5 Dimes Media
Daily blog/podcast where we break down a subject into it's core attributes, then we snitch or drop the dime to educate our readers and listeners.
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My Take on Disney Adults
04/14/2026
My Take on Disney Adults
OK folks, One of the things I want to accomplish in this blog is giving folks unfiltered, unadulterated truth about stuff I’ve done or experienced. Let’s all just agree, the sun is too bright to stare at, all shit stinks and my mental health is crummy enough that the idea of sugar coating this blog, which I’m writing for my own sanity, is utterly impossible. I’m going to be sharing a lot of personal things here on this blog over the coming weeks and I hope some of you can find a few nuggets of wisdom in my journey. That’s the point of the Grainger Danger blog…I’m glad you’re here, now let’s go break some stuff. Today’s topic, a popular and divisive one…Disney Adults. Step One: What is a Disney Adult? In the most general of terms, it’s an adult who is deeply passionate and enthusiastic about Walt Disney movies, characters and theme parks. On the surface, that’s not overly different from a football fan that wears their favorite player’s jersey to the games or while watching the game on tv. Maybe they make the trek to see their team practice at training camp? Maybe they have some memorabilia, like an autographed helmet or jersey (sometimes framed as a cherished collectible). How does that compare to a Disney Adult which can be characterized as an adult that visits the theme parks, usually without children, collecting merchandise, participating in Disney bounding (dressing in outfits inspired by Disney characters) and incorporating Disney into their lifestyle and home decor? Let’s investigate further... Step Two: Isn’t Disney just for kids? The quick answer is, no. There is a lot that does cater to kids, after all, that was Walt’s original vision. He wanted to build a place for his daughters that would be a clean, safe and imaginative space where kids and parents could have fun together. Originally, Magic Kingdom was a dry park, but over time, they have added the ability to get beer and cocktails in the sit down restaurants. And, in the last year, they have added a pirate themed bar lounge, The Beak and Barrel. Epcot has added an adults only lounge bar, Geo 82 which you cannot get in to unless you are 21 or older. And there’s always the wildly popular “Drinking around the World” game, where you can snag an alcoholic beverage in every country’s pavilion around the World Showcase. On top of that, Epcot also offers a tequila tasting with tequila that you can ONLY get in Epcot at that specific tasting. Even Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom offer alcoholic variations of many of their drink offerings. That’s not to say there’s nothing new for kids, Disney is adding a Cars theme land, a Bluey meet & greet, an art studio experience where you can learn to draw and animate from Olaf and Epcot just finished refurbishing a large playground for kiddos. Step Three: Aren’t the rides kind of boring? Ok, admittedly, it’s not Cedar Point, the absolute gold standard in thrill rides with 18 reported “high thrill rides” and 70 overall ride attractions. But that was never Walt’s intent. Again, the goal was to create a space where kids and their parents could all have a fun time together. So there’s no-height requirement rides for toddlers, like Dumbo’s Flight, Aladdin’s Magic Carpets and The Barnstormer, which sells itself as a nice gentle roller coaster to get kids familiar with coasters and thrill rides. My theme park experience growing up was Six Flags of America near DC, KIng’s Dominion in Doswell, Virginia and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. One of the things that has heavily influenced my love for the Disney Parks is theming. Those parks I grew up on, they had the usual queue of switchbacks, maybe a few fans to help with the summer heat and if you were really lucky, a sign that noted your probable wait time. But almost all of Disney’s rides have some sort of themed queue. Interactive elements like the gemstones on Seven Dwarves Mine Train or the shadows on Peter Pan’s Flight. Then there’s the entire pre-show for rides like Haunted Mansion, Guardians of the Galaxy and Rise of the Resistance. In fact, fun theming and interactive elements exist on most of the Disney rides. Now I can admit, Magic Kingdom, the park with the most rides in Disney World, has maybe 4 of what I would consider actual thrill rides between Tron, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Space Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (if you count the big drop hill). As of right now Big Thunder Railroad isn’t open, but when it does reopen in early May, then Magic Kingdom would be up to 5 thrill rides. But it’s not the ride we’re judging on entirely, it’s the sum of their parts; the interactive queue, the themed elements and when you treat