10 Tips for Picking Shoes for Disney

The easiest way to sink your day at the parks? Painful, achey, blistered tootsies. Those parks are big, and there is no short, quick walk ANYPLACE. You don't want to be limping back to your room within a couple of hours; you wanna go all day! Picking the right shoes is important.

This topic is very near and dear to my heart. As someone who suffers from daily foot pain, the prospect of walking for hours and hours, miles and miles, every single day on hard pavement is a terrifying one. But over the years I have figured out some ways to make my days walking in the parks a lot more comfortable. Here are a few tips I can offer:

Surprisingly, these are Crocs!
Comfortable, light, slip-off/on.

1) It's more of a "before the parks" consideration, but shoes for the plane are something not a lot of people think about. Having a pair you can easily slip on and off at security is a must. Bonus, it's easy to slip your shoes off during your flight when you feet get swollen from traveling. I personally love Crocs for this. They are comfy, lightweight, durable, and many styles can be worn in the parks or by your hotel pool. I like the Mary Jane style, though there are lots of other cute options you wouldn't even know were Crocs, such as the A-Leigh Mini-Wedge Sandal (pictured right), or the more casual, sporty Duet Sport Skimmer.

2) Never EVER bring brand new shoes. Just don't. Even if they are a new pair of a same style and brand you often wear, don't risk it. Break those bad boys in. I recommend picking up any shoes you plan to wear to the parks a couple months in advance of your trip and wearing them for increasingly longer stretches of time to break them in. Figure out what needs a little stretching, maybe what needs adjustment or a spot of moleskin, BEFORE you leave on your trip.

Keen Kanga Mesh Lace -- light, breathable, supportive.

3) Bring multiple pairs of comfortable walking shoes, such as the Keen Kangas at right. Don't rely on just one pair of tennie-runners to get you through an entire trip. Each pair of shoes will have potential hot-spots or issues during your trip, and you may want to switch it up a couple of days to avoid any blisters or pain that one pair has caused. At minimum, I bring one pair of walking/running shoes which I wear with socks, and one pair of supportive sandals or shoes I wear without socks (like my Skechers GoWalks or Clarks Morse Tour). MINIMUM. Often I will change shoes mid-day when we go back to our hotel for a rest. (Sidenote: I also often change outfits mid-day as well, if it is during the hot sweaty summer months. Coming back to your room, taking a shower, resting in the AC, and then getting dressed in fresh togs before heading back out can really rejuvenate you for another long stretch in the parks!)

4) Consider flexibility in your shoe choices. Shoes take up a lot of room and can get heavy. So for instance, as I suggested above, wear shoes on the plane that can also double as poolside shoes. Choose a neutral colored walking shoe that will be able to go with lots of outfits. Pick a nice evening/dress shoe that can be dressed down or up depending on the event. For instance, right now I am loving my Spring Step Amelies, which will work for an afternoon jaunt in Downtown Disney, or dress up with a summer dress for an evening of cocktails.

5) Favor lightweight styles. While as I mentioned above, packing shoes can get heavy in your suitcase, but every ounce also counts when they are literal weights on your tired feet. Crocs became popular park shoes not just because they are comfortable, but because they are so cloud-like in the weight department...and sturdy! You don't have to be a Croc convert to make sure you take weight into account when choosing your footwear.

SoftSpots Sheela - comfy, cute, colorful.

6) You don't have to abandon style for comfort. There are many brands out there, some already mentioned above, which specialize in supportive, cushioned shoes with decent to fabulous style. For my next trip I picked up some SoftSpots Sheelas in red tangerine. This season's colors are all about blues, whites, and corals/oranges, so these will offer a great pop of color that will mix and match incredibly well with my wardrobe, and are made by a company which focuses on comfort shoes. Also, you may consider getting a really high quality supportive insole, which you can put in shoes which are cute but otherwise not as cushioned or supportive as you would want for the volume of walking you will do.

7) Flip Flops? Not for the parks! Not if you love your feet, that is. There seem to be a rugged few who manage to wear ridiculous shoes to the parks and get away with it--heels and flip flops boggle my mind.  If you are no longer a teenager, then flip flops are probably not going to feel good for very long, and aren't nearly as stylish as you can muster with a little thoughtful shopping. They offer little to no support in most cases, and read a little lazy stylistically. If you're here, then you are likely interested in upping your fashion game for the parks. Shoes are one way to take it up a notch, and flip flops are not your friend in this endeavor.

Mickey Crocs! Yes, Crocs, sold in the parks.

8) Pick the right shoes for the right park. For instance, I try to wear the coolest sandal I can to Animal Kingdom, and leave the tennis shoes behind. Why? AK is the hottest park of all (yes, tracked and proven); plus three key words: Kali River Rapids. I ALWAYS get soaked on this ride, and soggy socks and shoes are a miserable condition. By contrast, I prefer socks and walking shoes in Epcot, because there are wider expanses to walk and no water rides to worry about. Plus, I love riding Soarin' and I want shoes that are laced onto my feet so I don't have to take them off when I ride. So consider your destination when making your shoe (and fashion) choices.

9) Buy shoes that work for you, never just on a recommendation. There are tons of threads and articles exploring footwear for the parks, and people will throw out brands and styles which work for them (even I did, as above!), but every foot is truly unique, and even among brands, individual styles will vary widely in comfort and support.  The best you can do is go out and devote an afternoon to trying on lots and lots of shoes. Walk around in them, note where there is even the most minor chafing of snugness--these areas will potentially be awful hotspots when you have been wearing the shoes for 7 hours of walking in intense heat on pavement. Be rigorous in your selection, and then break them in slowly over as long a period as you can.

Plan for the worst. Even the best planning ends in blisters.

10) Be prepared for unexpected issues by packing the necessary tools. I always carry a little container of band-aids, as well as blister-care band-aids and moleskin, into the parks. Some people also recommend having some anti-chafing gel as well, such as Body Glide or Monistat Anti-Chafing Powder Gel.  This can be put anyplace where you are experiencing undue friction (and that includes places like bra lines, thighs, etc). If you forget any of these items, band-aids and blister-care band-aids at least are available at first aid stations in the parks. (I have read other people recommend New Skin, Band Aid blister block, Blis-stop, and dancers' toe tape as other options.)

So there you have it, my Top 10 Tips for Picking Shoes for Disney. Do you have any tried-and-true advice to share? Post it here!