America/Canada – May/June 2014

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!

After an early start, one began his NYC exploration by heading towards the famous Grand Central Station which, of course, consists of trains! On our way we walked through Times Square, which even on a dreary morning, remains a sight to be seen…

The majestic Grand Central Station is a must see when visiting New York but then one would say that! We headed down to the platforms to begin with for one to go trainspotting and then walked around to check out the accessibility. Of course, being a major train station in the USA, ramps and elevators are plenty…

The next stop on ones exploration was the Empire State Building. In terms of price, it is quite reasonable for a disabled individual and one other, in total it came to around $50. The place seemed tranquil considering it is meant to be one of the icons of New York and one managed to get up to the top in a matter of minutes (skipping the queues as usual). In terms of access, as well as being able to go outside, they have lower viewing sections for wheelchairs and children allowing for stunning views over Manhattan and the surrounding areas…

As Superbunnys battery was running out, we returned to the hotel via Broadway to purchase tickets to go to see The Lion King on Saturday night, a first time experience for oneself!

Tomorrow we are going to head down to Lower Manhattan as one has booked a helicopter ride over the skyline in addition to exploring that area. In the meantime, just look how tall the Empire State Building is in comparison to Superbunny…

After 7 hours of being fed everything you can think of by Virgin Atlantic, we arrived into New Yorks JFK Airport to begin ones 3 week adventure across America and Canada.

It was a surprise not to see Superbunny which is normally at the door, instead one the airport staff was waiting with a manual wheelchair who informed us that said wheelchair was waiting next to the baggage collection area, it looked like it had been abandoned!

Visiting America is like a dream for wheelchair users who are used to navigating Europe thanks to the ADA. In addition to this, wheelchair accessible taxis are also available on demand. However, on this occasion, our driver seemed to have a death wish. As we slalomed down the highway, one was fearing for his life!

For the next few days, we are staying at The Hudson Hotel which is a stones throw away from Central Park making it an ideal location from which to explore New York. The large accessible room contains everything that a wheelchair user could ask for complete with a wet room…

As I mentioned, The Hudson Hotel is just a 2 minute walk from Central Park hence it seemed appropriate to go for a roll, especially after being confined to a plane for 7 hours…

Tomorrow, the plan is to visit the famous Grand Central Station followed by the Empire State Building!