Fuel Rod Portable charging batteries available now at WDW kiosks

G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
Since Disney initiated the need for people to be on their phones all day long they really should have put these at every table in every dining establishment on property. Forget the fuel rods.
Restaurant-cellphone-charging-station-table-top.jpg
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
Notes from Neverland said:
This is what Disney states, but in practice it is simply not true as some locations do not have cast members in place to assist. Just last week we spotted numerous quick serve locations where no cast members were to be found except for those serving food behind the counter. It was about 50-50 if we saw a cast member anywhere besides behind the counter, which is who you would go to for assistance. Maybe it's a staffing issue, maybe it's a decision to cut down on labor in favor of mobile ordering.

One example is Yorkshire County Fish Shop at Epcot that had a mobile ordering sign posted outside and no cast members to be seen outside the building. The only cast members there were inside the window serving food. One gentleman asked at the window to order and they directed him to the app. He turned away and ordered on his phone, but a guest without a phone would need to track someone down as no other cast members were in the area.
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It’s by request, they won’t always have someone standing at the register (the UK example, they only use that register outside during peak times, it’s not a regularly staffed position, also I got the chippy quite often on my lunch break and have never been told to order on the app) anyplace I’ve gone to and asked to order at a register they have gotten a cast member to help me, you just need to request at the entrance, they won’t always just be standing at a register waiting. Some locations have started going back to pre Covid style (mostly food courts at the resorts) so it may be coming back to the parks as well.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
MrPromey said:
Ah yes, another example of Disney's secondary income stream developed by creating problems and then selling solutions to those problems. 👍
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Something they seem to have mastered over the past decade - Create a problem, monetize the solution. It isn’t always successful, see: Interpark bus service. But they seem to always be looking for new and more ways to separate guests from their money.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Can anyone explain to me why Genie+ is supposed to use more phone battery than FastPass+ did? I routinely left the parks with >50% battery life and I don't expect having a problem now either.
 
MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Something they seem to have mastered over the past decade - Create a problem, monetize the solution. It isn’t always successful, see: Interpark bus service. But they seem to always be looking for new and more ways to separate guests from their money.
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It probably still happens but I know people used to complain about the weather in Guest Services. I don't know if they expected Disney to put a dome over the parks or what.

... But just think, if they could secretly do that today, the sale of umbrellas and rain panchos would be off the charts and the'd save so much money on not having to staff all those attractions with outdoor elements for half of every day!
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Can anyone explain to me why Genie+ is supposed to use more phone battery than FastPass+ did? I routinely left the parks with >50% battery life and I don't expect having a problem now either.
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Genie is a continual guide that operates throughout the day, with frequent interactions with the device needed - whereas FP+ in most cases were done ahead of time. I expect people to be using MDX for a signfiantly longer time than they were before, and therefore a higher battery drain.

I know in our testing we went through an iPhone 13 pro at a rapid rate.
 
G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Can anyone explain to me why Genie+ is supposed to use more phone battery than FastPass+ did? I routinely left the parks with >50% battery life and I don't expect having a problem now either.
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I believe it is the (safe) assumption that people will need to use their phones far more than they did with FP+. FP+ was not making your phone vibrate constantly trying to get you go go ride the carousel. FP+ did not force you to constantly have your phone out of your pocket looking for the next available ride since it let you pre-book 3 of them before park opening. I used the heck out of FP+ and I rarely had my phone out looking at it. G$ will force people to be looking at a lit up screen all day if they want to ride things.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
wdwmagic said:
Genie is a continual guide that operates throughout the day, with frequent interactions with the device needed - whereas FP+ in most cases were done ahead of time. I expect people to be using MDX for a signfiantly longer time than they were before, and therefore a higher battery drain.

I know in our testing we went through an iPhone 13 pro at a rapid rate.
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This sounds like you guys were using the "free" Genie Touring Plans features, correct? Can all of that crap just be switched off or ignored? The parallel I was hoping to draw wasn't between Genie per se and FastPass+, but between Genie+ and FastPass+.

G00fyDad said:
FP+ was not making your phone vibrate constantly trying to get you go go ride the carousel.
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Is that right? Genie recommendations run on push notifications?

G00fyDad said:
FP+ did not force you to constantly have your phone out of your pocket looking for the next available ride since it let you pre-book 3 of them before park opening.
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Maybe I used FastPass+ differently than most people, but I would modify several times throughout the day. If I pre-booked 9a, 10a, and 11a windows, as soon as I clicked into my 9a at 9:15, I'd pop on the app to see if I could slide my 10a to 9:30. This didn't take more than 60 seconds at a time, and I could take care of it during downtime like waiting for my kid outside the bathroom or if one of the lines slowed to a stop for a couple of minutes.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
CaptainAmerica said:
This sounds like you guys were using the "free" Genie Touring Plans features, correct? Can all of that crap just be switched off or ignored? The parallel I was hoping to draw wasn't between Genie per se and FastPass+, but between Genie+ and FastPass+.
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I think anyone using My Disney Experience now, with either Genie or Genie+, is going to be significantly heavier on the phone use. Your entire day is based around watching what is going on with the Genie+ availability, and looking at actual and forecasted wait times. If you are not monitoring that tip board with that info you are going to be at a disadvantage. And I think because of that someone I each party is going to be glued to the phone all day.
 
lunchbox1175

lunchbox1175

Well-Known Member
Personally don't plan on using the Genie+ feature much, I've always just picked a direction and gone from land to land unless I already have a pre-existing FP or (LP in this case), then I know to head to that ride in that window. Plan on trying to keep as much freedom and wandering around the parks as possible. Never had any issues getting on each ride at least once. I believe I read somewhere that you can buy one of these Fuel Rods cheaper off property and then swap it out free when you need to onsite.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
I think anyone using My Disney Experience now, with either Genie or Genie+, is going to be significantly heavier on the phone use. Your entire day is based around watching what is going on with the Genie+ availability, and looking at actual and forecasted wait times. If you are not monitoring that tip board with that info you are going to be at a disadvantage. And I think because of that someone I each party is going to be glued to the phone all day.
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I noticed that when you click on "Tickets and Passes" the screen gets brighter. The rest of the app is slightly dimmer which would seem to imply Disney is aware of battery drain hence the dimmer screen on most other windows in the app. Probably not a significant battery saver but something they built in anyway.
 
G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Is that right? Genie recommendations run on push notifications?


Maybe I used FastPass+ differently than most people, but I would modify several times throughout the day. If I pre-booked 9a, 10a, and 11a windows, as soon as I clicked into my 9a at 9:15, I'd pop on the app to see if I could slide my 10a to 9:30. This didn't take more than 60 seconds at a time, and I could take care of it during downtime like waiting for my kid outside the bathroom or if one of the lines slowed to a stop for a couple of minutes.
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From what I have seen. People have said that it is set to constantly tell you about "exciting things to do" or the next available attraction. I think you might be able to turn that off though. Either way this app is looking to be far more battery intense than FP+.
 

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