Pedometers at WDW

[GorshGoofy]

I’ve always wondered just how far I walk at WDW, so in an effort to get healthier I’ve started wearing a pedometer clipped to my shoe. Sometime ago I took up the challenge of walking to WDW. I mapped out the mileage from my house to WDW and use that as a goal to measure my progress as I walk/exercise each day. My pedometer is a $5.00 model purchased from WalMart. I can’t attest to its complete reliability but the likelihood is that it under reports my steps each day rather than over reports. My only concern is that the more active rides at WDW may make it record steps I haven’t taken. Since I had the pedometer tied into my shoelaces it was inconvenient to check it before and after rides. Otherwise this is the mileage I recorded at the end of each day. I’d love to hear the experiences of others who use pedometers at WDW. Between us all we should get a reasonable notion of how far we walk at WDW. Please note whether you are in the parks for a short day or for a full day.

Packing day ~ 2.51 miles

Day 1 (Friday. January 29th) ~ 5.83 miles
Drive from 4:15 to 1pm.
Unload
Eat at O’Hana’s
Spent the evening at Epcot ~ Future World

Day 2 ~ 3.33 miles
Went to Hollywood Studios, arrived late, rainy
Didn't spend a full day there.

Day 3 ~ 7.16 miles
Went to Magic Kingdom and took the KTTK tour 9am – 1pm
Beautiful day~~ Spent full day at MK

Day 4 ~ 2.47 miles
Animal Kingdom ~ Rainy
Partial day ~ 11:00 -- 4:30
Did Safari and Lion King and Dinosaur
Ate at Yak and Yeti!

Day 5 ~ 5.13 miles
Spent a full day at Epcot
Rainy in morning, cleared up in afternoon

Day 6 ~ 5.88 miles
Went to Magic Kingdom and stayed all day
Had dinner at Whispering Canyons Café at Wilderness Lodge
Back to MK for Wishes
Beautiful day but windy

Day 7 ~ 6.16 miles
Last day, beautiful but windy. Did 3 parks!
Magic Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Epcot


Day 8 (Friday, Febuary 5th) ~ 1.91
Load car then went to breakfast at Kona’s Café
Drive home (snif)

Total mileage: 40.38

 

[Amy8888]

Cool, thanks for sharing!

I've got this weird obsession with pedometers. I always end up breaking them (or they just never work properly), deciding not to get another one, then months later I cave and buy a new one. So I bought a new one at Target on Saturday and so far I'm not happy with it. So I went online and saw reviews of it and everything I read confirmed what I suspected: My model sucked. So I ordered a new one with tons of reviews and a 4.5 star rating on Amazon and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival!

I'm not a super huge fan of walking for fitness...I'd prefer to do stuff in front of my TV! But since we're planning a trip to DW this summer I figure I better get in great walking shape! So thank you for sharing this, it will be great motivation to get my new pedometer out and USE it!

 

[GorshGoofy]

Apparently nobody is interested in Pedometers at WDW. Okay, I'll use this as a log of my miles.

We were last in WDW in early December. Here's my mileage.

December 5th Driving and checking in at PC ~ 2.77 miles ~ 9798 steps
December 6th Magic Kingdom all day ~ 8.24 miles 29085 steps
December 7th Hollywood Studios and MVMCP ~ 6.43 miles 22702 steps
December 8th Universal IoA (Harry Potter) and A K ~ 6.26 miles 22095 steps
December 9th Epcot ~ 7.92 miles 27941 steps
December 10th MK, Epcot and HS ~ 5.77 miles 20366 steps
December 11th ~ Pack up and Drive home ~ 2.34 miles 8285 steps

39.73 miles!!!

140272 steps!!!

And yes, when I got home ... I was tired. It took me a month to recover. Whew!! So, now I'm wondering when I can go again!!!!!

 

[rubato]

Thanks for sharing your information. I always hear people say that they walk 10 or 12 miles a day at Disney, and I've ALWAYS thought they were overestimating. Your numbers seem realistic. Some days are pretty serious miles and some days are just normal miles. I do commando days at Disney all the time and I know I don't walk more than 7 or 8ish miles. We've been home for almost a month now and my husband is still tired (he's not a walker).

 

[stacynak]

I love this idea!!! I am going to have to look into getting a good pedometer before we go. I had cintemplated doing the Walk to Disney thing before we go but considering we live in Alaska I would have to walk approximately 40 miles per day before we go! Yikes!

