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If you’re a parent of a toddler, then you know that while Disney World is one of the most magical places on earth, it’s also probably one of the most difficult places to dress your kid in shoes and sandals that are comfortable enough for them to walk all day long.
It can be difficult to find cute toddler shoes that are also durable enough to handle long days walking around Disney World. That’s why I put together this list of some favorite toddler shoes for Disney World.
I broke this post down into two sections:
These tips are really true for anybody, but are especially true for little kids:
If you like Crocs (and some people love them, especially in the summer), you can just your kid a new pair with one of their favorite Disney characters on them.
Ta-da! Disney shoe shopping completed.
Crocs Kids’ Frozen Elsa Light-Up Clog
Crocs Kids’ Disney Princess Light Up ClogCrocs Kids’ Mickey Mouse Light Up ClogCrocs Kids’ Disney Mickey Mouse ClogCrocs Kids’ Pixar Lightening McQueen ClogCrocs Kids’ Disney Princess Clog
By the same token, if your kids are more into sneakers and you’re not too picky about which, just type “Disney themed sneakers for kids” into Amazon and have fun shopping!
Pixar Cars Boys’ Laceless SneakersDisney Frozen 2 Girls Fashion Sneakers – Anna and Elsa (Toddler/Little Kid), Size 12 Little Kid, Silver Light UpMickey Mouse Red and Black Infant ShoesDisney Minnie Mouse Girls Shoes | Lightweight Sneakers | Toddler and Little Kid Casual Running Shoes Fuchsia
However, if your main concern is not whether or not Minnie Mouse is on the shoe, but whether or not your child is crying in pain while standing in line for Dumbo, here are some great comfortable shoes:
Crocs Kids’ Classic Cross-Strap Sandals for Toddlers
Some toddlers have trouble walking in the regular clunk Crocs without tripping — or they still have chunky little baby feet that rub against the edges of the shoes.
For these kids (and others who just want a more lightweight shoe), these Crocs Sandals are perfect.
They come in a variety of colors, including Ice Blue (pictured above), Pink Lemonade, Pistachio, and Lavender.
Parents love how these shoes are easy to wipe clean, making them perfect for puddles, the beach, pools, parks, or rainy days.
Kids like how these shoes are both comfortable and cute … so even though your 2 year old can easily take them off, they won’t be doing it unless they need to.
And hey, don’t worry that these Crocs aren’t specifically “Disney shoes.” You can easily dress them up as much as you like with Disney shoe charms like these:
Native Shoes, Lightweight Sneaker for Toddlers
Natives were another shoe that Disney-goers raved about for their toddlers, and a great lightweight alternative if you want your child’s toes covered.
Like the Crocs sandals above, Natives are lightweight, make a great water shoe, and are easy to clean. They come in tons of colors, front “Pink Bling Glitter” to “Grasshopper Green” to “Popstar Orange,” so your child to sure to find a style that they love.
Another thing that parents liked about Natives is that they can be worn either with or without socks, depending on your preference or what you’ll be doing that day.
This Amazon customer says their 4 year old son want to wear these every day:
I got these to replace my 4 yr old son’s water shoes … He quickly abandoned his sport sandals and began putting these on for everyday activities. They work for everything–running, dirt, water, sand, bike pedaling, scootering, tree climbing, trail walking, museum outing.
He never has any redness that you might expect from spending the day in a rubber shoe without socks, not even when the shoe is wet. And, aside from being dirtier than when we got them, these shoes look exactly the same. Very little wear and tear after two months of daily use by a very active boy.
pediped Flex Sahara Water Sandal
Parents love Pedipeds because they combine the lightweight flexibility of a sandal with the sturdy support of a sneaker.
They also liked the nice grips on the bottom and, the great arch support, and how the toes are covered, but there is still air flow from the sides (a particular plus if your kids tend to have sweaty feet).
Yes, these shoes are a bit pricey for toddler shoes, but several reviewers said they were worth it.
