What Shoes To Wear???

[ciera321]

I always wear my Birkenstocks and my feet never hurt. I do take my lightweight Nike water sandals in my backpack for when the rain comes and change into them...

 

[gonga]

I have tried every type of shoes in the parks - Mephisto's, Teva, Ecco, you name it. The best thing for me is a great pair of sneakers. The most comfortable so far has been Nike Shox. What makes my legs and feet tired is lack of support. It took me a lot of blisters and lot of money on useless shoes to figure this out. Another cool thing about nike is if you go to their website, you can design your own shoe and personalize it. They have a new sneaker called the run free..looks interesting.

 

[WDW_bn_dt_gb]

My DH and DS wore Crocs and loved them. No blisters! If their shoes got wet, they were dry in minutes.

 

[newcomer52]

IMO, Crocs are the best.

 

[poohpcgirl]

I have been looking at the crocs. They look great. Can you wear socks with them? Or would it look stupid?


Thanks!!

 

[MomofKatie]

Last year, I brought Keds sneakers and sneaker mules- bad idea! I had blisters on my blisters! OUCH!!!

This year, I will be bringing 1 pr of Birks w/backstrap, 1 pr of Birks w/out backstrap, a pair of Clarks athletic sandals, a pair of comfy trainer mules, and a pair of Crocs. I might try to buy 1 more pair of super comfy shoes, so I have lots of choices. And this year, we plan on bringing lots of blister preventatives.

 

[jjan]

I have been looking at the crocs. They look great. Can you wear socks with them? Or would it look stupid?


Thanks!!

You can wear socks... I've seen people do it at WDW, but you really don't need to. They are great and airy without them. I vote for CROCS! Just did trip #2 with them and had zero problems with them plus I noticed that in just one month time (May tip to June trip) there are a lot more people wearing them in the parks. I think that they are really catching on and I had a lot of people ask me about them wanting to buy some for themselves.

 

[melaniemiller2002]

My feet have NEVER been more comfortable as they were in my Teva's. Best part was I bought them at Ross and they were $9.99!!!! I could hardly believe my good luck in finding them that cheap. My kids each have a pair of Teva's, but I paid more than $10 bucks for 'em! We all love our Teva's and they were great on the river ride at California Adventure. My kids HATE wearing sneakers (if you smelled their feet, you would understand why!) so these were perfect for them.

Melanie

 

[cour10ee]

I don't know why, but this issue is stressing me out more than anything -- I tried on the tevas in the store and the straps seemed to rub and scratch as I walked. But everyone says they are the most comfortable things?? Could I have been doing something wrong?

I wound up buying a pair of Merrell Nalu sandal slides. The website says this: "leather curves over the stretchy Neoprene/spandex band for a casual, comfortable fit. Underfoot, the Agion™ footbed wrap utilizes antimicrobial silver ions to eliminate odors. Inside, the patented Air Cushion® midsole and compression molded footframe create the ultimate cushioned comfort beneath your foot." Sounds impressive and they sure are comfy just walking around here, but a week on my feet in WDW? And will they stand up to getting wet? Any Merrell lovers out there?

I also just got a pair of fake crocs at Payless (sale for $5.99!!). They had the clog looking kind but not in my size so I got the kind that are styled like birkenstocks. These are also comfy and seem like they'll be good from a getting wet standpoint. Are these the style of crocs people seem to wear at the parks, or are there more of the clog type and has anyone tried the Payless versions?

Here's my plan for now:

1. The Merrell's
2. The Payless croc-a-likes for getting wet (seem light enough to pack in the backpack)
3. my broken in nike running shoes w/coolmax moisture wicking socks for an alternate
4. one pair of non practical yet still sensible sandals for our grown up night out

How's that sound?

 

[kittythepoohbear]

I always wear my birks. I own quite a few pairs in different styles and really don't wear anything else during the spring and summer. I always bring a pair of sneakers in case of really bad weather but usually don't need them. I have never had a problem with my birks unless they are brand new and the straps are still rather stiff.
What I love about birks, besides the comfort, is that you can always find them on sale somewhere. I found a really nice pair last summer for $60 at a shoe store in the local mall. The summer before that, I found my favorite pair while visiting a friend in NH for $50. They are worth the full price, but it is really great when you find a sale. More Disney money!!!

Kat

 

[KristiT]

I don't know why, but this issue is stressing me out more than anything -- I tried on the tevas in the store and the straps seemed to rub and scratch as I walked. But everyone says they are the most comfortable things?? Could I have been doing something wrong?