 

[Leitadala]

Just this year I got into exercising, and now I'm wanting to bring a pedometer to Disney with me so I know how much work I'm really doing. Does anyone recommend a certain brand?

OP, you said you have a pedometer on your shoe? I've never seen one that attaches to the shoe, I'd be interested if you could post a link! Also, did you find the rides affected your step count at all?

Thanks for the post!

 

[Alice_in_Wonderland]

Just this year I got into exercising, and now I'm wanting to bring a pedometer to Disney with me so I know how much work I'm really doing. Does anyone recommend a certain brand?

OP, you said you have a pedometer on your shoe? I've never seen one that attaches to the shoe, I'd be interested if you could post a link! Also, did you find the rides affected your step count at all?

Thanks for the post!

What a great idea, sadly I don't have any information that I can share. But, I would love to second the motion of finding a pedometer that clips to my shoe. Please post that information when you can thanks!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Check with Pjlla, she had one at WDW when we were there last week. One day her and DD did 17 miles!!
I don't know how accurate clipping it to your shoe is though. Typically they are clipped to your waistband.

I need to get a better one, I plan to ask pjlla which one she has. And I will have DH help me set it up.

 

[Leitadala]

Check with Pjlla, she had one at WDW when we were there last week. One day her and DD did 17 miles!!
I don't know how accurate clipping it to your shoe is though. Typically they are clipped to your waistband.

I need to get a better one, I plan to ask pjlla which one she has. And I will have DH help me set it up.

I just got a new one from Wal-Mart but it's horrible, it goes up steps with every jiggle so I have a feeling it's going to be very inaccurate with all the rides and standing in line (shifting from one foot to the other). I'd love to hear what Pjlla used, 17 miles is impressive, I'd love to have a good pedometer to claim that bragging right!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I just got a new one from Wal-Mart but it's horrible, it goes up steps with every jiggle so I have a feeling it's going to be very inaccurate with all the rides and standing in line (shifting from one foot to the other). I'd love to hear what Pjlla used, 17 miles is impressive, I'd love to have a good pedometer to claim that bragging right!

I'll text her and tell her to pop in the next time she's online!

 

[pjlla]

Check with Pjlla, she had one at WDW when we were there last week. One day her and DD did 17 miles!!
I don't know how accurate clipping it to your shoe is though. Typically they are clipped to your waistband.

I need to get a better one, I plan to ask pjlla which one she has. And I will have DH help me set it up.

I'll text her and tell her to pop in the next time she's online!

Here I am!

Here is my experience with a pedometer at WDW.

I wore one last year when I went with DS. It was supposed to be a "good" one from Brookstones that I got at a yardsale (new in package)..... but I could never seem to get it calibrated quite right. It always recorded DOUBLE my mileage.... but at least I knew that and could do the math and get a good estimate of my mileage. This year I bought a new one at Target... not particularly expensive (New Balance brand), but after I read the directions and got it calibrated correctly, it seemed very accurate. I tested it by walking (and running) on the treadmill and comparing the miles on the TM to the miles on the pedometer.... plus I recorded steps a few times (up and down the driveway) and my head count was accurate with the pedometer's count.

I wore the pedometer on my waistband above my back pocket, but it did say that it could be worn IN the pocket. I tested it on my back waistband and side waistband and didn't find a big difference in the accuracy.

Here is how my two trips broke down for mileage....

May 2010 with DS.....

Friday
Left home 4 am
Arrived at AK 10:40am
Left AK arrived at MK at 4:30 pm
Left MK and at hotel by 10:30 pm .......pedometer reading 11.5 miles

Saturday
Arrived at DHS at 7:20 am
Back to hotel for swim 4pm
Back to MK by 6pm
Left MK and back to hotel by 12:30 am.........pedometer reading 15.5 miles

Sunday
Arrived at Epcot 8:45 am
Back to hotel at 3:45 pm for rest
Arrived at DHS at 6:45 pm
Left DHS and arrived at MK 10:30 pm
Left MK and back at hotel 2:00 am............pedometer reading 17 miles

Monday
Arrived at MK 8:25 am
Left MK for airport 3:15 pm
Plane left Orlando 6:15 pm...............pedometer reading 9 miles

May 2011 with DD

Friday
Left hotel and arrived at AK 8:15 am
Left AK and arrived at Epcot 12noon
Left Epcot and back at hotel 1:00 am.........pedometer reading 17.4 miles

