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For ease, we ordered an accessible taxi this morning to transport us and Superbunny to Union station. Unbeknown to me, unlike the UK, the various train companies in Canada have different procedures regarding accessibility. As opposed to GO transit which we used to visit Niagara Falls where level boarding was possible at the majority of stations, VIA Rail requires you to book assistance in advance. As a result, when one went to buy tickets, we discovered that the wheelchair spaces were already occupied for the return trip. It transpires that, as of 2014, there is only one wheelchair space per train, hopefully this will increase in the future.

The method of boarding wheelchairs comes in the form of a portable lift as seen in a few European countries, simple yet effective…

Once inside, the carriage layout resembles the greatly missed HSTs in the UK. Although the wheelchair space has ample turning space, the trickiest part is navigating through the vestibules to reach said location. It is also necessary for the staff to strap down wheelchairs using tie down points for the duration of the journey which is different to many countries. It is debatable whether one would feel comfortable traveling alone like this…

Another downside of these trains is that the luggage area is rather small. This meant that Superbunnys had to be in the fridge!

After the 2 hour train journey to London (Ontario), we were greeted by ones cousins, who we are staying with until Monday. One will therefore continue this blog the day after tomorrow when we fly to Chicago.

After 10 non-stop days exploring America and Canada, a day of rest was well deserved! A little shopping was done in one of Torontos largest shopping centres, The Eaton Centre before heading back for R+R.

Unfortunately, the rooftop sunbeds and jacuzzi are not wheelchair friendly, however, they provide spectacular views of the cityscape…

For ones last night in the city of Toronto, it was decided that Hooters needed to be visited. Bear in mind that this was ones first trip to such restaurant, certainly an experience…

Tomorrow, we head down to London, Ontario on the train yet again to spend the weekend at ones cousins.

As I mentioned, the transport from Toronto to Niagara Falls (as of 2014) isn’t great hence one had an early start, probably the earliest since the day of our flight to New York. As one decided to take the manual wheelchair, we were able to take the free hotel shuttle (or car) to Union station to catch the train to Burlington.

Compared the British railway network, the Canadians put us to shame in terms of accessibility as, at many stations on the GO Transit network including Union and Burlington, there is a designated wheelchair section of the platform which is raised to the height of the train. In addition, the conductor puts out a ramp out at every station even if no wheelchairs are getting on or off.

We left the train at Burlington to catch the bus to Niagara Falls. As in New York, the buses have an automatic ramp which comes out as well as a designated area to strap a wheelchair down although one has to sit side on which is an odd sensation.

The bus dropped us off in Niagara Falls slightly outside the main tourist area meaning that navigation skills were necessary to locate said Falls.

The main ‘promenade’ on the Canadian side is mostly accessible for wheelchairs making for an easy roll whilst taking in the epic views…

A trip to Niagara Falls isn’t complete without boarding The Maid of The Mist. After a zig zag walk down to the docking area, we boarded the boat (which is wheelchair accessible) and donned some fetching red rain ponchos…

In order to get the full Falls experience, one must sit outside. However, it is worth noting that one does get a drenching hence it is not recommended to do this in an electric wheelchair that isn’t waterproof!

Tomorrow, we plan to have a slow wander around Toronto (including a trip to the famous Hooters restaurant) before catching the train down to London, Ontario on Saturday morning to see ones cousins.

Today, we headed down to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal (located in the Harbourfront area) to catch the ferry over to the Toronto Islands. Although one took the manual wheelchair (as Superbunny is still broken), the ferry over to the islands is very accessible with ramped access, perfect for an electric wheelchair…

Akin to the Staten Island ferry in New York, the ferry crossing provides panoramic views of the Toronto skyline…

As soon as one steps off the ferry, the noise of the city is replaced by the sounds of birds etc. It’s definitely worth visiting if you are looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of Toronto…

Near to the main island ferry port is the Centreville Amusement Park containing a few attractions including a miniature train and a log flume if that is your thing…

Due to the size of Toronto islands, its possible to do a circular loop in a short space of time whilst taking in the breeze of Lake Ontario…

Tomorrow, we head to one of Canada’s most famous sights, Niagara Falls. Unfortunately, the transport to said location from Toronto isn’t great meaning that both a train and a bus are necessary!

For any tourist visiting Toronto, it is likely that a visit to the CN Tower will be on the cards. The plan for today was to catch the subway to said structure, but after several attempts to find the lift, one gave up and decided to walk as it was only a few blocks away…

The benefit of visiting the CN Tower is that disabled individuals can enter for FREE! The majority of the attraction is wheelchair accessible bar the very top level. As soon as one saw that the glass floor was present, it just had to be knelt upon…

One can also access an outside observatory, however be prepared to get a little windswept…

After a meal at the famous Hard Rock Cafe, it was time for a little R+R after a hectic few days. Luckily, the hotel has a jacuzzi which hit the spot…

Currently, we are trying to discover where Superbunny has gone as it has been fixed and left the airport 5 hours ago!

Tomorrow, we are planning to visit the Toronto Islands and see what we can stumble across!

