Who else gets terrible aching feet at WDW?

[grinningghost]

When I'm done walking the parks at the end of the day, my feet hurt SO bad. Am I a wimp? Or is this just normal?

I mean, my feet really, really hurt.

 

[UtahMama]

Ohhh, I hear you on that! Last year,get this, I had a pedicure to remove the calloused skin and make my feet sandal pretty, and as it turns out, the tough skin would have protected me for the most part! And several times I've worn new athletic shoes an gotten blistered to heck!!! I guess the average person walks about 20 miles a day! That'd cause any foot to ache! This Sept. all I'm taking is my collection of colored CROCS! The a SOOOO light weight like slippers! Yet they 'breathe" and NEVER stink and if they get wet...their foammy plastic and dry fast. I bought them thinking they were ugly but I could wear them in the garden and just hose them off...but now I wear them all day! And they're not a bit ugly! I get complimented alot on them!

By the way, My darling family will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside next Sept.
Have FUN!

 

[Melissa84]

My feet sometimes heart bad at the end of the day because I do sooo much. What I do now is just take advil with breakfast and continue taking it throughout the day. This way I don't get sore ( or at least I don't feel it) ALso you can try using peppermint lotion on your feet at night... it works wonders and is so refreshing.

 

[MickeyLover20]

I'm, with you on the achy feet. I couldn't wait to get back to the cottage at the end of the day to give my feet a break. I tried sneakers and Crocs...I did like my Crocs better. I would love to know a solution to not having achy feet at the end of the day.

 

[tmt martins]

DW swore to never get the crocs ( her feet are just bad ) as DD swears by them .

She bought 2 new pairs of Bass sandle right before we leave.Then we get DD a pair of Veg jr.s (same as crocs but with screen printed flowers on them .

DW thinks not to bad looking get a pair and NEVER pulled her sandles out all week while at WDW last week. Now all she wears around the house is the Vegs.

She said her bad feet don't hurt when she wears them .

 

[Bev J]

I take Motrin throughout the day, soak my feet when we get back. Really baby them.
I also take 2-3 different pair of sandles- all well broken in. I am adding a pair of Croc's this year. Sometimes I will wear the same pair all day,but if at our afternoon break my feet are already tired then I wear a different pair for our evening park.
No blisters or hotspots, but with all the walking you have to expect sore feet.
I agree the peppermint lotion feels great!

Bev

 

[Addicted2TheMouse]

I sympathize. My little toes curl underneath my 4th toe... KWIM? After the second day of walking on my poor little toes, I had the worst blisters I think I've ever seen. My entire little toes were covered by blister. My DH just about gagged when I showed him. I ended up wrapping my whole little toe tightly with a BandAid to sort of splint it out to the side. I was good to go after that! So next time I'll be prophylactically splinting my baby toes right from the beginning.

 

[GarrettJD]

My feet are a little sore after a day at WDW. However, I'm constantly on my feet all day at work, so I'm kind of used to it. I've found that my Crocs help a lot-- they're about the only kind of shoes I wear anymore.

 

[Melwood23]

When I wore reg walking shoes, I would get the dreaded blisters, which would then make me walk funny to keep them from hurting, which ended up hurting my feet. In 2004 I wore my walking sandals, and they were a godsend. I found a pair of Nike that had arch supports, plus massaging ridges.

I just have to learn to sit and rest more, cause it is my legs that ache at the end of the day, from all the walking.

 

[Quinn222]

I used to wear athletic shoes and socks and while my feet did ok my legs would get so tired. Last trip I had a pair of Crocs and a pair of Keen sandals. It was fantastic! I switched between them and my legs and feet felt great.

 

[Dizzy for Dsny]

Mine usually ache because we really hit the parks hard. This last trip we took though my orthotic was really giving the outside of my foot a problem and dummy me forgot to bring my regular insoles for the shoe leaving me without a choice of orthotic or not! I ended up taking ibuprofen for the soreness and I always soak feet when I return to the room. I also do a peppermint rub on my feet. Next month, I'm tempted to take a small body massager and use on feet when I get back to room. It feels really good!!

