Recharging stations?

[lorenae]

I'm new to smartphones, but I know I will be using mine in the park for the "My Disney Experience" app, and the wait times, taking photos, etc.

Are there maps with recharging stations? Or are they at a lot of places? My iPhone will never make it through 3/4 of a day.

 

[melana]

Have you looked into the charging packs you can purchase. They can be charged before time and then you can hook your device to them. They are small and lightweight. I saw some at Wal-Mart this weekend and they were fairly cheap. I got mine when I got my new phone.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I just got back, I had MAJOR luck with just turning my phone on airplane mode when I didn't need to use the wifi (for taking pictures and such), and then when I needed it for actually checking things on MDE, I turned the wifi on......and I only needed to turn on actual phone things when I knew I was separated from my friends......my phone was only about 50% when I got home! WOOO

 

[worm761]

I bought a Jackery for the parks. I'd rather not waste time sitting and waiting for my phone to charge. Time is money at Disney.
This one is $11 and says it will charge your iPhone once: http://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Mini-...e=UTF8&qid=1443046129&sr=8-1&keywords=jackery

My husband and I both have smartphones so I needed something a bit bigger. I have the HTC M1(8). I have charged my phone twice this past week and mine still has a bit of charge left to it so I'm confident it will work for both DH and I. I have this model: http://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Bar-E...e=UTF8&qid=1443046129&sr=8-2&keywords=jackery

 

[MataHari22]

I have both a Mophie Juice Pack and a Jackery Bar for my IPhone 6+. The Mophie is like a case with an extra battery in it. Had them both with my iPhone 4, and they were great on both my 2013 & 2014 trips.

 

[lorenae]

That's awesome! Believe it or not, I had no idea such things existed (hey, I'm old!). So, one full charge out of it means that I can still charge the phone and the Jackery at night, and have the iPhone and the Jackery give me two charges during the day. For $11? And I assume I need a cable or something to hook it up to my iPhone. That seems very reasonable, as does the bigger one you linked to. Thank you so much!

You know, planning for Disney has led to many a rabbit hole of new things to explore. Not just the disney forums and sites, and ADRs, and FP+ but shopping, planning shoes, and now electronic possibilities. Like I don't spend enough time on the internet already. LOL.

 

[dbenlee]

There are charging packs of different sizes available at Walmart, Amazon, etc. I highly recommend investing in one, or more if more than one person in your group will be using a smart phone. Being able to charge your phone while touring beats wasting time just sitting around while your phone charges at a charging station. I bought one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D5T3QK4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00 last year and have been very pleased with it. Its a little bigger and heavier, but it will recharge the average smart phone 5-7 times and it can charge 2 phones at once.

 

[Robo]

That's awesome! Believe it or not, I had no idea such things existed (hey, I'm old!).

1. So, one full charge out of it means that I can still charge the phone and the Jackery at night, and have the iPhone and the Jackery give me two charges during the day.

2. For $11?

3. And I assume I need a cable or something to hook it up to my iPhone.

You know, planning for Disney has led to many a rabbit hole of new things to explore. Not just the disney forums and sites, and ADRs, and FP+ but shopping, planning shoes, and now electronic possibilities. Like I don't spend enough time on the internet already. LOL.

1. Yes.
2. That's a reasonable price. The unit I bought cost $9.95.
3. You use the regular charger cord for whatever phone you now have.
The charger units have a standard USB jack on them, and you just connect your charger cord to that.

 

[lorenae]

We only have one phone in our family (my husband and I) and he's not coming to WDW with me. It's just me and my 5 year old grandson, so no iPads or other electronic things. So the smaller ones would definitely suit our needs. I like the one worm posted in the second link- just slightly bigger and good for maybe 2-3 charges, just in case. At under $20, I can't believe I didn't know about these. :0 Of course, I've only had a smartphone for about a year and a half, and still am learning how to use some of the features and new apps.

Thank you so much!

 

[HopperFan]

I bring a battery pack, my charging cord AND a plug adapter. There are regular outlets everywhere, keep your eyes open. We plug in while we eat CS or TS and find spots to rest by plugs. The available USB jack locations are very limited and often full.

