Disney Day: Best Shoes to Wear :: Toms
Going to Disney World is something I’ve enjoyed for many years. Over that time, I’ve tested several tips given to me and learned a lot on my own. On “Disney Days” I share some of what I’ve learned about touring, hotels, and how to have the best trip whether it’s your first or thirty-first.
Incase you haven’t noticed, I go to Disney World a lot. Those trips range from four days to ten days. Thats a lot of walking. Just to give you an idea, I walk an average of 20,000 steps a day at Disney World. For you non-pediometer or fitbit savvy folks, that’s about 13 miles. That creates a need for comfortable shoes. I looked everywhere for shoe reviews at Disney World and didn’t find anything that helped me. So I decided to start testing out shoes at Disney World, just to see how they held up for 13 miles.
First, I’ve decided to review TOMS. I didn’t own a pair, so I ended up wearing brand new TOMS. Wearing brand new shoes is never something I recommend doing at Disney World, but I wore them two days to hopefully give you the best idea of if TOMS will work for you or not.
I chose to wear my TOMS on the first full day of our trip. My feet were probably at their best for the entire trip and the TOMS came highly recommend by my sister for comfort and cuteness. They’re her Disney shoe of choice. For reference, I have one flat foot, one arched foot, narrow ankles, wide toes, my feet turn in and fall in. All of those factors mean that I could encounter a little of most foot problems. At first, I though they were kinda tight across the top of my foot, but the soles were very comfortable. I was told they would stretch and be fine. The first day I wore them we park hopped twice. We started at Hollywood Studios, hopped to Animal Kingdom, then hopped to EPCOT for the evening. My steps that day totaled over 25,000.
Here’s my feet at the end of the day:
As you can see in the right picture, my feet did well during the day, but not as much as I was expecting. The TOMS definitely stretched. I wear an 8.5 or a 9 and went with the 9. After the end of the first day, I did not have any blisters and the bottoms of my feet didn’t hurt, which is a big deal after walking over 13 miles in a day. I was so impressed I decided to wear them again on my second full day. We walked about 21,000 steps that day. At the end of the second day with my TOMS, I had a blister right under the ball of my foot where the TOMS rise in the shoe on my flat foot. On my arched foot, I had a blister under my big toe. Needless to say, I was a little uncomfortable that second day, but my feet didn’t hurt badly. That’s more than I can say for other shoes I’ve walked 26 miles in.
Overall, I would give TOMS a 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 on their wearability for Disney World. I recommend TOMS because:
- Comfort:: After walking 26 miles and only having two blisters, that’s rare. They didn’t rub my ankles and gave decent support
- Cute:: Skirts are my favorite bottoms at Disney because they’re breezy and cool, especially with running shorts under neath. TOMS are definitely cuter than running shoes with skirts.
- Material:: Canvas outer keeps your foot cooler in the sticky hot Orlando weather
The marks against TOMS are what most folks typically complain about:
- Safety:: Rain is a daily occurrence at WDW most of the year. TOMS do not give you traction on slick pavement
- Smell:: Due to the leather inners and the fact that they’re recommended to not be worn with socks, the excessive walking (and sweating) done on a Disney trip can make them smell pretty bad
- Material:: This is a pro and a con. It’s a con because they can wear out so quickly. If your TOMS are pretty worn and then you decide to walk in them 13 miles a day for a week or so, you’re bound to get holes
Hopefully these tips and observations will help you decide if TOMS are right for you to wear on your next Disney trip!
Have a shoe suggest for me to test on my next vacation? Questions about other shoes? Contact me or leave a question in the comments! And look for another Disney Shoe Review next month.
I haven't been to Disney since I was six- I'm so jealous of your regular visits! And I think Tom's would be a great choice- they're so blister proof! But shoes smelling is my number one woe- i just don't know how to not ruin them in that way!!
xo marlen
Messages on a Napkin
Hmm I have never worn Toms before, but I would think sneakers would be the best. I love my New Balance 990s. I would have to stick with those when doing that much walking!
Nikki
thefashionablewife.com
I'm with you on the tennis shoes thing. Personally, my new balance iconix are my favorites to wear while I'm down there, but Toms came most recommended for cute and comfy so I decided to give them a shot.
I've heard that if you steer clear of water, you can keep them from smelling. Also dryer sheets supposedly keep smells out of them. You should visit again! It's so different now from when we were young and I think it's more fun now that I'm older. It's nice to forget about the daily mess and enjoy acting like a kid.
Ooooh good to know. As much as I love my converse they were a complete fail at Disney!
xx Cara
What a great post! Years ago (2002?) when I went to Disney, I wore Converse All-Stars (I think). I can't imagine having walked 13 miles in them in one day. I wonder how they would hold up, especially with a cheap insert. Dr Scholls has some cute alternatives these days, but I haven't ventured to try them out.
I love your red colored Toms! I walk a lot too when we travel and I usually wear loafers with cotton padded foot socks to absorb the sweat and feel comfy all day long. š
http://dressingupforme.blogspot.com/
Oooooh Keds! I need to try those next time! I love Disney in May! We were there for the first star wars weekend.
Lol! Yeah there's just no support in a pair of converse unfortunately. :/
Those less expensive Dr. Scholls inserts work great! I have to say my new balances are my favorites, but they are not very cute! lol.
Thank you Cheryl! I never thought of trying loafers with padded socks! I will have to test those out too!
I loooove my TOMS and often will wear them on days I know I'll be walking solely because I find them incredibly comfortable! I'm kind of weird, I guess, because my shoes don't ever smell, so I don't have that problem with my TOMS. I really want to try out some of their new sandals and ballet flats as well! š
I've tried on the ballet flats. They are comfortable but hard to track down at a price point I'm OK with. That's awesome that your shoes never smell. Then your TOMS would be perfect!
This is too funny! I was planning on wearing the exact pair of red TOMS to Universal next month!
Haha! They were great for two days at WDW. I was glad I had my sneakers to switch to for day 3 though.
That's why i haven't gotten the TOMS ballet flats – they are SO expensive! And I'm such a cheapskate, haha…
Truth! I don't know what size you wear, but I've seen some great deals on Poshmark for new and gently used. I scored my regular TOMS on Amazon for about $15 off retail.