Saturday
Left hotel and arrived at DHS 7:12 am
Left DHS and arrived at MK 4:00 pm
Left MK and arrived at hotel 8:00 pm
Left hotel and arrived at Chef Mickey's 9:12 pm
Left Chef Mickey's and back at hotel 11 pm......pedometer reading 10.65 miles

Sunday
Left hotel and arrived at MK 8:30 am
Left MK and arrived at hotel 12:30 am...............pedometer reading 12.8 miles
(probably would have been more miles, but we waited in line for TWO hours to meet Rapunzel and sat on the side walk from 7pm until 10:15 pm for parade and Wishes)

Monday
Left hotel and arrived at AK 7:05 am
Left AK and arrived at MK 12:30 pm
Left MK and arrived at airport 6:15 pm...............pedometer reading 8.5 miles


I felt like I walked WAAAY more with DD this year, but in looking at the readings, they seem similar. Plus I've been having some foot pain issues recently that I didn't have last year, so it probably made me more aware of all of the walking.

If these readings seem high to you, you need to know that we have no particular "pattern" in touring the parks. We think nothing of riding BTMRR and then walking to Space Mountain to use FP and then back to BTMRR and such. The day we walked 17 miles in Epcot, I wasn't really surprised at the reading. We kept criss-crossing FW to ride different things and to check on the wait times board.... plus we did the entire circuit of WS twice I believe... and it was our longest day of touring.

I did check the pedometer a few times before and after rides (mainly I remember checking it before and after Space Mountain and Rockin' Rollercoaster) and it did NOT gain any appreciable steps. Plus I lost the pedometer on Space Mountain at one point in time and when I got it back (they were GREAT about finding it for me!!) it was virtually the same reading as I had remembered from the last time I had checked it. It had a good clip on it and it only fell off twice....once on Space Mountain and once in the bathroom as I was adjusting things.

Any questions?......................P

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks Pamela!!!!

I believe the 17 miles at Epcot, we and you were all over the place!!!

 

[Leitadala]

Sunday
Arrived at Epcot 8:45 am
Back to hotel at 3:45 pm for rest
Arrived at DHS at 6:45 pm
Left DHS and arrived at MK 10:30 pm
Left MK and back at hotel 2:00 am............pedometer reading 17 miles

Epic! Thanks for the breakdown, and the explanation of how you got so many miles. DH and I have a similar style of touring - flying back and forth to whatever ride we feel like. Hopefully I'll get my pedometer situation figured out before we leave on Friday, but if not this thread gives me a pretty good idea of how much I'll be walking... probably enough to warrant my dole whip, guilt free!

 

[disneychic2]

My DH just asked me the other day if I planned to wear my pedometer at Disney this year. I was afraid it would fall off and I'd never see it again. (boy that could apply to a lot of things, couldn't it?)It's an expensive one that calculates calories burned etc. After reading this thread, I just may wear it after all. Thanks for the thread and to pjlla for the great info.

 

[babyrich]

I dont know the mileage; but the last time we went I averaged about 23500 steps/day

 

[Leader of the Pack]

I’ve always wondered just how far I walk at WDW, so in an effort to get healthier I’ve started wearing a pedometer clipped to my shoe. Sometime ago I took up the challenge of walking to WDW. I mapped out the mileage from my house to WDW and use that as a goal to measure my progress as I walk/exercise each day. My pedometer is a $5.00 model purchased from WalMart. I can’t attest to its complete reliability but the likelihood is that it under reports my steps each day rather than over reports. My only concern is that the more active rides at WDW may make it record steps I haven’t taken. Since I had the pedometer tied into my shoelaces it was inconvenient to check it before and after rides. Otherwise this is the mileage I recorded at the end of each day. I’d love to hear the experiences of others who use pedometers at WDW. Between us all we should get a reasonable notion of how far we walk at WDW. Please note whether you are in the parks for a short day or for a full day.

Packing day ~ 2.51 miles

Day 1 (Friday. January 29th) ~ 5.83 miles
Drive from 4:15 to 1pm.
Unload
Eat at O’Hana’s
Spent the evening at Epcot ~ Future World

Day 2 ~ 3.33 miles
Went to Hollywood Studios, arrived late, rainy
Didn't spend a full day there.

Day 3 ~ 7.16 miles
Went to Magic Kingdom and took the KTTK tour 9am – 1pm
Beautiful day~~ Spent full day at MK

Day 4 ~ 2.47 miles
Animal Kingdom ~ Rainy
Partial day ~ 11:00 -- 4:30
Did Safari and Lion King and Dinosaur
Ate at Yak and Yeti!