KEEN Toddler (1-4 Years) Newport H2 Sandals
No one in my family has ever worn Keen sneaker sandals, but people rave about them for both kids and adults, claiming they are comfortable, durable, versatile, and that they have a great grippy tread sole.
Amazon reviewer Stephanie Roether says these were great shoes for her 4 year old to wear to Disney World, but points out one minor thing to watch out for:
Keen Newport H2 Sandals are our favorites for water/outdoor play! They dry pretty quickly and don’t end up smelling terrible the way other water-resistant shoes do.
They were comfortable enough for my kids to wear all day at Disney World (which is quite a bit of walking). Definitely worth the money! *The only drawback to the “little kid” vs. the “toddler” sized Keens is that the drawstring/clip combo is difficult for an almost 4 year old to maneuver.
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It’s quite unlike me to take a Disney World trip with such little notice, but between the fact that
we booked a quick trip in July 2021 only two weeks ahead of time.
There weren’t many bells and whistles; we stayed in a cheap hotel that was adequate but certainly nothing special, and the only dining reservation we had was at Raglan Road in Disney Springs.
It was first post-Covid trip, and over a year later, there were still many changes that made the parks different.
1. I hated my park bag — and know exactly which one I want for my next trip.
You’d think that after writing about this kind of stuff in depth, I wouldn’t screw it up, but I did.
Since our trip was so last minute, I grabbed a cheap, brown crossbody purse at Target, thinking I would use it in “real life” too. I didn’t even test it out.
Stupid, stupid.
It was way too small for the trip. I couldn’t fit both my phone and the charger brick into my purse at the same time, which meant my phone always died before the end of the day. Also, my sunglasses wouldn’t fit. Extras like sunscreen were out of the question. I was annoyed and complain-y about it the entire trip.
What made me really want to kick myself was that I saw many people with Loungefly Disney mini-backpacks that I loved. They were cute, easy to carry, and held a bunch of stuff.
I tried shopping for one a couple days into our trip, but the only one I could find that I liked at all was a Fox and the Hound design, and like … really? Did anyone even see that movie?
As much as I have nothing against foxes (or hounds), I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on something I didn’t really love.
So I [very stupidly] had to suffer with an ugly, inadequate park bag, while people with the perfect Disney bag were walking past me all day.
DO NOT DO THIS.
Get a good bag. Test it out beforehand.
[By the way, even though I’m not going to Disney World again any time soon, I still want to get a backpack, but can’t decide between these three. Feel free to leave your vote in the comments below.]
Loungefly Disney Cats Mini-BackpackLoungefly Disney Aristocats Piano Kitties Mini BackpackLoungefly X Disney Alice In Wonderland Allover Print Mini Backpack
2. There are still no Fastpasses. (although it may look like there are).
So Fastpass stopped being a thing once Disney World was temporarily shut down in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
In the middle of me working on this post — somewhat ironically, I had to set it aside because I got Covid — it was announced that Fastpass would never, ever be returning.
I don’t want to get into all that right now, but let’s just say that, at the moment, it’s going to look like Disney World is still using Fastpass. You’ll see people walking through the Fastpass queues and boarding the rides much more quickly than you. And you might [understandably] be confused.
More importantly, you’ll be thinking — like a saw a man ask a cast member when we walking through the Fastpass line at Peter Pan — “How do I get in that line?”
Well, right now the Fastpass line is the Disability Access Service (DAS) line.
Quite unexpectantly, we were able to use DAS on this trip because of my daughter’s friend’s sensory issue. Expect a post from me sometime about DAS, how it works, who qualifies, and who doesn’t.
Although I might wait a while before writing it, because it sounds like it’s all going to change fairly soon anyway with the arrival of the new Genie + system.
3. You need to wear masks only on Disney transportation indoors.
See why it’s so hard being a Disney blogger? Things change about every five days.
We were lucky enough to be at Disney World in mid-July when masks were no longer required (except for on Disney transportation, and yes, it was enforced) but within less than two week after we came home, that changed. At the time of this writing, masks are now required indoors.
