Thinking about our free water park day upon check in, and want to make sure we’re prepared!
What is the best type of water shoe to wear for the water parks? Are flip-flops a no-no? Water socks? Water sandals? Does it even matter?
I’d also like to bring as little as possible with us and avoid renting lockers. What are the absolute essentials to bring, and what type of bag would you use?
I brought flip flops and held them on the slides. DH burned his feet a bit but refused shoes. We rented a locker but I wish I brought a small water proof sack for sunscreen, hand wipes, credit card, phones (if no waterproof case) and a small towel. That’s all we needed.
Thanks! Good to know flip flips are fine. Were you allowed to bring your bag with you on rides, or must that stay on the chair? I was thinking of bringing only the MagicBands (no credit card), but I’m not sure I’d want to leave a credit card lying around on a lounge chair.
I think we just used magic bands with extra bands to make sure they stayed on. I had swim shorts that had a velcro pocket, I think. 
I think one trip I did bring folding money. Nobody seemed to care if they were paid with wet bills. 
Most of our group wore teva like sandals. No metal stuff on shorts, like rings on zipper pulls. Pretty sure we could wear our sandals on some slides. But I haven’t been since Covid.
Flip flops are no good in the wave pool and the bottom is super rough. We wear these water shoes.
We just take magic bands and sunscreen, also a pool towel which I just leave there.
We just wear shoes to the slide and kick them off somewhere close, as do most of guests. We slide them back on before walking to the next slide.
We usually just leave everything on a chair, including iPhone and charge cards. I know. I know. But I’ve never had anything happen anywhere. (My mom does think cash was stolen out of her purse in toontown once, but I’m not so sure.)
I didn’t bring a bag. I wish I did but I think there may be some you can’t. I do have a water proof fanny pack that would have been fine I think.
I’m going to invest in water socks for next time I go. The last few trips to WDW, I have split open the skin on the pad of my big toe due to abrasion from the cement in the pools. I tend to use my toes for balance and I put a lot of wear on that patch of skin on the pad of the big toe. It hurts like the dickens, by the way. 
Side note: At Volcano Bay (Universal) they are much more strict about not letting you hold anything while going down a slide. You have to leave shoes at the shoe racks at the entrance to each slide, which is sometimes a bit of a hike from where you exit the slide. Disney’s policy is much more relaxed. If you couldn’t keep your shoes on, you could at least hold them. I was a little surprised by this.
If you buy a refillable mug at one water park, can you use it again at the other water park?
Also… if my kids want to play in the “pre-teen” area at Blizzard Beach, do I have to stay to watch them? Is there a place for parents to hang back and chill while the kids play?
By the same token, is it just inadvisable to say, “Hey I’ll be over there, come find me when you’re done over here”?
The desire to avoid lockers is why I bought this waterproof backpack with a combination lock. Easy to attach to a chair and be relatively confident that everything inside it will stay there while you’re gone. Not worth the “investment” if this is your one and only trip to a water park or anywhere else where it could come in useful, but just wanted to throw it out there.
Your faith in humanity is truly awe-inspiring.
My favorite water shoes are fit kicks. They pack flat, bend and are lightweight. Cute patterns too.
https://fitkicks.com/ Amazon has them too. Got some on eBay for a good price.
Nice! I just ordered a pair of these on your recommendation. Look great!
I can’t claim that’s the driving factor.
I think it’s more a statistics thing.
I wouldn’t do that everywhere-everywhere. But most places.
I’m going to show these to DH, too. He has the same concerns you describe. He must use his toes for balance. He also doesn’t go barefoot often like the rest of the family does.
Nice, I hope you like them. Give me an update if you get a chance. Which ones did you order?
I just found a $50 Amazon gift card I put in my work bag and “lost” in the junk. I just “cleaned out my school bag” yesterday 
and tucked it away… but now I know what to get because I’m waterparking at least twice perhaps three times in June!
Which style do you prefer? Would you wear them all day, like from resort to park and back again? I wouldn’t expect you could wear them around theme parks or such but would they work for that direct useage?
Also grabbing that waterproof locking bag that @joelbruick has posted - love it, especially as I will be traveling alone and nobody will be ablet o watch my stuff!
Then they are basically free! lol I haven’t tried wearing them the whole time from hotel to park. I’d imagine you’d be fine but I would try them out first to see if you could handle it. They are thin and lightweight so I just bring them along. I’ve used them when paddleboarding, kayaking and when I went to discovery cove. I mainly like them because they dry pretty fast and I always travel with just a personal item or carry on so space is a premium. They have held up good too.
I have the special edition classic ones in leopard print. lol
The strap across the top is nice for watersports cause you can latch them on with a caribener when not using them.
Thanks!
