Hi. I am going to WDW in May. I will turn 70 years old that month. Can anyone give me any advice on the best footwear for walking long hours. I am female and will be going with my husband ( he’ll be 71). I need a shoe/sandal/sneaker with a lot of support because I have flat feet. I heard about Vionic footwear. Has anyone tried this brand? What brand of footwear worked for you? Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
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I am going to tag @pod4christ to this topic. I do not know if @pod4christ is ever on the forum, but he is the person I would go to for advice.
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Thank you.
My wife has a lot of foot issues, and has found her favorite shoes for walking a lot (at amusement parks!) Skechers.
I am a big fan of Abeo from the Walking Company. I bought my first pair earlier this year and liked them so much, I purchased 2 additional pairs! I turned over one pair to my mom right before our last trip in October and she liked them so much, she just bought 2 more pairs as well.
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THIS!!! The Walking Company is my GO-TO place for comfortable shoes. I love the Abeo brand with their built in orthotics (teacher with tired feet). Their Abeo Lite series is great because it combines a lightweight shoe with great support.
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I like Vionic, but I did buy a sandal once that had the top of my foot raw withing 3 hours. Whatever shoe you choose, make sure you wear them at home first, even if it’s changing and wearing them around the mall for an hour. You want to make sure there are no rub points. Otherwise, go with what you have that’s worn in.
Many people go with a sneaker. I’m like you, though and I like support. I do find my Romika sandals are good, as are some Sketchers and Merrill for support.
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I don’t have a brand for you, all feet are different. Once you find the brand that works, I suggest breaking the shoes in a few weeks before. My main suggestion is this:
Bring 3 pairs.
2 for walking (alternate days, or walking periods, like if you’re going to take a break, and rest where you’ll have the option to switch shoes)
And then something different for around the pool, if you plan to be in the pool area.
There’s product called “Foot Glide.” There may be similar products, but I can vouch for “Foot Glide” keeping us from ever having blisters in WDW. It makes your feet feel kinda “satiny” (for lack of a better term.) Almost like a dry squishy, but not overly slippery at all. It’s weird, but not annoyingly so. Better safe than sorry, I’d highly suggest looking into it, or a similar product.
Little dollars here and there to prevent you from being miserable on a very expensive vacation are worth looking into, imo.
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In all honesty, the best thing you could do is to go to a running shoe store - yes, even for walking. They will have people who can watch you walk and recommend the best shoes for YOU based on your foot and leg mechanics. What works for one person may not work for another person because we are all built differently.
So many individual variables it’s hard to suggest a “best”. I’m 60, overweight and have relatively flat feet and I find Keens to be the best over-all park shoe. The have the added benefit of being “designed” to get wet, so whether it’s from a ride or rain, they dry out quickly.
I have 2 pair of Vionic flip flops that are great for the parks. I alternate them with Keens. Both have awesome support, but you need to break them in for a few hours every day for at least 2 weeks before trip. I would never wear sneakers, but that is just me I don’t wear them in real life so would not wear in the parks. No socks in Florida for me. 
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I would definitely go with the real Pod’s advice on this (I am not @pod4christ) , but I do a lot of vacationing and also have RA, & I really like Finn Comfort. They have different types of insoles (softer, firmer, etc) that can be removed for custom orthotics, or simply replaced if they wear out. Since the shoes are expensive that is a nice way to make them last longer.
I also like my shoes to be attractive, and some of the Finn Comfort are not bad. I also wear trail sandals like Merrells when it’s hot, and/or rainy because then I don’t care if my feet get wet.
Also, if you are not in the habit of walking or running regularly, starting a regimen now (after you run it by your doc) would be very beneficial. I started going for long walks in anticipation of a trip to Italy & between that and my shoes I lasted longer than my healthy friends!
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Another vote here for Abeos from the Walking Company! I wear their sneakers for everyday but also have several pairs of their sandals that I wear at WDW. My husband is even a convert and wears their insoles in his shoes.
I suggest you wear running shoes. You’ll end up walking the equivalent of 5 to 10 miles per day and your feet will kill by the end of the day. Also wear socks with your shoes. Sandals won’t give you enough support and will likely lead to blisters.
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We swear by Keen’s sandals and using body glide on our feet. My mom is in her 70’s and now wears them all the time when it is warm since they worked so perfectly in Disney World in August. They dry quickly, so if you get caught in the rain or on a water ride, it really helps. Wet sneakers are so uncomfortable in my opinion.
Alegria & Chaco for my arthritic feet. I wear Alegria daily for teaching & on non-rainy days in the parks. Chaco’s come out for the Florida downpours.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I’ll be wearing my running shoes as my primary park footwear (they are Hoka brand), but I am taking the step of scotch guarding them before we leave.
I’ll also have 3 other pairs of shoes - a pair of Tom’s classic alpargatas (these are my go-to day to day casual shoes, so something i can wear anytime out of the parks and also during Boo Bash as they match my costume better), a pair of flip flops (solely for pool time), and a new pair of hiking sandals I got off Amazon (https://amzn.to/3C1zs85) as my backups in case of blisters or soaking wet sneakers.
I took the sandals for a spin last night, just did about a 1.5 mile walk around my neighborhood to break them in, and so far at least I’m pretty impressed. The “ropes” are super soft but supportive enough to keep my feet in place, and the sole of the shoe is supportive for my “average” arches and fairly springy. One downside though - they squeak! You can hear me coming with every step, lol. I’m not so worried about it for in the park, as there’s plenty of extraneous noise to cover it, but might be an issue if you’re looking for something to also wear elsewhere.
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I have been using vionics for years (old job on feet all day and they eliminated hip pain but there is a breaking in period) I now have custom inserts but still use vionic sandals. I’m at Aulani right now and wish I had brought more shoes. It helps me to change out and wear different shoes too. Something to think about.
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