Favorite park shoes

[hops&dreams]

I know this has been asked time and time again, but what are your favorite park shoes? I have my running shoes (Asics GEL-Kayanos) that I've always worn in the past, but I'm looking to get new "everyday" shoes and thought I may as well wear them in for Disney.

I've been looking at Born, Dansko, Sofft... I have a pair of Dr Martens, but they are well over 10 years old and while they're ok for a work day (mostly desk job) I'm not sure how I'd do after 7-11 miles a day in them - that's how much we walked last trip!

Thanks for any tips!

 

[FoxyGranny]

I bought a new pair last trip, and although they felt good initially weren't as comfy as my origional go walk version. I was so happy i brought those as well. I want to try the new advertised as like wearing socks. My issue as well as comfor is heat. I cannot stand my feet hot.

 

[chelseabun76]

That is on my to-do list sometime in the next 2 weeks. I NEED SHOES! I wear Clarks on a daily basis, but they are more dressy type shoes that I wear at work too, however I would never wear them to walk around Disney all day/evening long. I was looking at the Go Walks, wondering if those are the ones to pick?

 

[Frozen2014]

Sketchers Go Walks...these were a lifesaver for me. Started having feet problems just before our trip. Everything hurt but these. Wore them the whole trip and so comfy.

 

[WDWFan06]

I tried Merrell for the first time this summer. Worked great. They are now my everyday favorite tennis shoes that were so comfy on 2 Disney trips so far.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I always wear nikes air shox. Honestly it feels like u are walking on a cloud lol. This trip though I will have a scooter bc of a bad ankle and some balance/dizziness issues so I am actually excited to be able to wear sandals in the park lol

 

[kmarie99]

I love my Tevas, they are so comfortable with great support. I love that they are sandals since I hate to wear shoes (would go barefoot all the time if I could)

 

[LSUfan4444]

Most of the time I wear an older pair of my running shoes, but if it is a half day and not alot of walking is planned I may opt for my Sperry Top Siders or flip flops.

 

[chelseabun76]

I wish I could plan on sandals/flip flops, but going the last week of January I do NOT want to get frozen feet in the evenings if the day turns around halfway through on me. lol

 

[Guest-expert]

Love my merrells!

 

[Lady Marie]

As a FL girl, I hate binding shoes. For my Europe trip this past summer, I bought the Ahnu Karmas. LOVE THEM! They are so cute-- wearable with capris, jeans, shorts. Now, I don't think I'd wear them in cold weather, but cool weather for sure. They lasted me all through England, Ireland, and France, and are now my "go-to" Disney shoes.

 

[Art 1]

Nike Air Max

 

[Brook1099]

I usually wear sneakers either Nike Air or Ascics. Then Teva flip flops.. love love them. This year I am also taking Bobs Sketchers.

 

[PippiDancer]

I love my Croc flip flops.

On my last trip I started out wearing my sneakers because I thought they would be more supportive. But after 2 days my feet were killing me! I switched to my flip flops and my feet didn't bother me the rest of the week. But I also wear them all the time and rarely wear sneakers, so that is what my feet are used to. I guess it is all up to personal preference.

 

[JanaJohn]

Since your feet are already accustomed to your running shoes why not just wear them? Why take the chance of breaking in a new pair of shoes at WDW? Unless you plan to do a lot of practice walking in the new shoes before you get to the park I wouldn't chance anything new.

 

[ktlm]

Bernie Mevs. Since I started wearing them a few years ago, I have not worn anything else to the parks. My feet aren't even tired at the end of the day. I think it is because they are lightweight, which also makes them easy to pack.

 

[Celesdragon]

Wore Sketchers Memory Foam sneakers for the first time to the parks. And for the first time, no pain by the time we got back to the room at the end of the day. We were walking nearly 15 miles a day.

 

[kmarie99]

I wish I could plan on sandals/flip flops, but going the last week of January I do NOT want to get frozen feet in the evenings if the day turns around halfway through on me. lol

That is the week that we go too and I always wear my Teva sandals and my feet have never froze.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Wore Sketchers Memory Foam sneakers for the first time to the parks. And for the first time, no pain by the time we got back to the room at the end of the day. We were walking nearly 15 miles a day.

Just a slightly off topic note...for those using pedometers or fit bits or some other form of step counter, their estimates are grossly inaccurate and almost the actual distance.

Too many things are mistaken as steps and not all steps are created equal (in terms of stride length). In terms of measuring apples to apples (meaning comparing one day to the next), they are a good tool to track but are pretty bad when calculating actual distances.

The only reason I bring this up is that if someone plans to wear a certain type or pair of shoes in the parks you probably want to make sure they are broken in ahead of time and that your feet can handle multiple (back to back) days with certain mileage. So, if you want to track ____ miles while walking on your treadmill, use your fitbit to track, NOT the treadmill. If you go to a track, use your fit bit, NOT the actual track mileage.

As long as you compare your daily walking to the fitbit every day, the variances are mostly irrelevant.

 

[hops&dreams]

Since your feet are already accustomed to your running shoes why not just wear them? Why take the chance of breaking in a new pair of shoes at WDW? Unless you plan to do a lot of practice walking in the new shoes before you get to the park I wouldn't chance anything new.

I would be breaking in the shoes in the month leading up to Disney.

I'm reluctant to wear my running shoes for 2 reasons...
1. They are my running shoes. I will start training for a half marathon when we get back. I generally only wear my running shoes for actual runs, and older, worn out shoes for running errands, cross training, etc. I guess I could wear them and just replace them earlier in my training schedule than currently anticipated, but if I'm having to get a pair of every day shoes, I'd rather put the miles on those than my expensive running shoes (they are about $150 a pair at my running store).
2. They are athletic shoes, which, to me, is a very casual shoe. Which means wearing a t-shirt. Which I don't wear very often. I guess I have a couple of Disney tees that I'll be wearing, but normally, it's a blouse, sweater, or button down.

I'll end up bringing my running shoes and may wear them to the parks a couple of the days, but I was just looking for quality, supportive every-day shoes that would hold up well do Disney walking... that's something that I can't just get at Target, you know?

Thanks for everyone's input so far... lots of ideas to check out!!