How much walking is there REALLY?

[goofyernmost]

I went the pedometer route once, and that was all I wanted to know (actually a lot more then I wanted to know)

First of all...I am not a commando type visitor. If I get to a Fastpass Machine and the times are suitable for me...I get one. I stop and smell the roses...I watch people...I walk slowly because I am absorbed in the surroundings and yet, I logged 10 miles on one day at MK. Just the thought of that makes my feet hurt. So in answer to your question...yes, yes a thousand time yes...you walk a lot. And that was just MK...wait till you get to Epcot or AK.

 

[minandmick]

Just two weeks back from our first trip, my advice is,

Take the walking very seriously

I say so because of this:

My husband sits at a desk all day at work, works on computers at home and is moderately overweight. After pounding the Disney theme park pavement for three FULL days, his legs took a hit.

I'm not even sure I can describe it...imagine the reddest, most purple bruise you can imagine. That's what his calves looked like. Oh, and his legs were twice the size that they normally are.

We ended up spending our last day at urgent care down the road from the property. They said that a combination of walking and heat did that to his legs. He ended up on an antibiotic (it was turning into cellulitis by the time we got there), lasix ( a diuretic) & potassium and steroids. His legs are mostly better now, but still have discoloration and a tiny bit of swelling. We have been seeing our physician since we got home.

Now our new rule is, no Disney during the summer or hot months. Frequent sitting breaks. No more than 6-8 hours at a park at one time. We've bought annual passes so that we can feel free to come and go whenever we want and not feel like we have to "do all the parks now!"

I hope that helps.

 

[twokids0204]

We're from southwestern Ontario, Canada--looking at the weather obsessively (as all Canadians do) I see nothing there that terrifies me. Yes, it'll be hot and humid in Orlando in October--about what it is here in July. The only real issue is the nighttime low, which remains stubbornly, ridiculously hot. But I figure that's what air conditioning is for, right?
My DW, on the other hand, absolutely HATES the heat. She is hot at any temperature above absolute zero and can (HAS) sunburned in the rain. So we're taking counteractive measures out the wazoo: sunscreen; "sun-brella" (ordered special from Phoenix, AZ, and let me tell you, Canadians don't know what to make of anybody using an umbrella when there isn't a cloud in the sky); camelback; cold-packs; portable fan; special sun-blocking hat; you name it.
Other than ADRs, we don't HAVE to be anywhere, anywhen. So if we get tired/overheated, we take a break. I was just surprised at how much walking is actually involved...

We live 10 minutes from Wonderland, and just returned from 8 park days at WDW.

So here's my take on it.

Disney Parks vs. Wonderland
When we go to Wonderland (being season's pass holders as I suspect you may be) we go for a few hours (not a full day). We have kids so when we go we are usually in the kids area (Used to be Hanna Barberra - now Planet Snoopy) we would do a few rides maybe watch a show, have a snack, then head home for dinner.
At Disney Parks, we felt it is not in our backyard, and have to see as much as we can, and would head from attraction to attraction, trying to see everything. The attractions are further apart as there is a lot of theming around each. The queue areas alone are WAY longer then anything at Wonderland.
With Wonderland, if we miss something, we will pick it up next time (or realistically - have done it 100 times before)

Weather
We returned yesterday, and it was HOT... the sun beats down on you and drraaains you. It is not at all like a Southern Ontario heat (even our scorching summer we had in June / July). As well you are out in that sun a lot longer, as again you feel you have to get as much done, to see everything. We are normally commando type tour'ers but HAD to take mid afternoon breaks at the resort to jump in the pool and refresh ourselves. It makes a world of difference.

Walking
We arrived at the parks at rope drop, and went to closing almost every day.
The Disney Parks are bigger then WDW, and we also had to cover it from end to end. Even when we returned to the hotel for our afternoon breaks, there is a long walk to and from the buses - AND the big point you are not taking into consideration, is you (or we) do Wonderland at very most once a week (but more realistically twice a month) this gives your body time to recoup from the previous days activities. At WDW you walk EVERY day, morning to night.
On average you will walk 7 - 10 miles at a disney park. After day 1 my feet were fine, after day 2 small blisters start coming, after day 8 I had huge blisters on both feet - and thats with the use of Moleskin and Bodyglide (both of which are used by a lot of DISer's and did actually help despite the blisters).

 

[Planogirl]

The weather should be much nicer in October than in July. At least I hope so.