No, you're not doing anything wrong. I bought a pair of Teva Pretty Rugged Leather sandels after the rave reviews I read on the boards and the same thing happened to me. The first time I wore them, there were several places on each foot where they scratched and made uncomfortable places. I decided to put band-aid's over the areas and keep wearing them, hoping that they would feel better. Boy am I glad I did. It took a couple of weeks to break them in, but they are now SO comfortable. I even took them to WDW on our last trip.

 

[nanalisa]

I posted this on another thread not too long ago, so I sound like a broken record. Anyway, I bought a pair of Teva Stratums for DH for 20.00 on ebay and a pair of Teva Inversions for DGD for 13.00. They are brand new with tags and box. I saved about 60.00. They love them for the parks. For me I take my Teva's, several birks including a pair that's waterproof and something very uncomfortable but terribly cute.

Thanks for the reminder, I need to get a pedicure before we go!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

In January I wore a pair of New Balance walking shoes and an older pair of Nikes. The day it rained 3 inches I was wearing the Nikes, which got soaked because the puddles were ankle deep. No blisters, but it was quite uncomfortable. I would definitely suggest finding some comfy waterproof shoes! I would also suggest carrying dry socks if you are wearing shoes with socks. Socks at WDW shops are expensive!

Gearing up now for October. I have the New Balance style 574, a pair of Easy Spirit sling back athletic shoes, a pair of Avia "mule" style athletic shoes, and a pair of Birkenstock sandals (no backstrap). None of them are waterproof, so I still need to address that issue.

I have tried the Crocs in the sling back clog style and I don't like them. I have tried the knock-off Crocs at Payless in the clog and the sandal styles and I don't like those, either. Not even on sale, just to wear to the local water park.

I bought DS 2 pairs of Teva Inversions at Ross but I can't get him to wear them - it's making me nuts. I want them to be broken in so we can bring them to WDW.

For those of you with a Nordstrom they have an amazing selection of shoes for women and kids. Those new Nikes, Crocs, etc.

Keep those shoe suggestions coming!!

Oh, and BEWARE of Sam & Libby flip flops!! I got a pair free (gift w/ purchase) and I wore them to get a pedicure. They are SLIPPERY!! Well, after I got home I was looking at the soles and they are covered in FABRIC!! There is some sort of T-shirt material on the soles of the shoes so if you are walking on tile it is incredibly slick!

 

[cour10ee]

I have tried the Crocs in the sling back clog style and I don't like them. I have tried the knock-off Crocs at Payless in the clog and the sandal styles and I don't like those, either. Not even on sale, just to wear to the local water park.

Jackskellingtonsgirl -- can you explain why you don't like these? are they slippery? Do they make your feet sweat? (not to get too personal ) Hurt? I ask because I was planning on using the payless sandal ones as my waterproof shoes in WDW. THANKS!!

Courtney

 

[cascarlet]

I just got a pair of the "BEACH" Crocs and I wore them yesterday all day at Great America to test them for WDW and they were great. Oddly enough your feet don't really sweat because they are more like a foamy type material then a plastic.

I have planter facitis (sp?) and I did have a little pain at the end of the day, but nothing as bad as it usually is. I also didn't take my Ibuprofin which always helps. No blisters either.

Marianne

 

[purplern]

When we went in June I bought Teva Stratum. I love them!!!!!
No blisters no achy feet!!!! Best Sandals I have ever owned!!!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I wear tennis shoes the majority of the time- for short outings (especially those that I'm going to be outside the majority of the time) I slip on sandals but that's it. I wear tennis shoes at the parks and ofcourse since that's what I'm used to- I don't get blisters.
However, I saw a LOT of people in sandals, particularly the "crocs" mentioned on this thread, and I wondered if people got blisters in those (I tend to get blisters in any other type of shoe besides tennis shoes -atleast at first and even those broken in if I wear them too long)- plus I wondered if they made your feet sweat. So this thread was interesting to read. But they sure looked like the perfect things to wear on wet rides, because it rained every day, etc.

 

[dcg0317]

REI has Teva sandals on sale now. Here's the link
http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/47883791.htm?vcat=OUTLET_SSHP_FOOTWEAR_SA

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

I know most people will think I am crazy( I know my DH and my mom did), but I wore flip flops the entire time. When I told my DH that I only brought 3 pairs of shoes and they were all flip flops he was shocked. I was so worried about blisters I figured i would just wear my good old comfy flip flops. It worked for me, no blisters and I don't think my legs or feet were any more sore than they would have been with other shoes.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

The Crocs just don't feel like they fit properly - the clog style ones are the only ones I have seen around here. Payless has the clog and the sandal style. The sandal style feel too rigid. I am used to the straps on my Birkenstocks which are VERY soft - the straps on the Payless sandals are hard plastic and they were poking into the top of my feet. I don't think that is something that would improve with wear.

FWIW - I bought a pair of Teva Mush flip flops today. I'll let you guys know what I think!