Water shoes or flip flops in waterparks?

[sonnesolsun]

Need some honest, solid advice...
Do I really need to go and purchase water shoes for the water parks or can we just wear flip flops and take them off and hold them while on rides?

Thanks!

 

[tyandbash]

I think we usually wear flip flops and leave them in our locker and walk around barefoot. My youngest dd may have worn water shoes when we started going to water parks, but she was about 18 months at the time. Yes, just confirmed with my older dd, we walk around barefoot.

 

[HWY20RIDE4MYSON]

Id say water shoes with the grips on the bottoms, flip flops are great to but if you want shoes on all day they tend to come off inthe wave pool etc....
water shoes are also great if your going to be on hot ground)

 

[pg0314]

Need some honest, solid advice...
Do I really need to go and purchase water shoes for the water parks or can we just wear flip flops and take them off and hold them while on rides?

Thanks!

Yes! You can get water shoes for less than $10 at Wal-Mart or Target and they'e worth every penny. Any shoe that you have to take on and off when you ride or swim is just a pain in the butt. Just put on the water shoes and forget about them! And I know Disney keeps their property very clean but there is NO WAY I'd walk around barefoot. Especially in the bathrooms and/or changing roooms. Ick.

 

[Hannathy]

WE have never worn anything. will only wear something long enough to get from the parking lot in and then go around barefoot the rest of the day.

And we have been there in April, May, August, Sept, October and Dec and have never had a problem even in August.

 

[cz4ever]

You really don't want to be taking them on and off and worrying about dropping them. It's worth the investment, imho, to get shoes/sandals that you can strap on and forget about.

 

[disney777]

I wore my water shoes the whole time. I can't walk barefooted and wouldn't want to. I'm not a flip flop person. And I'm definitely not stepping into a restroom without shoes!

 

[geenerbell]

We visited TL for the first time last week. Everything you have heard about the wave pool is true. I'm in shock that it is so powerful. I know flip flops won't stay on but you could try water shoes. Both kids had cuts on their feet and toes after being in the waves.

 

[emeraldmom]

I won't wear water shoes again. I got them for myself and my 2 boys when we were there in 2010. They were great at first. There are a few slides that they made us take them off for. And yes, these were regular water shoes, the kind made for swimming and all. Once they are wet and have been taken off they can be a pain to get back on. Then I found out that the inner soles of them are either not attached, or poorly attached. Then I was in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon and was literally knocked out of my shoes. A very nice little girl brought me back one of my inner soles that had floated away.

After that we just wore our Crocs. Yeah, you have to hold the on some slides, but we didn't find that to be a problem. If you have the clogs with straps, you can kinda put your hand through the strap and it holds itself. We just found them so much easier to deal with, and when we did have to take them off, they were easy to get back on.

We're going back in July. I asked my boys if they wanted me to get them new water, they both said "NO!". We'll be doing Crocs again.

 

[rainydayplay]

I won't wear water shoes again. I got them for myself and my 2 boys when we were there in 2010. They were great at first. There are a few slides that they made us take them off for. And yes, these were regular water shoes, the kind made for swimming and all. Once they are wet and have been taken off they can be a pain to get back on. Then I found out that the inner soles of them are either not attached, or poorly attached. Then I was in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon and was literally knocked out of my shoes. A very nice little girl brought me back one of my inner soles that had floated away.

This absolutely. I think it only took getting wet once for the inner soles to come out of the shoes. You can't shove them back in and get them to stay, and the shoes may not be as comfortable to walk around in once they're out.

Walking around barefoot causes damage to my feet. The pavement gets really hot, although Disney is better than a relatively local water park about spraying parts of the sidewalk to make it a little more bearable. I wind up just wearing my flip flops and carrying them as appropriate.

 

[North of Mouse]

Need some honest, solid advice...
Do I really need to go and purchase water shoes for the water parks or can we just wear flip flops and take them off and hold them while on rides?

Thanks!

My dh & I always wear flip flops and hold them on rides. I don't go in the wave pool so don't know about that. I would NEVER go barefoot on public ground, bathrooms, etc. You could get a foot fungus very fast. I can't stand the yucky factor, even without the fungus factor Plus, the cement DOES get very hot

 

[icc2515]

We went when it was 90+ outside and I can tell you that the sidewalk were like walking on hot coals. I do not go barefoot around the house so my feet are not used to being out of shoes. I had to buy at Disney a pair of their water shoes and thank God they had them for sale. I remember when I was a kid my aunt could walk everywhere even over course gravel with no shoes, so I guess it depends on how conditioned your feet are. Like everything else with Disney there is a lot of walking at the waterpark, and flip flops will disappear in the wave pool and possibly on the slides.

 

[NewmanFamily6]

Not only is the ground hot, you could get fungus, or even worse the dreaded plantar warts....eeeewwwww So this family definitely wears ye old water shoes. I can not as a healthcare worker even consider going barefoot

 

[staceyatdisney]

Between the abrasive bottom in the wave pool, the hot sidewalks and the stairs, your feet take a beating.

I experienced the issue with the inner coming out of cheap water shoes and it was impossible to get back in. The shoes were extremely painful without the inner so I walked barefoot for 6+ hours in BB. Well my feet were raw and boy I paid the price walking the parks for the remainder of our stay.

For what's it's worth, my solution this year is to wear my running shoes Vibram Five Fingers. I understand unless you're a minimalist runner you won't want to spend $85 bucks for the Five Fingers. I recommend a pair of quality water shoes where the inner is glued in - if there is such a thing. Flip-flops have the issue of falling off, but they are better than nothing.

 

[WildGrits]

I wear Crocs.

But that's mainly because I'm too big a klutz for flip flops and the ground is too hot and abrasive for my tender tootsies.

 

[lucyem]

I recommend a pair of quality water shoes where the inner is glued in - if there is such a thing.

This. We went to BB and just trying to walk around was so painful on our feet. It's not just the hot pavement but stuff from the trees and then the hot sand with stuff mixed in. The wave pool is not so crazy there but we still managed to scrape feet. I would not go back without them.

We bought cheap water shoes at Target for $9. Insoles are an issue. DH complains they fall out and it hurt him when he walks and they move around. I just take mine out. I was thinking of trying some shoe glue.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

Thank you for this thread!! I have some Gorilla glue that I will be using. Although my 82 year old mom and I will only be visiting our resort pool, my daughter and cousin will be going to BB. We all have bought water shoes to wear. Now I know we'll need to glue in the insoles. Thanks and happy swimming.

 

[lisasuebj]

I would wear your flip flops in and then store them in a locker. We walk around barefoot all the time as its too hard to keep track of them when going on slides or going in the pool.

 

[Andtototoo]

Disclaimer: I am a total klutz.

Nonetheless, I do not wear regular flip flops when my feet are going to get wet because my heels always seem to slide right off the flip flop and I've tripped/twisted my ankle as a result. So in water situations, it's a water shoe for me.

 

[sonnesolsun]

Thanks everyone! Food for thought! I appreciate all your advice! 11 days 'til Typhoon Lagoon and Disney for 8 days with 18 family members!!!