Walking or running shoes? Which is better?

[AngelDisney]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Body Glide yet! It's definitely part of my anti- blister strategy.

I concur! No blisters at all after climbing up and down the less restored part of the Great Wall in Beijing at 37 degree Celsius. For WDW, I would wear Teva sandals and the body glide since it rains quite often when we usually visit in August. My feet can't stand wet socks and shoes.

 

[CJB2002]

I rotate between my Skechers go walks (2 different pairs/styles) and my Teva Mush flip flops. The flip flops are for the night time. I'm plus sized with bad arthritis in my knees and feet and blow up like a puffer fish in the heat. This rotation has helped me on my last few trips. I make it through the day, minimal foot pain at night, no more than usual anyway. I switch to the flip flops at night because by then my feet are pretty swollen (they are at home in the summer too) and putting shoes back on does not sound like a fun time

 

[dreiwhit]

Keep in mind that no matter what shoes you wear or prefer, Disney is going to be tough on your feet. I walk daily for exercise, but no where near the amount of walking that Disney requires.

Since everyone is different, I recommend whatever feels the most comfortable to you and will hold up while you are walking. You may have to find what works best through trial and error.

I prefer Sketchers tennis shoes, so what I do is to buy a new pair of shoes about 4-5 weeks before our trip. Since I walk everyday for exercise, they break in fairly quickly. At Disney, I wear synthetic, moisture wicking socks and I don't lace my shoes as tightly as I would normally (allowing room for my feet to swell.) Stay away from cotton, since wet cotton socks are like sandpaper. I also heavily powder my feet each morning with talc based baby powder (don't get corn starch powder, since it will clump.) I also take a couple of ibuprofin before we leave in the morning, and after I get back from the parks. At night, I rub my feet down with Icy Hot roll on to sooth them. Also, I will take off my shoes while we are sitting down eating lunch when we are in the parks. When we get back to the room at night, I switch to comfortable flip flops.

After all that, i've had one blister in an area where I still wonder how I could get a blister there. Moleskin dealt with that blister.

What really did my feet in on the last trip was having to wait 20 minutes for the Pixar Short Film Festival in Epcot on our last (sixth) park day on a downward sloping floor. The slope put all my weight on the balls of my feet and my toes. My feet were fine until then, but that slope really did them in, and they hurt the rest of the day. So, my tip is if you find yourself having to weight in an area with a sloped floor, find a level spot or just sit down.