I didn't see anyone mention this but if you tour the parks most efficiently you tend to crisscross the parks quite a bit. Plus you have to factor in the walking outside the parks to transportation and in and around resorts too.

 

[disneynutsss]

HI, I'm Leebee, and I'm a couch potato! (Everyone responds "Hi Leebee!")

OK, truly I am a couch potato, and an overweight, out-of-shape couch potato at best (think of me as the one will ALL the toppings; truly a stuffed potato!). USUALLY when we go to WDW, I am DONE after day 1. No, that doesn't stop me, I keep going, but my feet, knees, legs, and back are usually VERY unhappy with me for the remainder of our trip (usually 6 days). This year, I scheduled 10 days in WDW followed immediately by a full day at Six Flags New England. There is NO WAY I wanted to have swollen, sore feet and calves for the whole trip; how much fun is that? I started a miniwalking regimen in mid-July, about a month before our trip. Here were my rules:
On the days I had to work in the morning (M/T/W), I walked one mile. ONly one mile, 1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back. On the other two week days, I could walk as much (about 1.75 miles) as I wanted, but had to do the "usual" mile. On Saturdays, Sundays, and rainy days, I didn't have to walk at all. These were my own rules, and rules I could stick with. I ended up usually doing a mile a day, 5 days a week, and guess what? I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH MY FEET, KNEES, LEGS OR BACK AT ALL !!! This is the first time EVER, in 20+ trips, that I haven't been extremely uncomfortable or in outright pain every time I walked, by the end of day 1. No problem standing in lines, waiting for the bus, standing on the bus, or even walking back to my resort room, which was on the backside of the 50's building, on the long corridor that sticks out (sort of like a back wing, with no rooms on either side facing a pool). I was ASTOUNDED! I like my new strength so much that I am continuing to walk at least three mornings a week before school, or will until it snows or freezes me out (precipitation isn't on my list of rules!).

SO... You CAN make it through Disney, with minimal training. I did! and I never thought I'd EVER be able to say that!

ooh, please post the before and after pics, would love to see them!!

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

We decided to change the way we toured the parks this year and walked a whole lot less than we usually do and even though it was much better, I could still feel it in my feet and back. After multiple trips of trying to do as much as possible we decided to slow down and not criss cross the parks. We did everything that we could do in an area of each park before we moved on and did not go back to that area during that visit. It was much less stressful and painful.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

on our first visit we went commando style. my mom said there is too much to do to get to do it all. i took that as a personal challenge. i got everything done with time to spare. i did notice that when i woke up the next morning my legs hurt worse than i've ever felt in my life. i could'nt believe HOW bad. we still went commando style the next days of the trip and each morning i would feel worse than i did the day before, not knowing that would be even possible! At that time i was in college and rode my bike to and from class, tons of walking, we lived on a big hill, carried my bike up and down 3 flights of stairs daily from my apartment, weightlifted 3x a week for 4hrs, ate very healthy, etc. and i felt SO wiped out!

On our next trip we didnt go commando style and my legs never hurt. On our 7 trips since our first i've never felt sore like that again since we learned to slow down and "smell the roses."

It's all in what you make it. So my advice is dont over do it. If you go for a week you'll see it all. Well not if you're like my dad and sister who have to stop constantly to get a snack, smoke breaks constantly, bathroom breaks. now THAT was taking it slow, drove me nuts, but anyway a normal pace shouldnt be painful. wear comfy shoes. it's amazing how you see most people with new shoes on, OUCH. well i'm actually brining newish shoes this trip b/c they're so cool looking but i hope they're nice to my feet.

 

[DOOM1001]

It all depends on the way you tour the parks,the way I do them it's probably rare if I do less than 12-15 miles a day,many days possibly close to 20.If you just stay in one park and just do the park attraction by attraction without criss crossing the park,you probably won't do more than 5-6 miles but if you're like me park hopping,walking from one end of the park to the other to get a fastpass,etc..you'll be in the 12-18 mile range easy.

 

[coneygoil]

You will do more walking in one day than you do a week at home! I love the walking at WDW. I lost 2 pounds last trip and that's eating tons of food a day while there!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

PArt of WDW is that you don't do it for one day, but for seven. (or however many you stay; sevenis a popular number) Also, WDW has a way of maximizing the distance between two points with curved walkways, etc. Most of the time you can't walk 'as the bird flies.' It's something that amazes me about WDW actually. And sometime when two points are pretty close together ( the 3 All Star resorts), DIsney uses landscaping to make them look rather far apart. They know all the ins and outs of using landscaping to full advantage to disguise things. Like the division between the various 'lands' in the MK. they also use landscaping to keep guests on designated paths: plants, rails, water features.