the ride as the culmination of the story telling, it creates an experience that other parks either struggle with or skip out on entirely. Step Four: Why is it so damn expensive? I got nothing on this one, folks, I have to agree, it is expensive and it prices out many of the families for whom these parks were designed and built to serve. From flights and price tiered resorts and date based tickets to lightning lanes, food and merchandise, Disney is designed to drain wallets at an exponentially fast rate. Most folks now consider a trip to Disney to be “once in a lifetime” because they will probably never again save the amount of money needed to go back OR they will be paying off the credit card debt for the next 20 years. And sadly, in 2024, the number of people going into debt to make their once in a lifetime trek to Disney was a staggering 24%, up from 18% just 2 years earlier. That number jumps to 45% when we look at families with children while 33% of park goers going into debt earn over $100,000 per year. So, even if you make 6 figures, you’re probably still going to go into some sort of debt to make this trip. But I have buried the lede a bit here and that is that 59% of Disney park visitors, the same ones spending thousands on flights and hotels and park tickets and food…have no regrets. And based on a 2025 survey, would do it again! Ludicrous? Absolutely. But let this other point sink in, the Disney Parks in Orlando are crowded, there’s no shortage of guests, the prices still aren’t keeping people away. But why?! Step Five: Why?! Because the energy, the trains, Main Street and Walt’s contagious smile in his photos are shared by the kiddo faces when they meet Mickey or Minnie, the adults singing along to Guardians, the damn full-size Millennium Falcon bringing so much of my childhood to life, the dole whip and the fireworks…the magic is real. It makes you feel. Something you’re supposed to give up as an adult, right? Fairy tale princesses and animated characters, that’s kid stuff. But here’s the reality…it’s NOT. It’s Walt’s idea, remember? A place where kids and their parents could have fun together. For the kids, it’s easy, they’ve never had to meet a work deadline or make a mortgage payment, they are the purest form of Disney magic and excitement. For us adults, we have to let go and do a bit more pretending than our younger counter-parts. But if you do it, if you let go and allow yourself to experience the magic and believe, it changes you. And this kind of change isn’t bad or childish, it’s personal, it inspires growth and healing. There has to be a reason that 59% of people have no regrets from their way too expensive trip with all the boring rides. I want to close with a bit of a personal reaction: Quote from The Polar Express; At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old... ...the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe. In June of 2025, I started hearing the bell again. Take Care everyone and remember, it’s your life, live the version that makes you happy.
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The reality of portable chargers
03/10/2026
The reality of portable chargers
Good morning Nerd Herd and welcome to another blog post...this time we are tackling portable chargers. These super convenient battery packs can keep your phone alive when you're not home or near a wall outlet. They can be life savers or help you get through that extra lengthy weekend long baseball tournament without missing all of the exciting moments. First up, i want to tackle the form factors. Typically these battery packs are square or rectangular and provide several charge ports for you to plug in various devices, from Micro USB to USB-A and USB-C respectively. These will usually require a wall brick with a USB type port to connect the battery pack for charging. Then once charged, you will need whatever charging cable is appropriate for your device. This is by far the most common application, but it is fading in favor of some other more convenient options. The caveat here is to get a good quality wall brick, I recommend getting a 45-100W wall brick for charging these units and these are easily found on Amazon. These battery packs will offer a variety of ports as well so you can have multiple options to recharge your unit. There are also some battery packs that come with wall prongs so you can just plug it into the wall for charging, no cable needed for that...you may still need one for charging your device, but you won't need a wall brick for these units. Next, let's look at one of the newest convenience options, built-in cables. I'll tell you up front, I had a unit with a built-in USB-C cable and I babied it and it still died after 4 months. Now the battery pack did have additional ports so i could use a typical phone cable and charge it, so all was not lost. But still, it is very frustrating to pay for a feature that is so flimsy. I have seen units with multiple attached cables (USB-C and