We began the day by taking a walk around a Central Park finding The Alice in Wonderland Statue for which a group of kids were playing upon and wouldn’t even let one in for a photo!

As one had time to waste before the flight, we decided to simply chill around the lakes until it was time to head to JFK.

It was then that the fiasco began! Check in at JFK didn’t seem to have any record of Superbunny and subsequently were worried that the wheelchair wouldn’t fit on the small plane. As a result, the idea was floated around about potentially having to transfer us to another airport where there was a larger aircraft. Luckily, they managed to sort something out and everything was fine. Now, one would have thought that JFK being one of the busiest airports in the world would be wheelchair accessible. However, there was still steps to get down to the gate resulting in me having to be escorted by security round the back of the airport to get onto the airfield.

The flight took around 50 minutes, however, when Toronto Pearson brought Superbunny up onto the bridge, it seemed not to want to turn on, even after fiddling around with all the cables. After pushing said wheelchair to the terminal, one had the idea of finding a plug socket to see if the battery would charge…

Of course, this failed also! The airport staff were extremely helpful and offered to store the wheelchair until we fly to Chicago on Monday in addition to getting an engineer to look at it. By this time, it was 9pm and our wheelchair accessible taxi driver seemed to have gone hence we decided to jump in a normal taxi given that one only had the manual wheelchair.

Tomorrow, we plan to visit one of Torontos top attractions, the CN Tower.

Today, we hopped on the subway to Chambers Street which is near South Ferry but this time to a station with an elevator hence we had no dramas like yesterday. One of the things to do in NYC is to take the ferry over to Staten Island. Of course, this is completely wheelchair accessible and the crossing provides stunning views of the skyline and Statue of Liberty…

Due to time constraints, one only spent a short time on Staten Island, however, it does provide a great vantage point to admire the New York skyline…

On the way back to the hotel, one took a walk around the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial for which the foundations of the twin towers have been replaced by waterfalls that seemed to be ever deeper…

Tomorrow, we head back to JFK to travel to our next destination, Toronto in Canada. However, before we do so, we must head back to Central Park to try and find the Alice and Wonderland Statue.

Today, instead of getting the bus down to Lower Manhattan to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, we decided to catch the NYC Subway. I was surprised at how accessible it is as many people have said it’s not. Of course, the newer rolling stock is much lower to the platform but an electric wheelchair may still require assistance from staff…

That morning we checked online as to which stations had elevators and it seemed that the station that we wanted to get off, South Ferry was accessible. However when we got there, one discovered that there was no elevator, just steps! It was probably ones oversight, however, one would recommend planning a journey on the Subway with caution.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a great way to view the city from a distance and it is accessible all the way, just a little bumpy…

After relaxing in the hotel for a while it was time to go to Broadway to watch The Lion King. A large proportion of the Broadway theatres are fully ADA compliant thus one was able to have an unobstructed view of this great show

Tomorrow, we are going back down to Lower Manhattan to visit the Freedom Tower in addition to catching the FREE ferry to Staten Island.

No visit to NYC is complete without a trip to Ellen’s Stardust Diner hence it seemed appropriate to eat at said restaurant before heading up The Rockefeller Tower. If one enjoys musicals, this restaurant is a must. In addition to serving food, the waiters are also singers thus take it in turns to sing either Broadway or famous music. Crowd participation is also necessary…

It is worth noting that the restaurant does get extremely busy and has limited space. As such, one would highly recommend pre-booking, especially if you are a wheelchair user.

The Rockefeller Center is, in my opinion, better than the Empire State Building, especially for wheelchair users as it has a glass barrier as opposed to wire meshing. There are 2 levels at the ‘Top of The Rock’ for which you can go up. The lifts contain glass ceilings so you can watch it go up to the top to reveal spectacular views…

Unfortunately, Superbunny is still broke hence it will be staying at the hotel tomorrow whilst one navigates the NYC Subway to Brooklyn Bridge followed by a performance of The Lion King on Broadway!

One of the best ways to take in the sights of New York City is by air. As such, it seemed appropriate to book a helicopter ride during our visit to this iconic city. After reading various reviews, one settled upon Liberty Helicopter Tours which, as of 2014, cost around £470 for three people!

Planning our route, we found that there was a bus to South Ferry which is where the helipad is located (the M5 if you are wanting to go!). The New York City buses are completely accessible with mechanical ramps that flip out.

After around 40 minutes on the bus, we arrived at the famous Wall Street to capture a few traditional tourist ‘selfies’…

We then headed over to the M5 heliport and checked ourselves in for ones flight at 2:30pm. This would be ones maiden helicopter flight hence there was an ounce of excitement…

Out onto the helipad, the next question was how to get one into said helicopter. No matter though as one of the staff members resorted carrying oneself on, don’t know what health and safety would say to that…

Ones £470 was well spent flying over Staten Island, Lower Manhattan and Down Town. The staff were very helpful so would highly recommend it but it depends whether you want to pay a high price for just 10 minutes!

Tomorrow we plan to visit the infamous Ellen’s Stardust Diner before we head up The Rockefeller Center after dark to catch a glimpse of NYC at night!