It's not just true inte parks, but at all the resorts.

I have very often posted the idea of getting shape before you go. DO a 30min walk every day for a month if you can - even if you do other forms of exercise. Leg pushes also help.

Many resorts have a pond/lake inthe middle - or between one resort and it's nearest neighbor. This is often done to create a completely diffeent theme - so that one is not visible form the other. Sometimes it means you can't walk between two points that maybe could/should be connected (GF to MK, some mods to Epcot).

Beyond that, while WDW uses gentle slopes you may not always realize are hills - you are not wlaking on level ground all day. The four parks/resorts all have small inclines that add up over a full day.

In short, it all adds up.

Likewise - You don't HAVE to walk all day if you don't choose. Thre is so much ot see and do at WDW, WE cna go all day, every day for a week and not see EVERYTHING. (Thoug we'll do some headliner rides more than once).

It also matter what resort you atay at, and the location of your room within that resort. You could be very centrally located at any resort or very far from the food court/pool/front desk/parking lot/bus stop/parks. The large mods are the largest and have lakes in the middle. Deluxes are often the best in terms of minimizing walking, but not always. The values are often not too bad, but it makes difference if your room is on an upper floor and not near an elevator or stairs - or really far from amenities.

But plenty of folks don't do nearly as much walking as we do, they leave after one ride.
Other folks use strollers, motorized scooters to avoid walking if they have the need.

Others cope by sitting down frequently.
Other cope by using Disney transportation at every opportunity, which can mean additional time waiting in line.



Last, as DH likes to say, it's not just the walking; it's the amount of standing. Standing on pavement is in many ways more tiring that walking.

IF you are in shape and have good walking shoes- you can do much more without pain. Another trick is to soak your feet at night. A hot tub can do wonders! Cool water soak may also feel great. IF you are out of shape, you'll be far more limited. You cna still 'do' WDW, but there's a price for limited mobility.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

You will do more walking in one day than you do a week at home! I love the walking at WDW. I lost 2 pounds last trip and that's eating tons of food a day while there!

Me too, then I gain 5 athe first week home because I got used to eating that much and still do, but the bulk of the walking ceases.

 

[DisneyMim]

We average 7-9 miles a day. This is why I never gain weight on a Disney vacation!!!

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[larryz]

HI, I'm Leebee, and I'm a couch potato! (Everyone responds "Hi Leebee!")

OK, truly I am a couch potato, and an overweight, out-of-shape couch potato at best (think of me as the one will ALL the toppings; truly a stuffed potato!). USUALLY when we go to WDW, I am DONE after day 1. No, that doesn't stop me, I keep going, but my feet, knees, legs, and back are usually VERY unhappy with me for the remainder of our trip (usually 6 days). This year, I scheduled 10 days in WDW followed immediately by a full day at Six Flags New England. There is NO WAY I wanted to have swollen, sore feet and calves for the whole trip; how much fun is that? I started a miniwalking regimen in mid-July, about a month before our trip. Here were my rules:
On the days I had to work in the morning (M/T/W), I walked one mile. ONly one mile, 1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back. On the other two week days, I could walk as much (about 1.75 miles) as I wanted, but had to do the "usual" mile. On Saturdays, Sundays, and rainy days, I didn't have to walk at all. These were my own rules, and rules I could stick with. I ended up usually doing a mile a day, 5 days a week, and guess what? I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH MY FEET, KNEES, LEGS OR BACK AT ALL !!! This is the first time EVER, in 20+ trips, that I haven't been extremely uncomfortable or in outright pain every time I walked, by the end of day 1. No problem standing in lines, waiting for the bus, standing on the bus, or even walking back to my resort room, which was on the backside of the 50's building, on the long corridor that sticks out (sort of like a back wing, with no rooms on either side facing a pool). I was ASTOUNDED! I like my new strength so much that I am continuing to walk at least three mornings a week before school, or will until it snows or freezes me out (precipitation isn't on my list of rules!).

SO... You CAN make it through Disney, with minimal training. I did! and I never thought I'd EVER be able to say that!

