flip flops

[immalemon]

My 4 year old loves wearing flip flops. Would this be suitable to wear in the parks, or no? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[LibertyBelle]

People wear them all the time in the park. I personally am not a flip flop person, but many people do wear them in the parks so it is up to your daughter. If that is what she is comfortable wearing than she should wear them... It's vacation after all

 

[Deb & Bill]

My 10 yr old son loves them, too. But his feet can get sore by only wearing them, so I make him wear his sneakers occasionally. Or at least change them out so he doesn't only wear the ones that fit between his toes. Sometimes slides, sometimes sneakers, sometimes flipflops.

 

[Lisa AF]

My girls love wearing flip flops too. So.... we were going to Islands of Adventures and knew that we would be wet. My oldest begged to not have to wear wet athletic shoes all day and I caved and let her wear flip flops (against my better judgement). On the way to the car her foot began to swell. She had actually broken her foot because she had no protection from the pressure of walking all day (a stress fracture). We pushed her in a wheelchair the rest of our trip. We still had a great vacation and she now bows to my wisdom!

Of course you must make the best decision for your child. Some flipflops have more support then others. Just wanted to share our story, hope it helps!

 

[immalemon]

Thank you all for your help with this. I think I will pack a pair of sneakers, but maybe let her wear flip flops too sometimes. She will be in a stroller a lot of the time too, so I think that will help with stress fractures and stuff. i do know they are not very good for walking all day, which is why I asked, but we'll play it by ear I suppose.

thanks again!!

 

[memymomonica]

My daughter is 6 and flip flops are a must in our house. I wear them myself whenever I can. I do take sneakers though. It is nice to have a change regardless. I bought some great leather flip flops at Payless last year. I haven't seen them this year. It was the only place I could find leather for kids. I won't do the plastic. They are too uncomfortable for her. Anyone know of good leather flip flops in kids sizes???

 

[nasmith]

Was at WDW last weekend and saw an incredible amount of people wearing flip-flops - unfortunately alot of them had multiple band-aids on their feet (where the flip-flop straps rub), and many also had burned feet.....It's often easy to forget just how much walking you will be doing at WDW (miles and miles and miles) - so bring another shoe option just in case of blisters - and don't forget to reapply the sunscreen to the tops of your feet every few hours....Jill

 

[memymomonica]

I think it is all in the shoe. You get what you pay for. I have purchased name brand flip flops and they are the most comfortable shoes I own. I am also very used to wearing them. I think it is a HUGE mistake to think that you are on vacation in Florida, so you should wear them when you haven't been wearing them before. The sunscreen is a good idea! I always make sure to sunscreen my ears. Wore a ponytail once and wow what a burn. It is amazing the places we forget about. You will remember them after one good burn though!

 

[da disney fans]

I am definitely a flip flop kind of girl. I wear them til the snow comes, and put them back on at the first hint of spring.

I wore them to WDW in December (alternated with tennis shoes), and my feet HURT by the end of the second day in flip flops. The ones I brought on the trip are very cushioned, supportive sandals from a well known surfing company, so I can't even imagine how much pain I would have been in if I'd worn regular flip flops from, say, Old Navy or similar.

 

[Jaklackus]

Flip flops are bad for the parks..tried it once..never again, ended up stealing DHs sneakers and making him wear my big chunky mickey mouse flip flops for the rest of the day! Comfortable, broken in sneakers are best..your feet are going to hurt enough from the walking why tempt blisters especially around the toes!

 

[JPN4265]

Originally posted by immalemon
My 4 year old loves wearing flip flops. Would this be suitable to wear in the parks, or no? Thanks in advance for your help.

I would recommend tennis shoes for the support and safety. Nothing as bad as having your toes stepped on.

Just a side bar, have you noticed that people who wear flip flops for an extended period of time, that the ankles start to turn inward?

 

[Schmeck]

A good alternative to flip flops are the water sandals Lands End sells. They protect your feet, but are very open, can get soaking wet, and dry pretty quickly. My girls have worn them to the parks, and on a week's vacation at Lake Powell. I have a pair as well, and haven't had any blisters/sore feet, etc.

 

[immalemon]

JPN4265-- Yea I know what you mean about the ankles, but unfortunately where I live (in the mountains of Colorado) it snows 9 months out of the year, and the other 3 months we are usually in hiking boots and only about 1/4, if that, during those 3 months are in flip flops. Since she loves having her toes painted and loves wearing flip flops when she can, I bought her two pair for the trip. The other half of this trip is on a cruise and I know she can get some good use out of them there. Thanks!!

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

I just had to throw out my 2 cents on this....Flip flops in parks scare me. Tennis shoes have a LOT more protection and support. Besides the sunburn and blisters, I would be afraid of her little toes getting squished. If your standing in line and a person steps back and on her foot. She's walking and trips, stubs her toe...ouch! Your getting on Small World and her flip flop does a flop in the water. Your walking through the park and stop to look at something just briefly, she decides to get out of the stroller and you start to move and catch her toes under the wheels. Another Ouch. There are just so many ways we can hurt our feet. Granted, these are worse case senarios, but still. I wouldn't want to "ruin" our trip when it could be prevented. Why not let her wear her Flip flops to the pool and on the cruise, or maybe out to dinner, but keep the tennis shoes for in the parks. I don't even like to let our boys wear their closed toed sandles to the parks. Tennies are just better....IMHO. Have a great trip!!

 

[Kermit]

I would also insist on tennis shoes for children for safety reasons. Not only are their toes unprotected in flip flops, but they fall off so easily. They could get caught in a moving part of a ride and cause serious damage, since a child probably wouldn't think quickly enough to just get out of the shoe. I used to teach and never allowed clogs or flip flops because I saw so many accidents happen in them. Even the older kids (as old as 5th grade) had problems when they wore them.

 

[kilee]

Each person is different. Some people can walk miles in their flip-flops and not have a single blister or sore foot. Others, 20 steps and they're done. I think it's a matter of personal preference. If you were going to do it, I'd look into some with really good support. Not the $2.99 one's that are 1/8 of an inch think.

I've worn sandals and sneakers to WDW. Both comfortable to me, and haven't had a problem. So, good judgement and personal perference are needed.

Either way the flip-flops are great for going to the pool area's.

 

[carone0318]

If she is in a stroller for the most part, I'd let her wear whatever she wants. If she will be walking, then sneakers are a must.

My dd (7.5) this year will be her first time walking at WDW as opposed to being in the stroller. Just yesterday, she asked me if she would be wearing sandals in the parks and I said no, you will be doing a lot of walking this year. Her main concern is her feet getting sweaty.

 

[Ames]

I'm a flip flop girl. I don't even pack tennis shoes anymore for Disney. Kids maybe a different story but for me flip flops are the way to go. They let my feet breath and they are so light....lets face it, feet get tired and having big heavy shoes just makes them more tired IMO. Haven't had any major issues w/blisters. Trick is don't wear plastic or leather ones...nice soft cloth.

And yes I even wear the cheap 1/8 inch thick ones and no problems at all.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

If sweaty feet are the issue, then use foot powder in the morning, then in a ziploc, pack an extra pair of socks, prepowdered. Then, mid day, take a break for a Mickey bar, watch the parade and switch socks. Put the used ones in the ziplock. You may even be able to leave the shoes off for a few minutes before putting them back on.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

Anytime I go to the Disney parks, I ALWAYS wear flip flops (except when it's cold). I try to wear sneakers at Universal/IOA and Sea World since they have roller coasters, and I hate having to take the shoes off.