4. Parks are already almost at full capacity.
One of my readers specifically asked me what the park capacity was right now. Like the good blogger that I am, I sought out a cast member at the monorail and asked exactly that.
She told me that she couldn’t give me specific numbers, because it depended on the park and the day, but that Epcot would be back at full capacity by the end of the week (July 17).
I’m guessing that if Epcot is already at full capacity, the other parks aren’t too far behind. In retrospect, I’m kinda sorry we didn’t go to Disney World a few months earlier when crowds were significantly lower.
5. There are no character meet and greets (and yes, it’s kind of a bummer).
You probably already knew that there were no Disney character meet and greets at the moment. Instead, there are “cavalcades” like the photo above.
These are cute, and certainly better than nothing, but man, it’s not the same thing.
In the first place, they were practically a blink-and-you’ll-it event. In Epcot, my daughter was walking ahead of me and called out, “Look, it’s Winnie the Pooh chasing butterflies!” By the time I caught up with her and saw where she was pointing, Pooh had literally turned around and was walking back over the hill.
Second, there weren’t very many of them. I think we saw about three or four character cavalcades per a day, which isn’t very many at all for an experience that lasts less than two minutes, depending on where you are.
So not only do you not get to meet the characters and get your photos taken with them, but you just don’t get to even see the character out and about very much. And yes, it did make the parks feel different to me.
6. You can use the Photopass photographers to use your cell phone, but they may decline.
I didn’t want to pay for Memory Maker for this particular trip, partly because it was only for 3 days, and partly because of the lack of character meet and greets.
So I tried the money saving hack of just giving my phone to the Photopass photographer.
Two photographers took some photos no problem, one refused, and one was hesitant, but agreed when I told her that she could sanitize my phone.
Apparently it’s up to the photographer’s discretion right now. I’m assuming that’s a Covid thing, although that’s a guess.
Anyway, you can still try it, just don’t be disappointed if the photographer tells you no.
7. There’s not much pin trading right now.
My favorite thing about Disney pin trading, personally, is that it’s fun to always be on the lookout for cast members with pin lanyards, then go up to them and chat a little while you’re checking out their pins.
Well, due to Covid, the Disney cast members aren’t wearing lanyards, which made pin trading on this trip almost non-existent. You can still ask in the gift shops if they have a pin trading board, but we didn’t think of it most of the time.
What has your recent Disney World trip been like?
Have you been to Disney World post-Covid? Were you disappointed? Anything else you want to share? Which backpack should I buy?
Let us know below in the comments!
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If your child has sensory processing issues or ADD — or even if they don’t — they will love these simple sensory bottles. Also known as “calm down bottles,” these DIY sensory bottles are a tool for younger and older children alike that can help […]
These ocean sensory bottles — or, as I like to call them, “mini aquariums” — are ridiculously easy and are a great sensory activity for little hands.
There’s nothing wrong with making these bottles just for something fun and pretty to shake around, but they’re also a great way to learn about sea creatures and ocean life.
Just add a few books ….
Mister Seahorse by Eric CarleIn the Sea by David ElliottNational Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of the Ocean
… and some videos …
Video – Ocean Animals for Kids
Ocean Animals for Preschool & Kindergarten
… throw in some ocean-themed snacks, and you’ve got a super-easy, hands-on unit study!
We used a Voss water bottle for this, but you can certainly be creative with the type and size of bottle that you use.
You can also add a nice touch to your bottle by adding a few small seashells.
1. Gather all materials.
2. Pour all of the clear glue into the bottle.
3. Add the ocean animal toys.
4. Fill the remaining bottle with water.
5. Add one drop of blue food coloring to the bottle.
6. Close the bottle. Use tape or glue to secure the lid if you like.
7. Enjoy your bottle!
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Do you know a little person who loves dinosaurs? Both both and girls tend to be fascinated by these prehistoric creatures. And why shouldn’t they be? They seem mythical, almost like unicorns … but they were real. How cool is that? Whether you’re looking for […]