Smart!

 

[WizardLarz]

What you do have to remember is you walk some, stop and sit on a ride, then repeat! To give you and idea, the walk around World Showcase in Epcot is 1.3 miles! If you follow the wheel around each Park and hit the atractions as you get to them, then you will not walk too much. However most people spend their day crisscrossing the park, esspecially if they use the FastPass system. Of course each day you'll stop for an hour or so, in order to eat meals. There are also the breaks you get at the shows. You will not be on your feet moving all day long.


The Best Part, You're at Walt Disney Wordl!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Okay - I'll add a few more thoughts/comments....

I am a confessed WDW commando. I LOVE to be on the go at WDW as much as I can endure. (That said, I dislike many of the curvy routes they make you walk). In more recent years, I've kind of discovered that I've been on all the attractions many times now, so missing one isn't a big deal. Still, I see WDW a s afun way to exerise. To me, a treadmill is the ultimate in drudgery. Racing to Space Mtn at 2am for one last ride and running up the fastpass walkway (after being inthe MK sincce 9am) is one of the most fun things!

I have used going to WDW as a motivation for getting in shape and losing a few pounds. (Even at home I prefer summer/winter outdoor walks to dreadful treadmills.) I'm not one to love exercise at home, and that's part of why we enjoy WDw so much - all the FUN exercise we get.

The more you can move - the more you'll be able to do at WDW.

If, however, you are NOT having fun and your feet hurt, it is time to stop or take a break. Do listen to your body.

 

[kisobel]

The weather should be much nicer in October than in July. At least I hope so.

dont count on it. our first trip was in oct. we love halloween and food an wine festival. we had 5 days of record heat and humidity. i thought i was going to die. i'm not a heat gal. just be aware the possiblitlity exisits to broil.

kate

 

[ehaley]

Lot's of walking - no way around it, even if it is broken up. But after my first rookie trip (and lots of blisters), I now bring 2 good pairs of running shoes, different brands and well broken in, and switch them out every day. No problems with hot spots or blisters and gives the shoes a chance to breathe and dry out too.

 

[WeRblam]

HI, I'm Leebee, and I'm a couch potato! (Everyone responds "Hi Leebee!")

OK, truly I am a couch potato, and an overweight, out-of-shape couch potato at best (think of me as the one will ALL the toppings; truly a stuffed potato!). USUALLY when we go to WDW, I am DONE after day 1. No, that doesn't stop me, I keep going, but my feet, knees, legs, and back are usually VERY unhappy with me for the remainder of our trip (usually 6 days). This year, I scheduled 10 days in WDW followed immediately by a full day at Six Flags New England. There is NO WAY I wanted to have swollen, sore feet and calves for the whole trip; how much fun is that? I started a miniwalking regimen in mid-July, about a month before our trip. Here were my rules:
On the days I had to work in the morning (M/T/W), I walked one mile. ONly one mile, 1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back. On the other two week days, I could walk as much (about 1.75 miles) as I wanted, but had to do the "usual" mile. On Saturdays, Sundays, and rainy days, I didn't have to walk at all. These were my own rules, and rules I could stick with. I ended up usually doing a mile a day, 5 days a week, and guess what? I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH MY FEET, KNEES, LEGS OR BACK AT ALL !!! This is the first time EVER, in 20+ trips, that I haven't been extremely uncomfortable or in outright pain every time I walked, by the end of day 1. No problem standing in lines, waiting for the bus, standing on the bus, or even walking back to my resort room, which was on the backside of the 50's building, on the long corridor that sticks out (sort of like a back wing, with no rooms on either side facing a pool). I was ASTOUNDED! I like my new strength so much that I am continuing to walk at least three mornings a week before school, or will until it snows or freezes me out (precipitation isn't on my list of rules!).

SO... You CAN make it through Disney, with minimal training. I did! and I never thought I'd EVER be able to say that!

WTG LeeBee! I am a personal trainer and you did exactly what I would tell my clients - start small, make goals you live with and keep with the program because it does payoff! Disney is a lot of walking and you took the exact measures to minimize your pain and soreness. Very proud of you, keep up the great work!

 

[Golf4food]

7-12 miles per day on average for us.

 

[jpmandan]

All I know is there is a lot of walking. So we all bring 2 pair of shoes, and mole skin. And scissors to cut the mole skin. Oh yea, we also start walking about 2 weeks before our trip.