The Fit Guy’s Guide to a Disney World Vacation
IT DIDN'T REALLY hit me until our last day at the Magic Kingdom. My two-year-old daughter was scaling the 116 steps of the Swiss Family Treehouse for the second time. I watched her legs—once the doughy consistency of a Mickey Mouse waffle, now corded like the ropes of the treetop walkway. My daughter is strong, I thought.
I would’ve realized this sooner, but visiting four Walt Disney World Resort parks in three days—plus hopping on shuttles, speed-walking to dinner reservations, and enjoying so much pool time—hadn’t given me much space to think.
After that second tree-house run, despite my daughter’s squeals of “Do again!” we met up with my wife and five-year-old son, fresh off Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I saw it in them, too. We were hot and sweaty and overstimulated, yes, but ready for more.
In 2022, nearly 50 million people visited one of the Disney theme parks in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. That’s more visitors than at the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite combined.
Disney World is no longer just a vacation. It is a family rite of passage—which can lead to pressure to “get the most out of your trip,” something you’ll hear from friends, family, and Disney-fluencers. That often means stretching your dollar, avoiding the crowds, and securing breakfast with Cinderella.
When I began planning our trip, I had another concern: Could my family hang? We’re active, but the parks are huge, the lines are long, and Dole Whips beckon everywhere. So I contacted experts who are not only at the top of their fields but had also recently visited Disney World. They equipped us with a training plan, gear suggestions, and an overall strategy to help us maximize fun and minimize stress.
Do you need to train for Disney? Of course not.
But does attaining a baseline of fitness unlock a higher level of possibility? Consider what Jeff Galloway, the longtime official training consultant for runDisney marathons, told me: “The Disney experience can be absolutely wonderful for adults and kids... but with the right training, it can be even happier.”
And with my fit family’s Disney experience as an n=1, you can do as we did and not just “get the most out of” Disney but conquer it.
JUMP TO: 1. Training | 2. The Hotel | 3. Food & Drinks | 4. The Gear | 5. The Schedule | 6. The Comedown
I AMASSED 57,393 steps during our three park days. (My kids got way more.) I pushed a double stroller with and without 75 pounds worth of kids inside. I carried a diaper bag and sometimes a writhing child. Yet the pre-trip fitness prep plan Jeff Galloway of runDisney made for us worked. In 11 weeks, he has parents ramp up their daily step counts, while kids build mileage via walks. Here’s what the first two weeks entail.
Week 1
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY: 3,000 to 5,000 total steps for parents; quarter-mile walk for kids
SATURDAY AND/OR SUNDAY: 7,000 total steps for whole family (stroller and backpacks for parents encouraged)
Week 2
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY: 4,000 to 6,000 total steps for parents; half-mile walk for kids
SATURDAY AND/OR SUNDAY: 10,000 total steps for whole family (stroller and backpacks for parents encouraged)
Want the rest of the plan? Click here.
The Mental Training
Gabriel R. Garza, M.D., a child psychiatrist for Ascension health care in Austin, Texas, gave me the idea include mental preparation in our Disney training walks. “For small kids, in addition to talking about what you might see at the parks, you’ll want to orient them to what else they’ll experience around the trip,” he says.
So we talked about the airport, the airplane, the hotel, the pools, the lines, the heat, the not getting to do everything we want (because it’s just not humanely possibly) and coming home. It helped—and gave us a way to pass the time during our walks and hikes.
YOU DON'T NEED a hotel with a gym. What you really want is a room with a kitchen option so you can cook and eat there, says Charlie Weingroff, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a Florida-based physical therapist who has been to Disney World more than 50 times. Proximity to the parks is nice. Routes for a walk are, too. The hotels below have all the above. The rest, really, is about cost and just how much additional Disney! you can handle.
Meals
If you don’t have a rental car to pick up groceries, you can also Instacart them to your room. Here’s what worked best for us at the hotel, focusing on protein and fiber from real food to help us stay full and regular (an unsung vacation essential).
BREAKFAST: Microwave ¼ cup quick-cooking oats with ½ cup water. Stir in 1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter and defrosted mixed berries. Top with cinnamon, if you want.
LUNCH/DINNER: Between two slices of whole-wheat bread, pile pulled pieces of a rotisserie chicken, layer on a slice of Cheddar, sandwich-cut pickles, and mustard or mayo. Serve with tons of fruit on the side.
Snacks
Strawberries, blueberries, cubed watermelon, more pickles, more rotisserie chicken pieces, string cheese, and electrolyte drink mixes stirred into water for hydration are all great options to keep the whole family full and hydrated.
Disney lets you bring in your own food, so load up. Figure 200 calories for kids (400 for adults) every hour you’ll be at the park. Two expert-backed solid options:
“Sliced apples and grapes are clutch, as they’re easy to pack, sweet, and a good source of fiber.” —Darrell M. Gray II, M.D., gastroenterologist and cofounder, Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists
“My kids were fans of Uncrustables. Great? Nope. Better than many other options? For sure.” —Brian St. Pierre, R.D., director, Precision Nutrition, and MH nutrition advisor
For hydration, know this: “Even with a train-up, once at Disney, watch out for heat,” says Jedidiah Ballard, D.O., an ER doctor and MH emergency-medicine advisor. Bring big bottles; refill at the parks’ many fountains. A family water jug, stored beneath a stroller, is also smart for on-the-spot refills.
BEYOND THE SUNGLASSES, water bottles, and obligatory Goofy hat, you’re going to need a few key pieces of equipment.
EXPERTS LARGELY AGREE: If you jam-pack your itinerary, especially on day one, you’ll totally exhaust yourself. There’s a calmer, gentler, and ultimately better way.
6 A.M. Or whenever makes sense to wake up, eat breakfast, pack up, and get to a park before it opens.
9 A.M. Target must-experience rides* early, stopping frequently for snacks and water.
11 A.M. Lunch—early, yes, but you beat the rush, and it works with your start time.
1 P.M. Huddle to see if you want to do one or two more rides or head back for pool time/rest/unwinding.
4 P.M. Rehuddle to see if you can handle a second park. (The fitter you all are, the greater the chances!)
*Disney now offers individual Lightning Lane (for two rides daily, price varies) and Genie+ (one ride at a time, all day, $25 and up a person). My wife, who self-identifies as Type A, liked the control offered by both options. I’m more go-with-the-flow and prefer to meander throughout the park without staring at my phone. We did Genie+ for one day, as a compromise.
IT'S REAL. “Give your family a day or two to rest before jumping back into the normal schedule,”says Gabriel Garza, M.D., a child psychiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. To help, buy a board or card game at Disney to take back with you—and start planning your next visit.
A version of this article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of Men's Health.
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