We Don’t Recommend FuelRods
FuelRod kiosks can be found at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, airports, and other locations. The service offers reusable, portable charging to fuel or charge your phone on the go, and then swap for a fresh battery. In this FuelRod review, we’ll cover whether the “unlimited” service is worth the money and effort.
While the headline is pretty blunt, there is more nuance to the question of whether you should buy a FuelRod while visiting Walt Disney World or Disneyland. As such, we’ll address their cost v. convenience, and weigh the pros and cons. Note that this FuelRoad review is entirely our subjective assessment of how FuelRods work (or don’t) for us. You may disagree entirely, finding a lot of value in FuelRods–and that’s fine.
For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, FuelRods are portable chargers that can be purchased in Walt Disney World parks and used to (partially) recharge your iPhone or other device on the go. You can then swap for a new battery pack at FuelRod kiosks once you’ve exhausted one. In a nutshell, our view is that FuelRods are pretty great…for people who have never heard of Amazon.com…
The general concept of these portable chargers is great for Walt Disney World. Using just the My Disney Experience app alone is a big drain that people underestimate as is browsing brilliant Disney blogs to figure out where you should eat. Suffice to say, it’s easy for your battery to die early in the day. Rechargeable battery packs have existed for some time (so to that end FuelRod is hardly revolutionary), and are one of the recommended staples on our What to Pack for Disney List.
The ‘twist’ with FuelRods is that when you’re done using them, you can trade out your depleted FuelRod for a fully-charged one at the many kiosks throughout Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The appeal is thus the ‘unlimited’ charge the FuelRods offer by virtue of swapping them out. When put that way, it’s easy to see the appeal of FuelRods.
Before we get going, there are a few interesting wrinkles to FuelRod policies. Two years ago, FuelRod planned to end the unlimited free swaps of FuelRods at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. That resulted in a ton of outrage among Disney fans and angry comments directed towards FuelRod via social media.
Even more notably, fans filed a class action lawsuit against the company. After several months of negotiation, that class action lawsuit was resolved with FuelRod creating a Founders status for people who has previously purchased FuelRods as early adopters. The FuelRod Founders status allowed eligible users to continue receiving free lifetime swaps. This was verified at the kiosks with a scannable QR code or imputing an email address, which then allowed FuelRod Founders to swap their existing FuelRods for free, even at kiosks that charge to swap.
We have to give big props to FuelRod here. Even though we aren’t huge fans of the product nor do we recommend it for most people, we still think FuelRod provides a valuable service for some guests. In short, FuelRod existing but charging a fee is better than the company going bankrupt and ceasing to exist at all.
As we’ve noted, FuelRod is a good option of last resort and we’re thus happy it’ll continue to exist at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. On top of that, FuelRod’s customer service team was diligent and conciliatory throughout this, offering refunds to disgruntled customers, and FuelRod stated that they’ve been forced to implement a swap fee to “maintain standards customers expect & ensure viability of the company.”
November 2021 Update: That’s not the end of the pay-to-swap saga! Sometime in the last few months, most (all?) FuelRod kiosks stopped verifying Founders status via email or QR code. We honestly don’t know when since we don’t use FuelRods.
We just happened to notice at one of the kiosks last month, and then started checking around to see if our friends (a couple of whom could be described as FuelRod advocates) whether they’ve had to pay for swaps recently. All responded that they have not. At this point, it would thus appear that swaps are free for all, rather than $3 each. This is great news for anyone who finds themselves in a pinch and ends up needing a FuelRod.
This couldn’t have happened at a better time, as the new Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World and Disneyland are serious battery drains. While it’s theoretically possible to go an entire day using the Genie service without recharging, it’s very difficult. Many guests will be unprepared for this, and find themselves needing a spare battery during their days in the park.
Genie uses much more battery life than its predecessors, FastPass+ at Walt Disney World and MaxPass at Disneyland. On top of that, there are certain features, like the itinerary builder and PhotoPass AR lenses, that really kill a phone’s battery. Just ~30 minutes of playing around with the augmented reality filters took my battery down significantly. Just something to keep in mind if you’re visiting soon and don’t have a backup battery packed!
