On a mission to find shoes and a purse for me for WDW!

[rkold]

I don't really bring a purse any more to the parks. Now that magic bands are taken pretty much everywhere, I don't need one. I love it. I sometimes bring a bag to put water bottles and a pad and markers/tablet for entertainment on long lines, but sometimes I just stick the bottles and entertainment in the basket of my umbrella stroller and that is it. It depends on whether I think I am going to need to fold my stroller at some point.

I tend to wear sneakers or my TEVA sandals in WDW.

Personally, I don't wear Crocs much anymore after I nearly cracked my skull open when I slipped in them on top of a small mountain on Miyajima. I only sprained a finger, but it could have been so much worse. I find them very very slippery on certain types of wet ground. They're super comfy, but I've already had one nasty spill in WDW because of wet flooring, and I'm not excited about having a second.

[twowhat?]

Love (LOVE) my Teva Zirras for lots of walking (Have worn then to DL 3 years in a row now!) My feet are blocky and do better with "less" though. So the less material actually touching and rubbing on my foot the better. The Zirras are perfection for me!

I have a Kipling Alvar and yeah, it doesn't fit a water bottle but I just stick it in the end and pull the zipper up to it (so the bottle is sticking up and out). It worked well, LOVE my Kipling Alvar, and it worked GREAT when we had a stroller (so I could keep non-essentials in the stroller like extra snacks, etc). But now that we're no longer stroller users, I prefer carrying a backpack. It's just easier and more hands-free. I really want to get a Kipling backpack since the material is so sturdy and lightweight and I'm obsessed with the zippers Kipling uses but their backpacks are so expensive...waiting to try to snag one on super sale Agree to get something your DH is willing to carry. This year DH and I took turns carrying a backpack and it was perfect.

[mikala]

I took Teva Tirras and some Merrell sneakers for our trip and that combo was totally sufficient. I wore the Tevas for parks with water rides like AK and the running shoes the rest of the time. I tried on the skecher go walk shoes before our trip and just couldn't see how they would stay comfortable.

Whatever you wear take some blister Band-Aids just in case...

I'd go with a lightweight backpack for standing in line, especially if there's a chance DH will share the load.

[ang79]

Yeah, my kids are too old for a stroller so anything we take into the park will be in my bag. That LL Bean bag looks nice, anyone have any coupons for there? Or a rec. for a similar lightweight backpack w/ exterior water bottle pockets?

[boilermakermom]

We all wore good running shoes. Saucony and Nike and New Balance. I carried a Kipling Alvar bag and we brought an old Jansport backpack with us. The backpack was great for water bottles, sunscreen, snacks and somewhere to put souvenirs, etc.

[mmsmom]

We are just back from WDW. I alternated between sneakers and FitFlops. My kids are 6 & 8 & wore sneakers. DS wore Keens one day. No one complained about sore or tired feet. I carried a small cross body Baggalini I found at Marshalls for $25. I was amazed at the size of the bags some people were carrying around. It looked hot & uncomfortable! My DC were not into autographs but for that I would consider one small cross body they could alternate carrying. For me bags on the back are hot & I saw so many people with sweat marks where their back packs were. My bag was the perfect size for 4 ponchos from the $ store, small bottle of sunscreen, small hand sanitizer, two water bottles in outside pocket, cell phone w/touring plan & Disney app in front pocket. I had some cash, credit card, ID in an interior zipped pocket but never needed since we all had magic bands. Never needed anything else. Mine was similar to this but back pocket did not have a zipper. http://www.baggallini.com/handbags/g...#sz=12&start=6

[KrisM]

I mostly wore sneakers or my regular sandals.

I carried a bag, but none of the others did. I used a 31 over the shoulder crossbody bag. It held 3 autograph books, maps, a small wallet, my phone, my small camera, 1 water bottle, 2 pairs of sunglasses (no case) when needed, a small thing of sunscreen, some bandaids and wet wipes and probably a couple other things. It worked really well.

I had a small packable backpack that I carried the one day that had rain listed for most of the day. That was the only time we brought ponchos in.

[ang79]

Thanks for the ideas. I ended up getting a NWT Baggallini Sling Messenger bag from Ebay for around $30 to try out, as it was recommended heavily on all the Disney blogs as being a great park bag. So far I have used it when hanging around the playground with my kids and it seems to work OK. It feels a bit awkward still, as I'm not used to using a sling backpack, but it doesn't seem to pull on my shoulder as much as a messenger bag would. I also bought some Keen Newport H2 sandals from Amazon Warehouse for a great deal but am still debating the fit. The website said to size up 1/2 a size from your normal size, and that is what the sale size was (I'm a 7, I got a 7.5). The are comfy, and don't seem to be loose on my feet, but the shape of them feels wide and bulky. Maybe it just takes getting used to them as they are so much different than other shoes I have. I'll take my Teva Tirra's and sneakers as well, and maybe some comfy flips or my Crocs Patricia's to wear to give my feet a break in the evenings if they are tired of the other shoes. We got our Magic Bands and luggage tags in the mail today, the girls are super excited! Only 26 days to go!

[bisous]

I wear sandals with support. My trusty old merrell gardenas that I've relied on for many years now are still my favorite. I can't imagine wearing actual close toed shoes at Disney. It is way too hot.

I don't like backpacks or cross body bags. My favorite is to have a small, cloth bag that fits right underneath my arm. Hobo is my favorite shape. It feels light and it is tight to me and close to my body so I can keep it under control. Easy to reach into, easy to stow for rough rides and easy to keep on for mild ones.

In my bag I keep sunscreen, sunglasses and lipstick and of course my phone. I also bring a small wallet and my keys but I believe magic bands make those unnecessary. I sometimes find myself carrying around water bottles in there. That gets a lot heavier, obviously but is sometimes worth it.

Obviously to each his own! My SILs and I agree on footwear (only sandals!) but we all like different bags. I tend to like to bring the most stuff but I like my creature comforts.