Ever hit 15,000 steps at Disney and wondered why your legs feel like jelly at the end of the day?

At Disney, it’s easy to get immersed in the magic of riding all the rides, seeing all the shows, and frantically waving at every character – rightfully so, since the Disney parks are truly transformative and special. But without proper planning and preparation, you’re setting yourself up for the ultimate struggle: soreness, pain, and exhaustion.

Here’s how you can effortlessly walk 15,000 steps a day at Disney so you can make magical memories.

Here’s Why You’re Struggling at Disney 

On my first day at Disney World as an adult, I had no problem walking 20,000 steps.

I had no problem walking another 20,000 steps on day two.

However, even for a guy that likes to run and strength train 5 days per week, it was on my third day when I realized that I was struggling on my feet. It’s usually by this time when the unsuspecting Disney guest, who’s been so immersed in the grandeur of Cinderella Castle, the magical floating rocks of Pandora, and the delicious food (and drink) of World Showcase, also realizes that they’re fatigued, sore, and struggling.

Why does this happen? One word: overload.

If the average American adult walks 3,000-4,000 steps/day, then your body – its muscles, joints, connective tissue, and its cardiovascular system – is adapted to that level of walking. At Disney, where 20,000 steps per day is a norm, the first or second day may feel fine. After all, you’re excited to be at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

But after two or three days of the accumulated stress from walking, muscular fatigue sets in, soreness screams at you, and blisters start to pop up in places you didn’t expect. Tack on the endless amount of time standing in line for rides and shows, drastic changes in nutrition habits, the lack of sleep, and jet lag, and your body’s ability to recover has taken a massive hit. 

In other words, your body’s ability to recover can’t keep up with all the stress you put it through.

The Right Preparation is Crucial for a Magical Vacation 

But what happens when you’ve properly prepped your body for the rigors of Disney?

When your body, its muscles, joints, connective tissue, and its cardiovascular system, has adapted to the demands of a week-long Disney trip, five things happen.

1. Your slow-twitch muscle fibers become stronger and more efficient, meaning you’ll expend less energy, walk farther and longer, and recovery quicker
2. The collagen in your connective tissues get more tensile strength and become more efficient in transferring energy, meaning you waste less precious energy
3. The cartilage in your joints become more healthy and are able to handle more loads with less inflammation, meaning you’ll feel less soreness at the end of the day
4. Your heart gets stronger, operates at a lower resting and submaximal heart rate, extracts oxygen more efficiently, and recovers quicker, turning your body into a more powerful, fuel-efficient engine that allows you to walk all day without red-lining
5. Your body’s metabolic system becomes more efficient as mitochondria and capillary density increases and  fat oxidation improves, meaning what felt like a marathon before now feels like a walk in the park

And when these five things happen…

• You’ll effortlessly walk all day and enjoy Disney without soreness or fatigue
• You’ll maximize your time, have energy for the fireworks, and feel ready to rope drop the next day
• You’ll have the freedom to walk anywhere you want without wondering if you’ll survive

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I get 3 types of responses from my patients.

“Training isn’t for Me”

When we first met, my wife wasn’t a fan of strength training or running.

She didn’t tell me this back then, but if I asked her, she probably would have told me that she would never strength train or run.

However, she loved doing yoga because it calmed her and gave her clarity. And to her, it allowed her to exercise without experiencing the monotony of lifting heavy stuff or pounding her feet on the treadmill. She held this strong belief even as she started working as a performer for Disney.

Then one day, she got the call to perform in the parade at Magic Kingdom – a literal dream come true.

We both couldn’t be more thrilled, until we both realized that performing in the parade meant dancing and waving at guests in the middle of the day for almost an hour. Imagine walking around Magic Kingdom on a summer day in August with the sun beating down on you and the humidity making you sweat like you’re in a sauna.

Now, imagine dancing around for an hour in that same heat.

Performing in a Disney parade demands a lot out of Cast Members, and my wife was no exception. But now that she had something exciting and meaningful to train for, she underwent a dramatic mindset shift.

Instead of thinking about it as “training,” she thought of it as “prepping her body” so that she could perform in parades day after day.

Since you also have something exciting and meaningful coming up, think less about “training your body.” Instead, focus more on “prepping your body” for the rigors of Disney. 

And in prepping your body for the rigors of Disney, you’re prepping yourself to make your Disney days feel more magical.