For many guests, the argument in favor of the FuelRod is the same as the Disney Dining Plan: convenience. However, like the argument in favor of the Disney Dining Plan, I’d counter that it’s the illusion of convenience, rather than actual convenience. And, like the Dining Plan, you’re paying extra for that illusion.
The problems with FuelRods are two-fold. First, the $30 price is very high for a battery pack of this capacity and quality. Second, the aforementioned capacity is poor by modern battery pack standards. (Although this has improved in the last couple of years, it’s still nowhere what you’d get from something from Amazon for $30. Nor is the charging as fast.)
Let’s talk a bit more about FuelRod’s capacity relative to its competitors. Unlike virtually every other battery pack on the market, FuelRod does not indicate its charge capacity. (Which alone should set off red flags.) Scant information is available, but it looks like it can charge an iPhone about halfway, which would put its capacity at under 3,000 mAh.
Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and say the FuelRod has 4,000 mAh capacity. This Anker charger offers 5,200 mAh for ~$22. Over double the capacity in a similarly-sized charger for half the cost. For under $30, you can get this Anker charger with 10,000 mAh capacity and high speed charging (this is the charger we currently use as of 2021–it’s great). That’s enough to charge multiple devices, and do so far faster than FuelRod.
We have recommended alternatives on our packing list that offer larger capacity, lower cost, and faster charging than FuelRod. Some of these chargers will not only get you through an entire day in the parks–they’ll charge your entire family’s devices for the day.
By battery pack standards in the year 2021, FuelRod is antiquated. Unfortunately, they’re boxed into that (literally) due to the design of the dispensing machines that require maintaining the same style and size of battery pack today as 5 years ago when they debuted. Suffice to say, a lot has changed in backup battery technology in the last 5 years.
To be fair to FuelRod, the case could be made that there’s a certain convenience in never having to charge a battery pack–just being able to swap out the existing pack ad infinitum. Or that it can be a lifesaver if you forget your charger, cables, etc. True, it does offer appeal in both scenarios. There’s absolutely no arguing about FuelRod being useful if you’ve forgotten your charger/cables.
However, the case for general convenience in everyday scenarios is tougher to make. When I get back to the hotel at the end of a long day, I hate having to plug everything in before getting ready for bed. The thing is, I have to do that regardless with my camera, phone, etc. Plugging in one additional item is (literally) a <30 second commitment that hardly poses an insurmountable obstacle between me and a good night’s sleep.
Moreover, this argument is only even plausible in a world where FuelRod kiosks are ubiquitous. Such a world does not exist, nor will it ever exist. FuelRod’s business model relies upon spontaneous purchases from consumers who either don’t do the research or don’t have a viable alternative. Outside of airports, theme parks, and similar ‘vacuums’, they will lose to competitors. (For the same reason that no one in their right mind would pay $14 for a cheeseburger at Cosmic Ray’s if it were located in their hometown.)
If you’re primarily concerned about using FuelRods at the airport, Walt Disney World, or Disneyland–that’s great. FuelRod probably has you covered. For Disney regulars or Annual Passholders, there is value in FuelRod. Again, we’re not saying this is a totally useless service or product.
Ultimately, the only people for whom I can see FuelRod holding appeal once they get past the initial idea of convenience is those who have never heard of rechargeable batteries before stumbling upon the FuelRod kiosk while in the parks. Yes, these people do exist. We see countless guests sitting in corners charging their phones in random outlets during the course of their vacations.
For those people (or people who simply forget to pack their portable chargers), the FuelRod presents a good spontaneous purchase, as the cost (in time) of sitting in a random corner everyday during a pricey Walt Disney World vacation far outweighs even the $30 cost of a FuelRod. However, if you’re reading this FuelRod review in advance of a trip to the park and have the opportunity to order a higher capacity battery pack from Amazon, that’s your better option.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of FuelRods? Will you continue to use FuelRods if they end free unlimited swaps and start charging for them? Are you a FuelRod Founder? Do you agree or disagree with our FuelRod review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
FuelRods are the best invention since sliced bread! And at only $30 a pop, it’s so affordable that you can buy one for every member of your family since we all have cell phones now!
