I’m sure you’re aware, but just to put it out there, Disney is pretty big! Not just talking about the Disney Franchise(s) and how everything Disney does becomes a huge hit, but the parks themselves are big! They a comprised of a good amount of acreage, thus a lot of ground to cover! Theme Park Tourist has a nice break-down of how much land each park owns as well as the size of each park and yearly attendance. The Magic Kingdom is 105 acres while the Animal Kingdom is 403 acres.
It’s tough to figure out how much of that is actual walkable, especially since the Animal Kingdom has the Safari and the area for animals to roam. In comparison, a quick Google search returned the size of Cedar Point in Ohio being 51 acres but King’s Island an impressive 364 acres! The Bronx Zoo is 265 acres while the Columbus Zoo has 580 acres! Again with the zoo, I’m sure a good amount of that acreage is dedicated to only animals, allowing them to have some freedom to move about.
So needless to say, there’s a lot of walking when you’re visiting theme parks or zoo’s. So, with the walking and carrying a 25 lb little girl every so often, it becomes a workout! Add in some sunshine, fresh air, you’ve got your well-fit side of the whole well-being triangle fulfilled!
We walked from the car to the boat, from the boat to the entrance, from the entrance into the park and then obviously, all over the park!
Took some breaks to watch some entertainment… then walked some more!
Sunshine is good for you! Especially when it’s winter and you might have a slight case of Seasonal Affective Disorder!
Lifting 25 pounds up and over your head is a workout! Then walking around with that weight just keeps the workout going all day!
And how about some dancing and music and laughing, all good for the soul!
Pushing around a stroller filled with one (or more) kids can get your heart-rate up just as well! Do these kids know how good they got it?
And even at the resort it’s nothing but more sunshine, blue sky and keeping it moving! Swimming, learning to swim, carrying a baby around the pool and throwing her up and down!
And of course running around, racing and having kid-level-energy!
This trip to Disney, as well as the last trip we went on in 2014, I wore flip flops. They were comfortable flips and I knew I’d be fine in them. I do have running shoes that are lightweight and easy to get on and off, but when it gets hot, I like my feet to breath. Dan had his sneakers he feels more comfortable in, knowing sometimes his walking pace is more of a moving super fast border-line running when he’s on a mission, pushing the stroller with a 50 lb kid in it trying to get to the next ride. Both the kids had crocs, which were perfect! The feet don’t get too hot and they hold up well. Nico does love his sneakers, but they’re falling apart, so I insisted he wears his crocs. He did great in 2014 with them. I’d suggest wearing shoes that are not brand new. Broken in and comfy is best.
It got hot in August and at 3 1/2 years old, the heat and the walking wore Nico out!
When we returned to the resort that year, he passed out at the Grand Floridian Pool Bar. So we were prepared to end the day early this year if either of the kids weren’t handling it, but the weather was so perfect they did great.
In the two photos above, the bag I’m carrying and in the background the black bag with gold Mickey print, that’s the lightweight backpack I brought into the park in 2014 and again this year. It was perfect. Sunscreen, a few water bottles, hand sanitizer, band-aids, extra hair ties, a floppy hat for Kali, apples, still enough room to put the lightweight shirts we wore in the mornings in it by afternoon and I think that was it! It was easy to have on my back or toss in the stroller. And just an FYI, there is no gum sold anywhere in the vicinity of Disney, which helps keep the park nice.