“But I Don’t Have Enough Time to Train” 

It’s true: there’s never enough time in the day to do everything, like juggle a full time job, raising kids, cleaning the house, cooking…

And on top of planning for your Disney trip, I’m asking you to train for it?

Training for Disney feels like adding yet another task on your already-packed schedule. Your mental bandwidth is already spent. There’s just no way you can do it, right?

Well, actually… I want you to reframe your thinking.

You don’t need to add more to your full schedule. There’s no need to cram more into an already-busy day. Instead, I encourage you to take a different perspective on your schedule.

Instead of making time to train, look for opportunities in your schedule to sprinkle more walking into your day. Use a standing desk at work. Take breaks from work by going for walks. Take the kids out on an easy hike. Park farther away from the grocery store.

Maybe even spend less time doom-scrolling on your phone. I know I could do a lot less of that!

The opportunities to train are out there!

“But I Have Bad Hips/Knees/Ankles – I can’t train”

Your protective instinct is completely valid.

But the thing is, you’ve also been led astray by conventional advice. Even today, with the advancements in research and technology, too many voices in healthcare preach the old adage, “if it hurts, don’t do it.” After all, rest equals safety, right?

Here’s where that logic backfires. The more you avoid “it” – whatever activity causes pain or discomfort – the less you’ll use your body (its muscles, joints, connective tissue, and its cardiovascular system) for that activity, and the weaker it will get. Eventually, avoiding whatever “it” is becomes even harder for your body, making “it” a steeper uphill battle to overcome.

If your foot hurts with normal daily activity, imagine what you’ll feel like after walking 15,000 steps at Disney World. Avoiding training doesn’t protect your feet. It makes your feet less prepared for the rigors of Disney.

Which is why having bad hips/knees/ankles is exactly the reason you should train for Disney.

6 Steps to Developing Your Very Own Disney Walking Plan

Here’s your 8-step plan to getting your body physically ready to take on the Disney parks, with an example at the end to demonstrate how to carry out this plan.

1. Determine Your Walking Goal

Having a realistic walking goal gives you clarity with your physical preparation.

A walking goal of consistently hitting 10,000-15,000 steps per day can put you in a great position to handle the rigors of the Disney parks. However, if 10,000 steps is unrealistic because of your schedule, that’s okay. Your body will still benefit from consistently hitting 7,000 – 8,000 steps per day.

As you increase your step count, progressively spend more time on your feet (see step 8).

2. Find Ways to Sneak Walking Into Your Schedule

Finding ways to sneak walking into your schedule allows you to stay on track and meet your goal.

Set aside times during the day to get your steps in. You can make things easier by pairing your walking with something you already do everyday. Go for a walk right after eating during your lunch hour at work. Use a standing desk at work. Use your 15-minute break at work to go for a walk. Park farther away from the grocery store.

As you scale up your walking, you’ll eventually need to set aside time to walk more. To make it more doable, break up your walking by doing some of it in the morning and the rest of it in the afternoon or evening. 

Be creative with your schedule – after all, you’re prepping your body for a magical vacation!

3. Find Your Average Current Daily Step Count

Without knowing your starting point, you won’t know just how much work you need to do or how far you’ve progressed.

First, find out your current daily step count. If you’ve got a smartphone, smart watch, or fitness tracker, add up your daily step count for 7 consecutive days. Take the average number over those 7 days and you’ve got your starting point.

Once you figure out your average step count, you can calculate how to increase your step count without overdoing it.

4. Increase Your Daily Step Count by 10-20% per Week

When starting out, how much you should increase your step count varies from person to person. 

There are 2 important factors to help you determine this number. The first factor is your fitness level:

• Your current fitness level is how resilient your body is at responding to physical stressors, like prolonged walking or running. Generally, you’ll be in 1 of 2 categories:

• High Fitness Level: You exercise 3-4x per week and you’re able to handle moderate intensity exercise where you breathe harder, but can still talk
• Low Fitness level: You exercise less than 3x per week and aren’t able to handle moderate intensity exercise without feeling exhausted or extremely sore

The second factor is your activity level:

• Your current activity level is how much activity you’re doing on a weekly basis. Generally, you’ll be in 1 of 2 categories:
  • High Activity Level: You have a more physically demanding job or you’re on your feet all day
  • Low Activity Level: You have a much less physically demanding job, such as sitting at a desk all day

With a combination of these 2 factors, 4 types of people arise. Each type of person will perform well with different increases in step count. Let’s break this down:

Once you determine your general fitness level and activity level, start increasing your step count by your predetermined percentage. Start by alternating your target step count days with less active days. On your less active days, continue your normal daily routine, but without aiming to hit your target step count. Focus on recovering.

