What to wear at Disneyworld?

[Twilightstarbright]

As the title suggests, I have 10 days at WDW in April. I’ve lost a lot of weight and have no summer clothes! My wardrobe right now consists of smart dresses and blazers for work, gym gear and jeans with a fine knit jumper for the weekend. What should I wear in Disney? Will I get chafing???

I think I’ll be a size 8 or thereabouts by then, and I’m short. Not particularly interested in dressing in Disney stuff, just comfortable- assume denim shorts are t a good idea on water rides???

@Twilightstarbright are you staying on site? WDW isn't an easy holiday to wing, there's a lot that needs planning and booking in advance, I haven't been in a couple of years and loads has changed so I can't give advice, but I suggest (depending on if you are onsite or not) you start researching asap and planning your days, reservations etc. honestly clothes should be the last thing on your mind! Especially as you're going one of the busiest times of year.

Take a look at some of the YouTube accounts - the best (IMHO) are Ear Scouts and Mammoth Club (we bumped into Molly from Mammoth Club at Riviera Resort when they were doing a food review and we were grabbing some dinner - I may have fangirled!)

Disney does take planning if you want to make the most of it, but it's worth it.

I noted that you are staying off site so things like Rope Dropping don't apply to you, so don't worry about Early Entry.

Your dinner reservation window will be opening up shortly but as you are off site you can only book one day at a time. Make sure you know now any places that are "must do" for you and your party so that you can build your itinerary around them.

We went in October I just wore dresses and or shorts/t shirt & trainers, no chafing as I’d lost weight too, and no not everyone looks dreadful what a thing to say? Everyone dressed pretty comfy trainers on feet though I walked miles and miles and miles. Lots in those little lulu lemon shorts and on trainers seemed to be in. Have a wonderful time op, I go back in may so hoping I’ve lost more weight (well done btw)

Shorts and t-shirts/vest tops. Or some cotton summer playsuits/dresses. Just casual summer stuff.

For water ride days (or rainy days) then sportswear works well.

The most important thing really is a few different types of shoes.

It's not the walking more than standing on concrete that gets to me (unlike at home walking where there's hills/mud/grass it's allll concrete. And the standing still in lines/waiting for shows is when I feel my feet moaning at me.

Taking (what my husband deems) 'too many' pairs of shoes is my best tip. I make sure to never wear the same pair twice in a row so I'm mixing it up. Different sandals, flip flops, crocs, trainers (although my least favourite for FL heat/weather) it's about my feet getting a change in a shape/pressure and shoes that don't stay damp.

For planning look at the dibb
get your wdw app linked with any wdw bookings or you can use to plan park openings late m/early openings food reservations etc there’s lots to think about so you need to decide what you want to do then plan and it should be warm enough for no sleeves or a light cardi (for indoors with ac can be chilly) I didn’t bother and we had no rain except during the Hurricaine in Oct
exciting. We go 2 may

I’ve been to WDW 3 times, most recently in March/April 2023. We were there for 3.5 weeks and I wore denim shorts every day so don’t listen to the people who tell you not to! You don’t get that wet on the water rides at Disney. If you’re going to Universal that’s a different matter…Bilge Rat Barges is basically like taking a shower, fully clothed 😆.

I also don’t agree that it’s about as much walking as a day shopping in a city. We did at least 10 miles every day so you do need good footwear.

It was very hot when we were there, even in the evenings, but I wore a cardigan in a restaurant once. I found trainers too hot most of the time so wore Tevas. They were good at Universal because my feet could get soaked and be dry again 15 mins later. Different story for DH in his Nikes!

Hope you enjoy your holiday … we had an amazing time.

Although America is the world home of shopping, I'd get everything you need to wear before you go. I packed very light recently for a US trip, assuming I'd buy loads when I got there. Hard no. It's the same price or more expensive than here, with less choice. Of course you can pick up a t-shirt and bits here and there but for clothes that need to fit and be the right fabric, stay safe and take with.

I tend to wear cycle shorts and a big Disney t shirt, ears and crocs - comfy and mean my
feet aren’t dying by the end.

Thanks again everyone.

@prkchhgfp I’m in a few Facebook groups but still not clear what plan my day means- is it day one magic kingdom and a list of rides we want to do and in what order?

I don’t think we are bothered about dining and was going to use quick service or take a packed lunch with. DC not interested in character dining.

Join the Dibb forum for planning tips. I think Disney has changed since 2023 so any advice I could give would be out of date.

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php

I don’t think you can really wing it at Disney, especially not Magic Kingdom. The one thing I don’t like about it is that it just seems to complicated (compared to Universal).

Having said that, we always had a great time at Hollywood Studios between about 6pm and closing time. People drift off to the shows and you can get on the rides, even big ticket attractions, quite easily. Also, don’t believe the posted wait for Rise of the Resistance as they always seem to overinflate it! Probably to get you to buy a Lightning Lane or whatever ..:

I think plan your day means if you don't plan and just rock up on spec you'll be faced with 3 hours + queues for most things. The general being in Disney is great, and you can soak up the atmosphere etc, but if there is anything you want to do or ride on, you will probably have to have planned it first.

We had absolutely no idea it was spring break when we went in March last year. The queues for most things were well over 2 hours, the slinky ride at epcot I think (could be hollywood studio's) was reguarly a 4 hour queue for those that had not booked their lightning lane passes.

@Twilightstarbright if you're not looking for dining then yeah that's one thing ticked off (although good to familiarise yourself with mobile ordering and also there is some really nice food options and if you don't want to just eat burgers all week it helps to research the dining options to see what's there, it's all in the app)

I'm not too sure how all the rides work now in terms of queues etc, it helps to know rope drop times, have strategies to get onto your most desired rides, and crowd planners can help you look at what to avoid (for example Magic Kingdom and water parks were always best to avoid on a weekend) just things like that really. We had to book theme parks when we last went which I don't think you have to do now.

When people say plan, it means have an idea as to what you are doing each day. Last time we went was 2019 so a while ago now but in advance we booked all of our fast passes (or whatever they were called back then). The first thing we did was look at the park hours guide. Each park had a day where they had an early start - from what I remember on our first day we took advantage of Epcot being open an hour early. April and Easter are one of the busiest times along with Christmas. If you just rock up to a park with no plans, I honestly think you’ll be disappointed. You might only managed one or two rides in one day.

Twilightstarbright

If you would like any help with the planning the holiday forum is really helpful.

Thank you all- found a couple of guides about days to avoid in each park. I’ll have a look at the extended hours/early hours too.

I have a big notes section and have added in all the advice, and have favourited some shorts on Vinted.

Nice gym gear should be a good bet?

When we went I wore a variety of floaty wide leg trousers with pockets or floaty long dresses with pockets - cool and comfortable - I personally dislike shorts and hate the cycling shorts/tight crop top look that seemed to be most popular at WDW when we went.

Shorts and t-shirt with a couple of pairs of different very comfy shoes (lots of walking day after day on hard surfaces in hot weather).

On more general planning, note booking date for restaurants is 60 days out. Some of the restaurants are really nice (if you are only eating deep fried you are definitely doing it wrong!).

i would suggest buying MLL pass one day for magic kingdom and one day for Hollywood. Possibly one day Epcot if you are keen. Then consider SLL passes for Rise, 7 dwarves, Tron and Flight of Passage if they appeal.