WHICH Shoes Don't Really Matter?!? How can THAT be?

[CanadianGuy]

My new 'best shoe' mantra:

I was preparing for my recent trip and about to buy new footwear. The fiancé of a good friend works at an athletic footwear store and as I was looking I explained about going to Disney etc.

He said, "Let me guess, your feet blister and get quite sore at Disney?" and of course I was like yeah and expected to hear about body glide etc.

And he says "Buy the most comfortable pair of running shoes you can find.. and get them 1/2 size bigger than you normally would. Ideally get two pair so you can trade off from one day to the next.."

He explained, "Your feet will swell during the the day and the extra room allows for that and will help prevent the blistering. Once your foot swells in your normal size shoe, your toes start rubbing together a LOT more and other parts of your feet will pressed right up to the interior surface of the shoe and that can cause blistering too. The extra room in the shoe will allow for some swelling without unnecessary rubbing.. and two different pairs will mean that should one area of your foot rub in one part of your day 1 sneakers, then it probably won't rub in that same spot in your day 2 sneakers."

So I asked him about the crocs phenomenon and his response made perfect sense.. "They're loose fitting anyway, so they have that 'extra room' built right in. But if you feel silly wearing crocs, then just get the sneakers a half size bigger and you should be good to go. Really, the SIZE of the footwear, or the ability to allow for some swelling of the foot is MUCH more important than exactly WHAT brand or style footwear you choose."

So, I followed his advice and bought two pair each a half size bigger than normal. My feet were of course still sore at the end of the day, but I didn't blister once the entire trip!

Best advice EVER!

Knox

PS:> I may have just fallen for the most elaborate ruse to "sell two pair of sneakers instead of one" .. but I don't care -- it worked!

 

[MapleGirl]

Yup, size matters! When I buy running sneakers I always get a half size larger to accommodate for the swelling. It makes sense to do this for Disney trips too. Some people really like Crocs because of the vents and the cushioning (the whole shoe is one big cushion!). I will be bringing my running shoes and crocs on our trip in September. We'll see which pair wins out!

 

[CanadianGuy]

I should add I also bought sneakers slightly wider than I normally do and they are both super comfortable to start with!

Knox

 

[OKW Lover]

You got good advice here. Glad it worked out so well for you.

I'd like to suggest that you save a copy of this post and use it the next time you see a question posted about what shoes to buy for a WDW trip. Hopefully it will save somebody else from making the mistake of relying on what works for somebody else's feet.