A Disney travel agent who’s been to Disney World over 1,000 times shares the #1 item he never forgets to pack

• Greg Antonelle has helped book thousands of disney trips with his company MickeyTravels.
• When he’s not planning vacations for others, he spends the day Walt Disney World.

Greg Antonelle is the founder of MickeyTravels, a Disney travel agency. He works with a team of 250 travel agents to help book Disney trips for everyone from budget travelers to celebrity clients, and estimates he’s been to the parks more than a thousand times.

When he’s packing for a trip to Disney, there’s one item he never forgets to pack. Well, technically there’s more than one: cell phone chargers, and he always packs two.

That’s because so much of Disney is accessible through your phone, Antonelle said. And while a laptop charger used to be useful years ago; today he says it is a necessity. Here’s why.

From quick access to mobile meals, visitors need a fully charged phone

Antonelle said one of the biggest mistakes travelers make when visiting Disney is not realizing how much they’re going to need their cell phones. In fact, Antonelle said it’s nearly impossible right now to visit Disney without a phone and the My Disney Experience app.

On the app, customers can buy Disney tickets, reserve a place in a park through the company’s new Park Pass reservation system, order mobile meals, see wait times for rides and book passes. pass fast.

Even things like your resort room key are now accessible through your phone, he said.

Along with needing a phone for the Disney app, Antonelle said you’ll likely be taking photos and posting to social media throughout the day. And if you have kids, phone games are a great way to distract them while they wait in long Disney lines.

All of this can quickly drain your phone’s battery, Antonelle said. So he recommends packaging a portable charger, and if you have room, pack two to be on the safe side, he said. Antonelle’s favorite is the Anker power bank, which can charge a phone 10 times and costs $140, but Antonelle said you can find other options for less.

“If your cellphone isn’t charged, you’re in trouble,” he said.

Disney makes portable chargers, but Antonelle said it’s better to have your own

At Disney parks and resorts, guests can access “FuelRods stations,” which are kiosks where Guests can purchase a take-home charging kit for $30 that comes with a portable charger and cords, according to the Disney website.

From experience, Antonelle said “the lifespan of FuelRods is really short” compared to some of the portable chargers he uses. Antonelle said if your phone breaks down in the morning, you may need to use multiple FuelRods throughout the day. Not only will it cost more, but it will also take time to queue and find a booth, Antonelle said.

The simplest solution? Pack yours.

“You always want to bring a charger,” he said. “Your cell phone is basically everything.”