the sunglasses on if I'm going in a shop real quick because I'm too lazy to switch them out.

I'm an older person, 64, and I don't have a problem with tech. It burns me that it changes so fast though. I had to buy a new phone last week because I have an upcoming Disney trip and when I was playing with MDE it said, nope you need to upgrade your version. Of course, my old phone was 5 years old so I guess I got my money's worth. I bought a little lipstick charger on Amazon that is like the fuel rods at Disney. Easy enough to slip that in my pocket.

 

[RoseGold]

OR if the Contemporary Resort had a business center and/or available computer to use. I was out of luck. I may not be phone tech savvy with apps, but I do have a brain and tried everything I could think of.

Contemporary has a Fuel Rod kiosk in the lobby. Is $30 for a mediocre charger a perfect solution? No. But it was a solution, and it had your cables, which you could have used on someone else's charger. This was a $30 problem.

 

[SteveH]

I lost my phone charger somewhere at Disney and had found out the long hard way that they dont sell them anywhere on property for Android, only IPhone ( I checked several resorts and many stores in the MK) Luckily my DD was with me and could use hers. Disney is really pushing phone usage. Most restaurants want you to scan the QR code for the menus. Most QS requires mobile ordering, New Genie will require phone/app, Magic bands still work, but they are pushing phone use for park entry/room entry etc...

I agree! If you think it's bad now the new Genie will make it even worse as it tries to direct you to rides with smaller lines. You'll have zombies all over the park walking with the phones in their face not paying attention, walking into people, missing the amazing details of the parks.

Here is a tip if you lose your power cord, stop by most any front desk at a hotel and tell them. They usually have a bunch of them in a lost and found box.