Lightning) but i think I would steer clear of these units. Maybe other brands will have better quality and if anyone out there would like to see a stress test comparison of battery packs with built-in cables, let me know in the comments. Lastly, let's look at MagSafe or Qi charging which allows you to "wirelessly charge" or magnetically attach the battery to your device without a cable for recharging. These are very convenient but you will probably need a wall brick and cable to charge it up. Once that's done. you can leave all the cables behind, magnetically attach it to the device and off you go. These units are getting thinner, sometimes come with a charge level screen on them and generally keep the cable mess to a minimum. Next let's look at juice, because that's what really is going to drive the recharge on our devices, right? Battery packs measure their battery output in Milliampere Hours (mAh). I've seen units ranging from 3,000 mAh all the way up to 25,000 mAh. So, in the real world, what does that mean? Generally speaking, 5,000 mAh will give your phone one full charge from 0% to 100%, so i try to use that as my baseline. These units out here that push 3,000 mAh are for topping off a device and if you have a newer phone, that may be all you need to get through the day. Ultimately, you're still only going to get 60% out of it, so if you plug in your device at 10%, you'll drain the battery pack when your phone hits only 70%. I use a 10,000 mAh battery pack for travel days (equal to 2 full recharges) and i have a 25,000 mAh pack for when i'm camping (equal to 5 full recharges!) and while I've never drained either one, i will be honest, a 25,000 mAh unit is probably overkill in 95% of situations. Now, we've looked at different styles and power ratings, let's look at cost. Right now on Amazon, Ridge has a MagSafe battery pack featuring 2 built-in cables (USB-C and Lightning), a digital screen to show charge level %, a divot specifically for charging an apple watch and boasts 10,000 mAh of output for $79. In my opinion, it's a good deal but i personally would get no use out of the attached cables or the watch charger. Now, for a direct competition comparison, Anker offers a MagSafe battery with 10,000 mAh but without the built-in cables, apple watch charging capability or digital charge level for $60. A bit more bare-bones, but for me, this would be all i need. Gopetl offers a 3,000 mAh MagSafe unit that is ultra low profile for $50, which i can't recommend if the Anker offers 3 times the capacity for only $10 more. Lastly, there's a unit on Amazon named LuckyFellow, it offers wall prongs for charging the battery, MagSafe charging for your device, 3 attached cables (Micro USB, USB-C and Lightning), a spot for charging an apple watch and 10,000 mAh for $35. <-- IF anyone has this unit, let me know how fast it died because i can't believe at that price point that it's a solid unit. At the end of the day, decide what features are important to you and don't pay for features you won't use. I would also like to throw in a couple extra notes here, one being that I would not recommend attaching a battery pack to a device when the charge on the device is above 20%. Let the phone get down to 10-20% before attaching the battery, this will help your device battery cycle its power more efficiently. Secondly, these units can provide some serious heat, so whenever possible, charge them in an open area i.e. on a table while you eat, for instance...not in your pocket! These things can get hot enough to explode and if you opt for a cheaper unit (looking at you LuckyFellow), they may not tell you if they have safeguards in place for overheat or voltage protections, so don't take the chance. As always, if you ever want more information or would like to know more specifics, i'm always here to help and I hope some folks out there find this info useful. You can reach us on the contact form on this site or by email at and we are graingerdangertv on instagram. For reference: The units in the thumbnail are all chargers i own. From the top, is a 5,000 mAh Anker wall plug unit, I can actually plug it in the wall and charge my phone from it at the same time, essentially using it as both my wall brick and a portable charger. The next unit down is my oldest 10,000 mAh Anker battery pack, it charges via USB-C and uses USB-A for output. Below that is my 25,000 mAh charger from Anker and you can see it's gigantic and bulky. It uses a USB-C input and both USB-A and USB-C for output. The two on the bottom, the one with the cable loop is my "broken" Baseus 10,000 mAh charger with the built-in cable that no longer functions. I use a standard USB-C cable to charge it up and charge my devices. I like the amount of power it has and the small size and that's why I keep it around. Next to that is my 10,000 mAh MagSafe phone charger, small compact and thin and it does require a wall brick and cable to charge it.
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