Day 5 ~ 5.13 miles
Spent a full day at Epcot
Rainy in morning, cleared up in afternoon

Day 6 ~ 5.88 miles
Went to Magic Kingdom and stayed all day
Had dinner at Whispering Canyons Café at Wilderness Lodge
Back to MK for Wishes
Beautiful day but windy

Day 7 ~ 6.16 miles
Last day, beautiful but windy. Did 3 parks!
Magic Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Epcot


Day 8 (Friday, Febuary 5th) ~ 1.91
Load car then went to breakfast at Kona’s Café
Drive home (snif)

Total mileage: 40.38

Hi, kept track of my steps/miles a few years back on a visit. Our trip was five days. When i got home I had averaged approx. 7 miles per day. Of course we are at it from rope drop to late into evening. It was good to know how much walking exercise we got.

 

[GorshGoofy]

Thanks for replying. I apologize for being off the boards for a while and unable to respond. I use one of the $5 Walmart pedometers and have tested it in regular walks in my neighborhood. I have checked it after some of the rides at WDW and didn't notice that the rides had any impact. However, I can't confirm that. I do clip the pedometer to my shoe with the simple clip. I haven't had good luck with it on my waistband. Seems that a little "padding" keeps the pedometer from give an accurate count. I sometimes wear a lace-up ankle brace and tie it into that. I got the idea for wearing it on my shoe from one of those health insurance walking plans.

Congratulations to pjlla for those numbers. Wow! I bow to your stamina!

I would like to know more about the types of pedometers you all have found useful.

I still try to follow a plan that was popular when I got on the boards a few years ago. I have done a google map from my house to WDW and keep track of my miles as if walking to WDW. I'm on my third "walk" now.

 

[dsnymom72]

I just found and love this thread. I too wore my pedometer to WDW (need to look up my numbers).

I have a Fitbit and its quite accurate and I hook it to my bra, my sister keeps hers in pocket. It's a little pricey but it sync's with my computer everytime I'm within 15 ft. of the base and keeps all my information on their website. Was totally worth the cost.

 

[Leitadala]

So the cheap pedometer I got at Wal-Mart before I left was deemed ineffective once we landed in Orlando (it was counting double my steps) so I decided to give my iPod Nano's pedometer a shot. It fit in my pocket perfectly and proved very accurate - the rides didn't interfere at all. It keeps a history and lots of different stats. I'm thinking about looking into the Nike + to go with it for next time, so I could track mileage and everything! I was initially hesitant to use it because I'd read somewhere that the battery drained very fast, but it held up for me just fine.

My stats from this trip (using my iPod stats but estimating that 2000 steps = 1 mile) were:

May 20, 2011 Arrive in Orlando, DTD for dinner / shopping
No stats

May 21, 2011 DHS (SWW)
No stats, aparantly I was too excited to remember to use it! We got there for Rope Drop and stayed for Hyperspace Hoopla, probably got back to the room around 10pm

May 22, 2011 DHS, Poly for Lunch, then MK
Start Time 6:41 AM, End Time 11:27 PM
19,391 steps (approx 9.7 miles!!!)

May 23, 2011 MK Day
Start Time 9:42 AM, End Time 8:20 PM
14,641 steps (approx 7.3 miles)

May 24, 2011 Half Day at AK, DTD afternoon
Start Time 8:11 AM, End Time 8:42 PM
8,631 steps (approx 4.3 miles)
*I left my pedometer in the room when we went to DTD >.<

May 25, 2011 Epcot
Start Time 9:20 AM, End Time 8:34 PM
15,621 steps (approx 7.8 miles)

May 26, 2011 DHS morning, DTD dinner
Start Time 7:51 AM, End Time 9:27 PM
15,995 steps (approx 8 miles)

Week Total: 74,279 steps, approximately 37 miles! (Not including the first two days which probably would tack on another easy 15,000 steps, making the total miles around 44 miles!)

*Start Time is when we left the room to get to the bus stop. End time is when we got back to the room at night*

As far as the method to our touring / walking - there is none. We enjoy ourselves and do what we want. Usually we just mosey around the park and hit up what attractions we like as we pass them. I still find it hard to believe that I got that many steps, so it's nice to have the proof!

 

[Leitadala]

My goal next time will be to get in the 17 miles club, lol