How to Charge Your Smartphone Battery at Disneyland

You’ve planned your Disneyland trip for months. You’ve read the books, purchased the Park Hoppers, booked a hotel near Disneyland, and scheduled a Disney character meal. But then your smartphone dies in the middle of the day, long before the “Paint the Night” parade and “World of Color” nighttime spectacular. Here’s how to charge your smartphone battery at Disneyland and what to do if you lose power during your Disney vacation.

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1. Enter the parks with a full smartphone battery charge.

First-timers to Disneyland may be surprised by how quickly your battery can get drained at the Happiest Place on Earth. Prevention is the best way to avoid losing power. Charge up your mobile phone the night prior to your visit. Keep that sucker plugged in until the very last minute. If multiple family members have their own smartphones, tablets, or handheld gamers to bring to the theme parks, you’ll probably want to pack a compact multi-extension outlet charger so everyone can power up in the hotel room.

2. Buy a reliable mobile charger before you go.

Even if you don’t normally need a mobile smartphone charger, you should consider purchasing one before your Disneyland vacation. Be sure to plug in your charger the night before your Disney visit so it has a full charge in the parks. And then, be sure to bring it along in your day bag. (That’s where I’ve gone wrong more than once…leaving the charger back in the hotel!)

Not all mobile chargers are created equal, so invest in one that works best for your needs. Invest in one that easily fits into a pocket and adds many hours of talk time to most smartphones. 

3. Bring a cord and find an outlet at Disneyland.

Bring along a regular charging cord in addition to your mobile charger, especially if you know you’ll be playing games in line, texting with your travel mates, and snapping tons of photos with your smartphone while at Disneyland.

If you plan to eat at a sit-down restaurant, like Carthay Circle in Disney California Adventure or Blue Bayou in Disneyland, ask your server to plug in your phone for you. Most likely, they’ll be happy to do it for you. (This is Disneyland, after all!) But, outlets may not be available if other guests have beat you to it.

4. Buy a pre-charged mobile charger in Downtown Disney.

I searched high and low to purchase a mobile charger in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure before a cast member directed me to the Gadgets on the Go kiosk in Downtown Disney. (Thankfully, you can now purchase a charger within the parks to charge your smartphone battery at Disneyland. Learn more in tip #5 below.)

At Gadgets on the Go, you can purchase all sorts of smartphone cases, charging cords, and mobile chargers. They keep the mobile chargers plugged in, too, so you can charge up with some sweet, sweet battery power right after making your purchase. This is what I did when my phone charger died at Disneyland. I already owned other mobile chargers, but I figured I could resell my Gadgets on the Go purchase via eBay, which I did.

5. Purchase a FuelRod charger at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure.

Vending machines stocked with pre-charged FuelRod chargers are the newest solution to a dying smartphone battery at Disneyland. You buy the charger and can swap it out at another vending machine as often as you like for no additional fee.

Your purchase comes with an Apple and Android adapter at no extra cost. You can also charge the FuelRod in any standard wall outlet but be sure to bring your own USB adapter. FuelRod SwapBoxes can be found in hotels, theme parks, shopping malls and beyond around the world. Take a look at the FuelRod website for additional information.

FuelRod stations in Disneyland:

• Main Street Lockers
• Tomorrowland Starcade
• Frontierland Entrance
• Critter Country – Pooh’s Corner

FuelRod stations in Disney California Adventure:

• Kingswell Camera Shop
• Hollywood Land – Gone Hollywood Shop
• Car’s Land – Ramone’s
• Paradise Pier – Treasures in Paradise Shop

You can also find FuelRod vending machines in the lobbies of the Disneyland Hotel, Grand Californian Hotel, Paradise Pier Hotel, or ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney.

6. Don’t count on charging lockers.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure both used to offer charging lockers where guests could power up their smartphones and other devices. After the introduction of the FuelRods, however, Disney has removed the charging lockers. It was difficult to nab one of the limited lockers anyway. Just don’t bother wasting any precious Disney time trying to find a charging locker anymore.

7. Save your battery.

Data roaming can eat up your smartphone battery. To conserve battery life, utilize Wi-Fi hot spots available in both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Also, when not using your smartphone, switch over to airplane mode to avoid keeping your charge longer.

8. Utilize Disneyland PhotoPass.

When my smartphone battery begins to lose its power at Disneyland, my biggest concern is my ability to take photos. Thankfully, there’s Disney PhotoPass, which enables park guests to have their photos taken by a Disney cast member with characters and in front of key photo op spots, like Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.

You will receive a plastic card (similar to a credit card), which you can hand to the photographer at each PhotoPass location. Your photos will be stored on this, and you can register online to purchase prints and other photo products.

9. Go old school without a smartphone battery at Disneyland.

If your smartphone battery dies at Disneyland, you could live as we did in the olden days before cell phones. Be sure to set specific times and locations to rendezvous with your family and friends before splitting up in the park. Play 20 Questions with your kids while waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Live in the present moment instead of uploading all of your photos to Facebook and Instagram in real time. Who knows? Maybe losing battery power at Disneyland will be a blessing in disguise. (Nah…better bring that mobile charger!)

Save money on your Disneyland vacation

Want to save money on your Disneyland vacation? Of course, you do! Use discount code TravelMamas to get $10 off any two-night or longer Southern California package (hotel and two-ticket minimum) when you book through our trusted partner, Get Away Today. Just want tickets? Buy discounted Disneyland Park tickets now!

Keep these tips for charging your smartphone at Disneyland

Be sure to keep these tips for your trip to Disneyland. Save the graphic above to Pinterest!

Consider booking a character meal to add even more magic to your visit. Read our Disneyland character meal reviews to choose the best one for your family. For even more Disneyland tips, check out Educational Things to Do at Disneyland.

Have you ever dealt with a drained smartphone battery at Disneyland or elsewhere on vacation? What did you do? Let us know in the comments below!

A Note from The Travel Mama: As a member of the media, I sometimes receive complimentary tickets to visit Disneyland. All opinions are mine, as always. 

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