 

[disneydude365]

Don't bother with charging stations I have two portable power bankswith a total of three ports (3 phones charging at once) plus I got a great deal on a top line one and so completely charged they can give 6 full recharges to the phones
Can charge while walking around eating or even waiting in line
Get the juice without wasting times at station

 

[disnut8]

The thing with recharging stations is that people wouldn't want to leave their phones there because they would need the phones for all kinds of things. So, they would want to wait for the charge. That means they wouldn't be out in the parks spending time and money on a vacation. Disney could have recharging stations where you would sign in and out your phone but you would be without it during that time so if you downloaded your entire day on your phone, you'd be SOL if that's all you had. Plus, there are many things people have on their phones these days so information could be taken from the phone that could be personal so everything would have to be protected.

I just do it old school. FastPasses are on a slip of paper in my pocket and I use the cell phone to look at the time since I don't wear a watch and use the flashlight function if I'm eating at the Sci Fi Diner so I can see the menu.

 

[Robo]

"Phone recharging stations" within a year or two, or so, will be as antique as nickel-operated phone booths look to us today.

They are/were a thing of a very brief moment in the progress of technology.


Anybody remember the constant uproar on these boards of Disney not having a toll-free "800 number" because
nobody across the country wanted to pay for a long distance phone call?

I used to suggest borrowing the use of a cell phone with "free long distance" and
got many a reply of knowing nobody who owned one.

 

[lorenae]

Well, I bought one of those chargers linked to above- thank you all so much for the tips!

 

[kj2mom]

Glad you found a charger, you won't regret it! There is a charging station in the shop at the exit of Space Mountain. It is perfect for someone who may not be going on the ride that needs some charge, plus it is in air conditioning which is awesome for those hot days. Also, one day I went to guest services in MK because my friends had asked me to check on the location of their brick. I had to wait a long time and while I was there many people were picking up and dropping off their phones. They did not even need a charger they just dropped off their phone, were given a return ticket and the CM took it to plug in. I had no charge problems but tucked that info away as an in case of emergency kind of thing.

 

[fbarker]

I bought a Jackery for the parks. I'd rather not waste time sitting and waiting for my phone to charge. Time is money at Disney.
This one is $11 and says it will charge your iPhone once: http://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Mini-...e=UTF8&qid=1443046129&sr=8-1&keywords=jackery

My husband and I both have smartphones so I needed something a bit bigger. I have the HTC M1(8). I have charged my phone twice this past week and mine still has a bit of charge left to it so I'm confident it will work for both DH and I. I have this model: http://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Bar-E...e=UTF8&qid=1443046129&sr=8-2&keywords=jackery

I got the Jockery Bar for about $18.00 for our last trip and it was great. It recharged both phone and wife's phone 4 times, without a recharge for the Jockery.

 

[JFox]

I carried my phone charger around with me last week and found places to charge all over WDW. Outlets are everywhere. I wasn't standing around waiting for my phone, usually during a meal or in a queue line.

 

[lorenae]

I carried my phone charger around with me last week and found places to charge all over WDW. Outlets are everywhere. I wasn't standing around waiting for my phone, usually during a meal or in a queue line.

I will bring both with me, then. The charger is so tiny that it doesn't take up any space. Then I have both options. Thanks!

 

[dbenlee]

FWIW, I think I remember seeing some Disney themed chargers at some of the shops around the World. I specifically remember seeing some at the large shop in FW at Epcot. They were located by the camera accessories. I don't remember the prices, but I'm sure they are more expensive than the ones listed in this thread.

 

[disnut8]

"Phone recharging stations" within a year or two, or so, will be as antique as nickel-operated phone booths look to us today.

I agree but had to laugh at a person in an airport once. He/she was having a rather, er, personal conversation on their cell phone and got angry when people started to look over at him/her. He/she then shouted into the phone (and everyone could hear him/her), "why can't anyone get any space when talking on the phone anymore?!" I chuckled and said "phone booths are not produced anymore."