These saved us at the park! Love our FuelRods!
Never intended to buy into fuel rods until the day I forgot to bring any of my high-capacity chargers. Given current technology they are quaintly grandma speed, but now that I have it, I use it. It is small and lightweight and it’s kinda fun to seek out the kiosks. They do get awfully hot though–my other chargers don’t.
Based on what I’m seeing on Amazon, I figure you’re paying $10 for the 2600 mAh charger and cables, $10 for the swapping service, and $10 for the luxury of getting it in the park instead of online.
The question of “Is it worth it?,” the $10 service, comes down to how often are you near a FuelRod kiosk?
If you go to Disney every year, or frequent an airport with a FuelRod kiosk, then FuelRod may be a good deal.
On the other hand, if, like me, you only go to Disney once every two to three years or so, and never see a FuelRod kiosk anywhere else, then there are much better options for portable chargers. And, that is the point of the article.
After purchasing my fuel rod for $20, I have not had a dead phone. Isn’t that the entire point? I actually found the fuel rod at an airport. My phone was dead at the time and I figured it would be more “convenient” to buy it then over waiting a day for amazon to ship it. Is the point to this article is to let us know how you’re woke and better?
It’s pretty clear that this article is aimed at someone planning to tour in Disney parks, not someone who gets caught in an airport with a low battery. Do you even know what blog you’re reading right now?
My phone can hold a charge for 24 hours. You must have an inferior phone that these corporate cell phone companies suckered you into buying. Right along with the maker of your “superior” travel charger. You are being duped by the convienance of charging on the go in return for your money. No wonder Bezos is the richest man in the world.
Actually all BS aside, the reason why I need a portable charger is because I forget to charge my phone every night. I also forget to charge my portable. So yes, there is a convenience to the ability to switch out an empty for a full in under 60 sec. How long does it take to charge one of those fancy chargers? Guess how many times I can swap my fuel rod in that amount of time.
Someone gave me a fuelrod for free. It’s rated at 2600 mah not 1000. However I don’t view this as a safe device to use. Seeing the size and mah rating I’m going to assume it has an 18650 li-on battery. This battery is encased in an UNVENTED tube! When these batteries die they can discharge a gas that will cause an invented tube to explode. Add one drop of moisture to the exploded battery and the moisture touches the lithium strip and it will catch on fire. Tubes like this must be vented
Actually it is vented. The ends unscrew and have no seals, and there’s no gasket of any kind around the USB ports. Gases can freely vent. And it is an 18650 battery.
These batteries SAVED OUR FAMILY at the park! $30 for them is a bargain and we’ll buy plenty more for future use! With all our kids and their cells phones, it’s good security and peace of mind to buy one for each child!
Love this product and will buy more next time we’re at the park!
Why do they take 6 hours to charge? My phone takes under an hour.
What takes six hours to charge?
I was all for the fuel rod. I have an annual pass and swap it often. But I recently heard they are going to start charging for swaps. Now the $30 is not justified. With no indicator light I won’t know that the battery is low until it dies. My daughter won’t be able to save her friends when their battery is dangerously low. I hate that I was promised unlimited free swaps and they are going to go back on their word just to be able to make more money. I have purchased multiple fuelrods and will ask for refunds when this happens.
These Fuel Rods saved us! And the $30 price is a bargain! This was so cheap that we bought several for our family! We’ll never run out of battery at the parks again!
It really depends on who you are and how often you go. As an annual pass holder, my family goes 5-6 times per year. We bought it at the airport ahead of time ($20, recommended) and have used it multiple times with great success! We actually own another charger but would always forget to charge it before the trip! The convenience of swapping sold it for us. We charge one phon, then the other, as needed, and always grab fresh ones whenever we leave the park and the airport. Great value for $20, not so much for $30. Buy yours at the airport!
