Great Smart Phone Chargers for Disney and Universal
Your Disney/Universal Day Will Last Longer Than Your Phone Battery
Disney and Universal have gone from accommodating the use of technology in the parks to, with the most recent advancements, nearly requiring the use of modern Smartphones. Smartphone apps like MyDisneyExperience and the Universal Orlando app are fast becoming an essential part of the experience, especially with the addition of the Genie and Genie+ functionality in the MyDisneyExperience.
Heat and bright sun, which are common in Florida, are hard on battery life. Even the longest lasting Smartphone is hard pressed to last a full day with near constant use to act as ticket media, be your room key, make theme park reservations, make mobile orders at restaurants, join virtual queues, and make Genie+ reservations and Individual Lightning Lane reservations. Taking portable power with you is becoming as necessary as your Smartphone.
First consideration, battery or power bank Capacity — You have to think about the number of devices your group will need to recharge with an external battery over the course of the day, how big their batteries are and how many times you may want to recharge them. For example, the Pixel 5 has a 4,080 mAh (milli Amp Hour) battery. A 10,000 mAh external battery can completely recharge a Pixel 5 about 2 and a half times.
Second consideration, Charging Speed — Speeds are frequently referred to in Watts. The higher the wattage, the faster the charging. A 10 Watt charging pad is twice as fast as a 5 Watt charger. To be considered “fast charging”, the charger, the cable and the device need to be able to deliver and receive at least 18 Watts. The Pixel 5 and iphone SE 2020 can charge at max of 18 Watts, the Pixel 7 and iPhone 13 can charge at speeds approaching 30 Watts.
Another consideration — wireless charging or the quality and length of cable you want to use. Wireless charging is convenient, but slower, so I frequently use wired when I am on the go. Don’t waste your money on cheep cables. They don’t fast charge, and they typically fall apart or break easier. Get high quality, double braided, fast-charging cables that are rated for thousands of bends. You will spend more in a theme park gift shop to replace broken cables. I usually have both a long and a short cable. If I am carrying my camera bag, I keep the battery in it even while charging my phone, so the longer cable allows me to use it while I am charging. Other times, I want to hold the battery and phone together and that is where wireless charging or short cables help, so that you are not snagging a long cable on things as you move around.
Finally, you need an AC adapter or 2-in-1 capable of fast charging. Chargers, 2-in-1s and Power Strips will typically list their max Wattage. This is the total power it can supply. A 30 Watt power bank can charge two devices at 15 Watts each.
Being a Build A Better Mouse Trip travel advisor, I have used smartphones and external batteries in the parks for many years. There are days we visit the parks as tourists but there are also research days where I take hundreds or thousands of photos plus videos. Along with 50 million other people, my go-to choice is Anker for keeping my phone functioning while I’m on the go. Their newest innovation, GaNPrime, will charge your devices as fast as your devices will allow. What is GaNPrime? Well, GaN stands for Gallium Nitride. There is a lot of reasons why it is better than silicon, but the bottom line is GaN chargers are smaller, cooler and lighter. Anker also adds a lot of intelligence to their GaNPrime line, including monitoring the charging capability of the devices to minimize charge time, and checking temperature conditions ~35 times a second. The products below have worked for me and I am not being paid to recommend them, but I do receive a small commission when you use the links below. Here are my recommendations:
Anker 733 Power Bank — If you only want to carry one thing, I highly recommend this for laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. It combines the battery and charger into one compact device allowing simultaneous fast charging of the battery and attached devices when you are attached to power, or fast charging your devices using the battery when you are out and about.
30 to 65 Watt 2-in-1 charger
Fast charge 3 devices at once
10,000 mAh capacity will easily recharge an iPhone 13 twice.
Anker GaNPrime 615 USB Power Strip — This is another item I use on a daily basis. This little gem handles 5 ports at once. 2 AC ports (one on top and one underneath), 2 USB-C ports and 1 USB-A port. It is built to wrap the cord around under the rubber cover so you only need to unwind the amount you need. It provides the fast charging for laptops, tablets, smartphones, external batteries etc. This is the ideal power strip to leave in your room, and it is so compact and light it is easy to put in your bag or carryon.
Over Voltage protection
Over Current Protection
Fire-Resistant
Short-Circuit Protection
Internal Safety Shutters
Grounded Protection
Over-Temperature Control
I recommend the following for cables. I usually get both a 1 ft and 6 ft version. We have both apple and Android devices, so we keep lightning and USB-C cables on hand.
Anker USB-C to USB-C Cable (1, 3.3 and 6 ft, 60W), USB 2.0 Type C Charging Cable for MacBook Pro 2020, iPad Pro 2020, iPad Air 4, Samsung Galaxy S21, Nintendo Switch, Pixel, LG, and More
Anker USB-C to Lightning Cable, 331 Cable, Fast Charging Cord (1, 3.3, 6 and 10ft, MFi Certified) for iPhone 13 13 Pro 12 Pro Max 12 11 X XS XR 8 Plus, AirPods Pro, Supports Power Delivery
Most of these are less expensive, with compromises in size, weight, port capacity, etc. Check them out to see if they fit your needs.
Anker 727 Charging Station ( GaNPrime 100W ), Compact Power Strip for Travel and Work, 5ft Detachable Extension Cord with 2 Outlets and 4 USB Ports, for iPhone 13, Samsung, iPad, MacBook, and More. This device is more expensive, but very flexible and can Fast Charge a lot of devices at once.
Anker 337 Power Bank (PowerCore 26K) 26,800mAh Portable Charger, External Battery with Dual Input Port and Double-Speed Recharging, 3 USB Ports for iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Android and Other Devices. This device is larger and heavier than the other power banks, but it has more than double the capacity of the 733 mentioned above. Use this if you need to recharge a lot of devices in a day.
Anker 321 Power Bank (PowerCore 5K), 5,200mAh Portable Charger, External battery compatible with iPhone 13 and 12 Series, Samsung, Google Pixel, LG, and More. Use this if small, light and inexpensive are more important than capacity and speed.
Anker 511 30 Watt Charger USB C (Nano 3), PIQ 3.0 Foldable PPS Fast Charger, Anker Nano 3 for iPhone 14/14 Pro/14 Pro Max/13 Pro/13 Pro Max, Galaxy, iPad (Cable Not Included). This charger is limited to one USB-C port.
Anker 521 40 Watt Charger USB C (Nano Pro), PIQ 3.0 Durable Compact Fast Charger (Not Foldable) for iPhone 13/13 Mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max/12, Galaxy, Pixel 4/3, iPad/iPad Mini (Cable Not Included). This charger is limited to two USB-C ports.
Anker 543 65 Watt Charger USB C PIQ 3.0 4-Port Slim Fast Wall Charger, with Dual USB C Ports (45W Max), for MacBook, USB C Laptops, iPad Pro, iPhone and More. Although more expensive, this charger does have two USB-C Fast Charge ports and two USB-A ports that share 15 Watts..