I’m home sick today, which is pretty much The Worst, but the blogging
continues! Figured I’d choose something simple and informative – charging your
phone at the DLR!
(Disclaimer – there are tons of options out there, but this
is what has worked for me. Also I didn’t take pictures because I’m new to blogging
like this and am an all-around terrible person.)
On my recent solo trip, I knew I’d be using my phone a LOT
for pictures, the Lines app (more on that another day!), and texting; since I
was by myself I just didn’t want to turn off my phone for long stretches the
way I do when I’m with other people. We’re all using our phones more – I know
it’s the best camera that I have, and for reals, my Twitter is important to me.
What. First thing I did was buy a tiny mophie Juice Pack Reserve – it comes on a
little keychain and is cheaper than the other versions. I could just carry it
around in my purse and charge my phone during meals or while waiting in line. The
downside is that it doesn’t fully recharge your phone, but it gave me about
20-30 percent, which is all I need some days. You can buy bigger and better
devices that will bring you back to 100%, but at $35 the mini was what I could
afford. I was dumb and didn’t bring two plugs/cords, so it wasn’t often
that I was able to get my Reserve up to 100% (I’d charge my phone overnight and
plug in the Juice Pack the next morning while I was getting ready – not nearly
enough time), but whatever. Live and learn. Next time.
Something else I did was just find an outlet and plug in my
phone, haha. I know there are some outlets in the parks (my Aunt Kim found one
outside Taste Pilot’s Grill in DCA), but none really stood out to me, and hotel
living is more my style. My friend Delane showed me an outlet in a smoking area
in the Grand Californian – it’s on the way to the restaurants, outside facing
the pool there are some benches, and outlets are located right behind the seats
so you can sit and charge. I’m not a smoker, but it’s a spacious area, so anyone that
did come to smoke sat on the other bench and I wasn’t at all bothered. It’s a nice
quiet area to sit for a while. Calm music, you know. Grand Californian Things.
Another place I charged up (again at the Grand Californian)
was at White Water Snacks, one of my VERY favorite places to eat (again, more on
that another time)! If you can get the table near the doors (the ones
that lead to the outside seating by the pool) there’s an outlet right there in
plain view. I got some breakfast (okay, brunch) on my last day and just charged (and Facebook'd) while I ate. What.
Really, the Grand Californian has electrical outlets
everywhere, if you’re ballsy enough to just sit down in a chair, plug in and
dare anyone to stop you. I’ve never tried, but if you look they’re all up and
down the hallways (near the comfy chairs) on the way to and from DCA and
Downtown Disney. They have a few in their “business center” area too (with all
the payphones) that I DID use…but I don’t really think I was supposed to be
there at the time. Oh well. Sorry, Disney.
Something I haven’t tried but is a great (and smart) idea by
Disney are the charging lockers on Main Street, USA. They’re in the same
facility as the regular lockers – for $2 an hour you can just plug in your
phone and come back later. If you’re just charging your phone, you don’t even
need to bring your own cord (they have “standard” outlet lockers for other
devices)! Yayyy convenience. Will I ever use these? Ehh…it’s hard for me to pay
for something like a locker. Seriously, sometimes I've gone cold at night because I refuse to carry a jacket around all day and IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE CALIFORNIA, DAGNABBIT. But really I think I just need to get over it and
realize that time is money. Do I want to sit down and do nothing while I wait
for my phone to charge, or use that time to maybe eat a meal or experience an
attraction? Or get cold at night because I don't want to get a dumb locker? I guess it just depends on how much time/money you have on your visit.
Before my trip I searched for a recent list of tips for
charging your phone, but couldn’t find anything “recent” enough for me – a lot
of the lists had been started years ago, and with all the new changes to the
parks I wanted something more current. Any tips to share about phone charging?
Please share!
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| Gots to keep my phone charged so I can take supercool pictures -- like this series of me riding Splash Mountain by myself. |
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