This is your week 1. 

On week 2, increase your step count by the same predetermined percentage, again alternating your target step count days with less active days. Then on week 3, increase by the same predetermined percentage.

Progressively increasing your daily step count will increase your chances for success without increasing your risk for injury.

5. As You Increase Your Step Count Every Week, You Need to Decrease the Rate at Which You Increase Your Steps

One very important thing to note is that as your activity levels gradually increase and you approach your walking goal, your activity level will change. 

As you increase your weekly step count each week, you effectively increase your activity level. You’re walking much more than you did before. However, if you keep your rate of increase the same, you’ll eventually be adding more steps than your body might be able to handle.

Numbers help you visualize this. Let’s assume you’re increasing your step count by 20% each week.

Week 10: 5,000 steps per day

Week 11: 6,000 steps per day (+1,000 steps)

Week 12: 7,200 steps per day (+1,200 steps)

Week 13: 8,640 steps per day (+1,440 steps)

Each week sees a larger jump in average steps. And while this may work well in the first few weeks of your walking program, there comes a point where the increase is too much for your body to handle. So, the best way to progress is to gradually decrease your rate of walking as you approach the last few weeks of your program.

How you modify your rate of walking will depend on how your body reacts.

6. Monitor Your Body’s Reactions

Everyone’s body reacts differently depending on a lot of different factors, including fitness level, activity level, stress levels, age, diet, hydration, and sleep quality.

The following rules will help you build your body’s endurance as quickly as possible without overdoing it and injuring yourself. 

1. Start by walking your target step count.
2. If you have no soreness or pain the day after each day of walking, continue to hit your target step for the rest of the week and increase your step count the next week
3. If you feel sore the day after walking, but feel no soreness the day after that, take an extra rest day, where you’re less active. Then go back to your target step count the day after. Once you’re able to hit your target step count and have no soreness the day after, follow rule number 1
4. If you feel sore the day after and the day after that, take two extra rest days. Then go back down in step count on your next walking day. Once you’re able to hit your target step count and have no soreness the day after, follow rule number 1

The key to success is to be able to complete a week of walking without any soreness or pain.

When Should You Start Your Walking Plan?

You might be in different stages of planning your Disney World trip. 

Maybe your trip might be 8 or 12 months away, giving you plenty of time to physically prepare. On the other hand, maybe your trip might be less than 2 months away, giving you much less time to prepare.

Even if you have only 1 month before your trip, using the concepts in this chapter to start a walking plan will help you start to physically prepare for Disney World so you can have a more comfortable vacation.

So, if you have all the time you need to prepare for your Disney World vacation, how much time does your body need to physically prepare?

The answer will depend on your fitness level. Your fitness level defines how resilient your body is at responding to physical stressors, like walking at Disney. Generally, you’ll be in 1 of 3 categories:

• Very High Fitness Level: You exercise more than 5x per week and you’re able to handle moderate and high intensity exercise. In this category, you’ll likely not need any training in addition to the exercise you are currently doing
• High Fitness Level: You exercise 3-5x per week and you’re able to handle moderate intensity exercise where you breathe harder, but can still talk. In this category, you’ll likely need 1-2 months to train
• Low Fitness level: You exercise less than 3x per week and aren’t able to handle moderate intensity exercise without feeling exhausted or extremely sore. In this category, you’ll need more time. In this category, you’ll likely need 2-3 months to train

When training, it takes 4-6 weeks for your bones, muscles, and tendons to start adapting to exercise. It then takes 2 more weeks to see significant changes in strength. 

So if you’re currently at a low fitness level, your body will need more time to prepare for the demands of Disney. If you’re currently at a high fitness level, you’ll need less time to prepare. And if you’re currently at a very high fitness level, you’ll likely not need any time to prepare.

Whether or not you’re in the low or high fitness level, 1 to 3months gives your body the right amount of time to adapt to all the physiological changes that need to happen to be more resilient. It also gives you a cushion to make any changes to your plan as needed.

So, take the start date of your next Disney vacation, take into account your fitness level, then count back the appropriate number of weeks to determine your starting point.

Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to effortlessly walking through your next Disney vacation!

By the way, if you’re looking for a fun way to start your Disney World walking plan, I’ve got just the thing for you. The Fit for the Magic 30-Day Disney Walking Challenge will help you jumpstart your training plan so you can conquer the theme parks!