Fuel Rod capacity is 2600 mAh, it’s stamped on the end cap. That said, with your own portable battery you know how many times it’s been recharged and can estimate when it will need to be replaced. My phone battery is more than 2600 mAh and even when the phone is idle the Fuel Rod adds less than 50% to the charge. It worked in an emergency when I lost my 12,000 mAh charger, but it’s slow, it gets extremely hot very quickly, it hardly makes a dent in the charge and it ties me to returning to a kiosk. I can’t imagine why anyone recommends this as a first option, other than it’s offered by Disney so it must be pixie dust.
It’s an 18650 Li-ion battery inside it. You don’t need to worry about how many times it’s been charged or replacing it as you’ll just swap it out. The point is that you don’t have to carry a five pound brick charger with you around the parks all day long.
“The point is that you don’t have to carry a five pound brick charger with you around the parks all day long.”
Exaggerate much?
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Compact-High-speed-Technology/dp/B0194WDVHI/
SPECS:
* 10,000 mah
* 6.35 ounces
* Can charge a Galaxy S8 2.5 times, that weak FuelRod can barely charge my phone to 50%.
* High-speed-Charging Technology, which that weak FuelRod does not have.
$30
We own a good charger. Cost $20. Can charge both our phones repeatedly and quickly. No reason why I’d want to give Disney $30 for a charger that I don’t need and I’d use just a couple weeks a year.
Fuel rod saved my day at the park, so I see your review and reject it completely…
Agreed, I had two or three portable chargers with me one day and for some reason none of them would not connect correctly with my phone. My phone was almost dead and I needed to keep in touch with my family without Fuelrods I would have been really screwed.
I just spent a week at Disney and I have an iPhone 8 and did not need to recharge my phone at all while at the park. I’ve used the My Disney Experience App throughout the day to get fast passes, to order food, and to look up wait times on rides. My phone never went below 50% on even the busiest day. I think that this is a great thing for those who constantly use their phone, but for me, I was too involved in my vacation to even notice if I needed to charge my phone or not. I actually use my phone more while at work to do work things, and I hardly need to charge my phone at the end of the day until after I get home.
Fuel Rod is small, light weight and awesome in my opinion. And besides buying something you can’t swap out at Disney still directs you to ….well…Fuel Rod…enjoy your day
I opened one up by unscrewing the ends. Inside is an 18650 Li-ion battery, at 2600mAh capacity, and a little charging regulator board.
I can always get my phone to charge from 0 to 100% on one fuel rod. As a frequent traveler, I have a couple of them, and I switch them out during layovers. I have always found them to be convenient and they’re not very obtrusive, which helps when I am walking around during a trip and just want to use a small purse or clutch.
Sure, it might be a bit annoying to have to find a kiosk, but it’s much more convenient than having to sit in one place to charge your phone so you can use Lyft to get back to your hotel.
We just picked up a fuel rod at the airport for $20.
Battery capacity is 2600mah.
It charges an iPhone 6 from 5% to 100% twice on a charge.
The battery is good quality, generally speaking, though the charge is limited to 1 amp.
Yeah, but you’re wrong. You can’t buy a similarly-sized battery bank with much more capacity, certainly NOT five times as much. That Anker you mentioned is more than double the size and weight. All portable battery banks are going to have about the same weight/capacity ratio.
Ignoring the reference to iJunk (because most of us use real phones), why are your batteries dying so much in the parks? Too much phone time ruins the immersive experience you are paying big money for. And no, there is no magical bank that will charge your whole family’s devices in one charge, multiple times, unless it’s a five pound anchor. I have other battery packs that are larger and work great. But they weigh more and don’t magically recharge them selves. I leave the Fuel Rod in my dedicated WDW park pack all the time so it’s always ready to go, no need to worry about whether or not I forgot it.
The Fuel Rods are nice, small, easy to carry in the parks. Swapping is very convenient. Did I mention they are nice and lightweight? I carry enough weight in my park pack as it is, with snacks, cameras and extra batteries for those.
