Tips on how to cope with Disney walking

[LuvOrlando]

The only thing that helps me is shoes that flex easily and have a lot of cushioning, nowadays shoes don't put much between the foot and pavement & the force of impact wrecks me quickly.

Young men tend to like the look of skateboarder shoes, which are great to keep a person on a skateboard as they are heavy, clunky and want to stay put. But, for walking they create a ton of effort in the foot & leg. Check out the sort of shoes your son has been wearing and maybe switch to a pair of running shoes with nice gel cushioning inside for this trip. There might be negotiations as in he may be resistant if he thinks the shoe will be forced on him when in school so for me it worked better to get my kids "only for traveling shoes." To me, an extra $50 or so spent for limited use shoes on a $$$ trip was a worthwhile expense to avoid ruining the trip.

I finally got DD to pay attention to this, she picked up some converse with a ton of padding and an ugg sandal too for her traveling and music festivals this summer.

 

[NotUrsula]

Start walking now to build up your tolerance. That will help more than anything else.

I'm going to disagree with the sneaker advice; we find that good-quality hiking sandals are a better option for WDW; not least because they can get soaking wet and keep on trucking without chafing. Your average teen boy will be quite happy in them, too. (Two good brands are Keen and Teva; not cheap, but worth it, IMO. We live in them in summertime.) It's best to bring more than one pair of shoes and alternate them each day.

Epson salts are helpful, IMO; I bring a baggie of it and soak my feet in cold water and epsom salts in the tub when we get back to our room; helps a lot for not starting the next day with achy feet. (I sit on the edge of the tub and sort thru the day's photos.)

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

Excuse my ignorance if this is a dumb question but would physical therapy help at all in this scenario? To increase endurance ahead of the trip?

It's not ignorant. We are working on that for sure. We've been trying longer haul walks to boost endurance. We do that every year and it never works lol. For him or me. Disney is such an exception with walking and we've yet to figure out a way around it especially at Epcot. We stay at a skyliner resort which will help if we rope drop Remy.

 

[gmi3804]

I've found the best shoes for me are shoes that fit properly and have good support, but also allow me to stretch my toes while wearing them. I invested in a good pair of New Balance shoes (the kind they sell at NB stores only), and they've been a dream. I still feel stiff when standing after being seated for a while, but that works itself out after walking again for a while. Having some moleskin handy is also useful for any "hot spots" that might creep up.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Have you used the boat to get across the world showcase lagoon? That might help. We used that once when the kids were younger.

 

[RamblingMad]

I’d go to Disneyland instead. Less walking. Also, get some PT to see if they can give you exercises to improve over time.

 

[MillauFr]

Birkenstocks are the key. I've seen people who can barely walk a mile to being able to handle Disneyland all day when they started wearing Birkenstocks.