 

[Fitswimmer]

I used to work for an athletic shoe store and people used to ask all the time for advice about walking in Disney! here's what we came up with:

don't wear brand new shoes! Buy your "going to Disney" shoes a few weeks in advance and wear them around for a while. That way you'll know if they rub or are too tight. If you want to keep them looking new, don't wear them outside.

buy your "going to Disney" shoes at the end of the day, the more you've been on your feet that day the better. If they're not comfortable when you put them on then, try something else. Comfort trumps style for Disney, so don't get attached to a look-go for feel.

bring foot powder and use it in the AM before you put your socks and shoes for the day. It helps keep your feet dry which will keep blisters away.

try synthetic socks instead of cotton. Cotton holds onto moisture, so after Kali River Rapids, they won't dry and could cause blisters or even athlete's foot!

Take that afternoon break! If you're staying on property, go back to the pool or the room and take off the shoes and socks! We had a customer buy 2 pairs for her trip, she said she changes at the afternoon break and that really helps her feet stay comfortable.

Of course, there's always my favorite remedy-the hot tub! Give those puppies a good long soak!

 

[lovinwdw]

I actually get an aching pain right behind my knee on the top of my calf. It's horrible!!! I feel your pain!

 

[TruBlu]

I usually have blisters and pain after the first day at any theme park.

NOT this year.... Thanks to all the tips to get the payless version of Crocs - AIRWALKS!!!!

I was shocked! My feet and legs didn't hurt at all, and we went park commando for 4 days!

I recently had knee surgery, and my knee didn't even hurt.
I love those airwalks!!! I use them on my treadmil now.

 

[GarrettJD]

My other tip that I've used-- spray your feet with Arrid Xtra Dry deodorant before you put your socks on. I think I first learned this one from someone on the boards.

 

[Sk8Leigh]

When I'm done walking the parks at the end of the day, my feet hurt SO bad. Am I a wimp? Or is this just normal?

I mean, my feet really, really hurt.

Me! Me me me! They hurt so much after about a day there, and it builds up so that after a few days they hurt almost from the moment I get up in the morning. Not blisters or anything (usually), but just aching. It helps a little if I sit down and rub them, so I end up doing that a lot in slow moving lines. On my recent trip, I had a really hard time making it around WS at Epcot. I had to keep stopping in every other country! And it's not like I was tired, I just couldn't walk. I could do so much better at WDW if it wasn't for my feet.

 

[orljustin]

When I'm done walking the parks at the end of the day, my feet hurt SO bad. Am I a wimp? Or is this just normal?

Do you walk at home several times a week for exercise, or do you expect your body to adjust instantaneously when you start suddenly start spending 10 hours a day standing?

 

[Fitswimmer]

Do you walk at home several times a week for exercise, or do you expect your body to adjust instantaneously when you start suddenly start spending 10 hours a day standing?

Good point. Nobody would think of participating in a charity run or long walk without training, but people go to WDW after months of inactivity. I read somewhere on this board that a guest wore a pedometer and measured over 24,000 steps in one park day! That's a LOT of walking, not to mention the time spent standing in queues. It's no surprise that people have sore feet, sore legs, sore backs, whatever. I'm at the gym 6 days a week and I feel it after a full day at WDW.

Taking walks to build up for Disney is a great idea. It would be a cool family activity and help make the wait go faster.

 

[MushyMushy]

It's horrible! My feet and ankles are already bad, and no matter how much I try to prepare for the trip, I'm in such bad pain.

Like others have said, I took Motrin all day. Something that really helped this year was the hot tub at the resort. I couldn't believe it. Last year, my DH did the hot tub every night and I thought he was crazy -- I mean, who wants to sit in a hot tub in 100 degree weather with high humidity? This year, I decided to try it and it was great! I put my feet right up to the jets (everyone in the hot tub was doing that ) and I couldn't believe it. I went from limping into the pool, to walking out on totally refreshed feetsies.

Try it!

 

[ciera321]

My feet used to hurt so badly by mid-afternoon I couldn't wait to get off them...Then 2 years ago I bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals just to wear around the resort (easy slip on and off for the pool and quick food runs...) I slipped on my Birkenstocks, headed down to Mara to bring all our breakfasts back, ate, and headed for MGM. As we were walking to the entrance, I realized I still had the sandals on and decided I'd stick it out as long as I could. This was the first day my feet haven't hurt AT ALL at DW. I now ONLY take my Birkies with me and I live in them all summer... They may not work for everyone, but they have made a huge improvement in the life of my poor, tired feet...