Disney World Tips and Tricks - What to Wear

If you've read the other installments of this series Disney World Tips and Tricks - The Basics, Disney World Tips and Tricks - Freebies, and Disney World Tips and Tricks - Halloween, you are prepared for your trip, you know what to expect, and you can move on to planning other things - like what to wear!

What Clothes to Pack

We can make her dress so pretty,

There's nothing to it, really.

We'll tie a sash around it,

Put a ribbon through it.

When dancing at the ball,

She'll be more beautiful than all,

In the lovely dress we'll make for Cinderelly.

I don't know about you, but I don't have a passel of helpful mice at my disposal. So, in lieu of recruiting some, I opted to plan out a week's worth of coordinating outfits for the whole family myself. 

There are several benefits of coordinating outfits. Once you take a look at all of those family photos that you asked your PhotoPass photographers to take for free, you'll notice that your family looks much better if your clothes are at least color coordinated. 

And, there is the very old adage that if for any reason you should get separated from your child, if you are wearing matching or coordinating clothes, it will be very easy to remember what he or she was wearing that day (thankfully, we did not need to test this one out on this trip).

These are some examples of the outfits that the Walkush family wore during our trip:

You may be surprised to know that of the outfits pictured, I only purchased one additional Batman T-shirt for Ryan and the Mickey Mouse T-shirts for the family. All were purchases from Old Navy prior to the trip. And the exact same Mickey Mouse T-shirts were available in the souvenir shops in Disney World for more than we had paid for them at Old Navy!

Not pictured were days where we wore tie-dyed shirts, Cleveland Indians shirts, Goldenstate Warriors shirts, coordinating navy blue and orange shirts, and coordinating yellow and purple shirts.

So, while this method took a bit of up front coordination, the photos were definitely worth it in the end.

Shoes

The time has come, the Walrus said,

To talk of other things,

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax

Or maybe just shoes . . . . 

Every resource that I read said to wear tennis shoes. And wouldn't you know it? The one thing that I forgot to pack was a pair of tennis shoes for myself! (I just don't wear them, and I walked out the door with a pair of sandals on my feet.) So, we headed to the nearest outlets and bought a pair of tennis shoes because I just knew they were a "must have."

And with all the walking, I still got blisters. 

I saw people in the following footwear: tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, boots, even heels. Now, I'm not necessarily recommending any of these options, but I have seriously considered whether I might have been better off in sandals for myself. I have not worn tennis shoes on a daily basis since high school, and I think my feet were rebelling against the idea.

If you DO opt to go with tennis shoes, make sure that they are double knotted at all times. It's much easier than stopping every time a shoelace comes untied.

Sunscreen

Certain as the sun,

Rising in the east.

Even if you're visiting the parks in "winter" months, don't forget the sunscreen. The sun is always shining in Florida (or maybe just in Disney World) and if you get a sunburn, it will just ruin your trip. 

So, make sure to apply it every day before you leave for the parks and pack it in your backpack so that you can reapply if necessary.

What Not to Wear

Each little snail here,
Know how to wail here.
That's why it's hotter,
Under the water.

I'm guessing that Sebastian has never visited Disney World if he thinks that it is hotter under the water because the truth is that it is hotter in Florida period. Average temperatures supposedly hover around the 80's but our experience was that it felt like 37,000 degrees at all times. (Even on the night that we stayed late for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, nightfall did not make the temperature drop.)

So, my biggest piece of advice is really on what not to wear. And that would be jeans, pants, long sleeves, etc. And, trust me, I saw plenty of these articles of clothing around the parks.

If you are like me and have the same skin complexion as Jack Skellington, Sally, and Zero, you'll either need to get over any insecurities you might have or invest in Tan in a Can prior to the trip.

Whatever you do, dress for comfort, which will include shorts when it is 37,000 degrees, which is all the time if you were reading carefully. ;-)

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