Just got back. We brought 4 battery packs between the 3 of us, an Anker 20000 mAH, with QC 3.0, and 3 Anker 10050 mAH with QC 3.0. We ended up only bringing in the 10050s with us, as the fit easily into our fanny packs, weighed only just over 8 oz., and provided everyone juice to recharge at least twice, based a day, based on our experiences at night, and the battery packs were fully charged the next day, if needed. Our phones: iPhone 6, iPhone 8 plus and a Samsung Galaxy 7.
The Fuel Rod makes no sense for us, as it is available only in limited places. We use battery packs at festivals, Mardi Gras, football games and other sporting events, hiking and so many more activities. At 2600 mAH, the current generation of Fuel Rods are extremely limited in what they can do. I also don’t like that they don’t list the mAH on the website. In fairness, one potential reason for that is that they can upgrade the mAH on the Fuel Rods as technology advances.
I think the Fuel Rods are better than nothing: A lot of people don’t even know about portable battery packs. If you’re constantly at airports, WDW, Disneyland, I can even see it making a bit of sense. But there are so many other occasions where battery packs can be used, that the limitations of the Fuel Rod, become apparent.
I can see those for whom it enters the rotation. But it is a slow charge: My Anker with QC 3.0 gets me back to a full charge amazingly fast. Further, my Galaxy 7 has a 3000 mAH (the 7+, 8+ & 9+ all have a 3500 mAH) battery; a slow Fuel Rod can’t charge it completely. Yes, it can be swapped out for another, but, it would take me 2 Fuel Rods a very long time to fully charge my phone, instead of my current fast charge battery pack where I can instantly get camera flash capability back just by charging it in. We had one of our family forget his battery pack one day; it was an easy matter to borrow another of our family’s packs and charge his phone that way. Oh, one other thing we did: Put the battery packs in ziplock bags to keep out any water, from rain, rides and other water hazards.
I completely agree with this, but as they say,
“There’s a sucker born every minute!”
Hi, I looked at the fuel-rod as an investment. I can grab a fresh one heading into the park and a fresh one heading out of the park quick and easy. while it is a bit awkward, it does fit in my phone pocket of my shorts, and it is light.
I think the point is missed on how to use this item, it is not a one time miracle cure for your phone. If it doesn’t charge you all the way from zero, so what and why was your phone at zero? It kept my phone above 80% on a day of frequent phone use with the dis app and keeping entertained in some of the lines.
Let me say again, it is quick and easy to exchange when entering and exiting the park, and can augment your phone battery to keep the charge at a reasonable high level. When time is money spent, and you are the type that carries as little as possible; phone, wallet, keys, water bottle… it is a quick and simple way to keep your phone topped off.
Save the the witticism about marketing and refreshing the battery kiosks, do you bring all your gas from home when you drive on vacation, or do you get some along the way quick and easy?
That last sentence tho…savage (but great analogy)
? That analogy makes zero sense. If I could buy my gas at home and carry it around to use at will on vacation, or rather just buy a tank and fill it for free while im sleeping I would. Vs paying a premium for a limited use,,, Yeah, Fuel Rod still makes little sense.
I completely agree with the article but I did it too the thing is buy a charger similar in size with more power and bring it with You it’s not too funny when you’re standing in front of the kiosk thinking $30 my God but I don’t have a charger so I guess this is my best option at the time. This company basically lives off of “convenience” when I got home I threw the thing in my luggage and that’s where it’s going to stay till the next time we get back to Disney so basically I bought a $30 charger for Disney only we try to go to the Christmas party every year but we’re kind of getting burned out with it went like 5 times in a row before we had kids then we start going every year once the kids got older so that’s probably been another 5 times or so.God knows when the next time I’ll be at Disney the last time I went was out of the blue my son had a school trip to SeaWorld and I had a few days off in a row so we decided to stay at a Disney all star hotel near Art of Animation (stayed at both they’re both nice) seemed like a good idea better than staying at some raunchy hotel in Orlando but it’s just opportunities like that we stay at Disney other than Christmas time.