Other vacation ideas wanted - mobility issues

[SeaSpray]

Hi everyone:

My husband and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary in a year and a half. I would love to just do a really splurge-filled trip to WDW (again! lol), but my husband is asking me to consider other places such as Europe, mid-western US (Grand Canyon, etc), west coast, or an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean (we're in New England). I guess just something different.

As much as I would LOVE to be healthy enough to travel in the way that I could years ago, the reality is that I cannot. I think my husband is slightly in denial about my limitations, and his too, for that matter.

We do cruises every few years and alternate with WDW. I'm perfectly happy with that because I love it, and mainly, I know what to expect. I have more than one chronic illness, so in addition to mobility, I also have to gauge my energy levels on any given day.

Currently my main mobility problem is from osteoarthritis. I had surgery on my left knee a few months ago, but I will need a total knee replacement of my right knee if I were to even consider any other type of vacation, due to logistics. Hopefully I'll be having that surgery before the end of this year.

Have any of you traveled to places other than Disney where you were able to get around in a scooter as well as you can at WDW?

Thanks in advance for all comments and ideas!

 

[GranJan1]

I’d like to hear some ideas too. Hope you get lots of responses.

 

[SeaSpray]

I’d like to hear some ideas too. Hope you get lots of responses.

Thanks! LOL It doesn't seem that I'm getting any responses (so far!).

 

[arminnie]

I've made one trip - but not a major one - that was very ECV friendly.

My DH and I plus one of my friends from Wellesley went to see the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, AR. It is truly a fabulous museum - truly world class.
https://crystalbridges.org/

We stayed at the Museum 21C Hotel.

https://www.21cmuseumhotels.com/ben...ciNradGkWErqLO9k1XuP8e9wh1S5Bx-BoCwd0QAvD_BwE

I unloaded my ECV when we arrived at the hotel. I used it to travel to the museum on paths from the hotel. The museum is great but also has wonderful paths with art installed. A big Chihuly exhibit was there at the time with wonderful outdoor glass sculptures.

I could not have done it without my ECV. Plus I traveled around downtown Bentonville to see the Walmart museum. We had dinner at the Hive which has a James Beard nominee chef.

But I'm not sure this is a 20th anniversary celebration destination. More like for a long weekend.

I lived on the West Coast in the San Francisco area for years and years. Great place to visit - for the able bodied. I now live in New Orleans which is a fabulous place to visit - but as with most of the older cities it is hard to get around if one is mobility challenged.

I worked in London in 1970 and used to go to Europe on business multiple times a year when working. Plus I made other trips to Budapest, Prague, Venice, Amalfi and other places in Europe as a retiree. But I can no longer easily visit any of those places. TBH I can't go to any of them at all.

I think those of us with mobility challenges are better served going places that were built after the ADA requirements were implemented. And even then sometimes it's not that easy. The Clinton Presidential library in Little Rock is obviously not that old, but I found it to not be that handicap friendly. The handicap parking is still quite a distance from the entry. There are no barricades if one is in a wheelchair - but for someone using a rollator with limited stamina it is very difficult.

 

[GranJan1]

Thanks! LOL It doesn't seem that I'm getting any responses (so far!).

We’ve done road trips to national parks. We didn’t have the best luck with paths & trails being accessible. Even some that claimed to be would have sections of busted concrete that my chair couldn’t make it over. Sometimes even finding an accessible restroom is difficult. Most buildings in national parks are very old & need updated. The scenery is very pretty though...even from a car. You definitely see more if you can get out & hike but I figure getting to see what I can is better than nothing, so I still enjoy that once in awhile when I need a change from Disney.

 

[Tiggerish]

I have been to Mackinac Island in Michigan with a power chair. Stayed at the Grand Hotel. The island does not allow vehicles so the taxis, tours etc. are all by horse drawn carriage or bike or walking. There was actually a horse drawn vehicle that accommodated my power chair. I just had to make the reservations on their website in advance. Had a roll-in shower room and the hotel had elevators. Very slow and very small elevators, but I could access all areas of the hotel.

 

[mamabunny]

I've made one trip - but not a major one - that was very ECV friendly.

My DH and I plus one of my friends from Wellesley went to see the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, AR. It is truly a fabulous museum - truly world class.
https://crystalbridges.org/

We stayed at the Museum 21C Hotel.

https://www.21cmuseumhotels.com/ben...ciNradGkWErqLO9k1XuP8e9wh1S5Bx-BoCwd0QAvD_BwE

I unloaded my ECV when we arrived at the hotel. I used it to travel to the museum on paths from the hotel. The museum is great but also has wonderful paths with art installed. A big Chihuly exhibit was there at the time with wonderful outdoor glass sculptures.

I could not have done it without my ECV. Plus I traveled around downtown Bentonville to see the Walmart museum. We had dinner at the Hive which has a James Beard nominee chef.

But I'm not sure this is a 20th anniversary celebration destination. More like for a long weekend.

I lived on the West Coast in the San Francisco area for years and years. Great place to visit - for the able bodied. I now live in New Orleans which is a fabulous place to visit - but as with most of the older cities it is hard to get around if one is mobility challenged.

I worked in London in 1970 and used to go to Europe on business multiple times a year when working. Plus I made other trips to Budapest, Prague, Venice, Amalfi and other places in Europe as a retiree. But I can no longer easily visit any of those places. TBH I can't go to any of them at all.

I think those of us with mobility challenges are better served going places that were built after the ADA requirements were implemented. And even then sometimes it's not that easy. The Clinton Presidential library in Little Rock is obviously not that old, but I found it to not be that handicap friendly. The handicap parking is still quite a distance from the entry. There are no barricades if one is in a wheelchair - but for someone using a rollator with limited stamina it is very difficult.

THE CHIHULY EXHIBIT OMG

I took a *million* pictures - the day we went it was cool and sunny, and we took advantage of the sunlight through the glass in the forest to capture all the amazing colors!



We visit Crystal Bridges often; they have amazing exhibits, and the grounds are amazing as well. We also frequent Philbrook and Gilcrease in Tulsa; in addition, Philbrook has opened a satellite location downtown in the Arts District, where the current exhibition is a work in progress by an Oklahoma artist who is creating a rug out of Oklahoma red dirt. Sounds crazy, looks amazing.

We love to go up to Bartlesville, and visit the museum at Price Tower - Frank Lloyd Wright's only high-rise - which now has hotel rooms you can rent for the night, however the only way up is a teeny tiny elevator...

Branson is another favorite, although Silver Dollar City is not as wheels-friendly as I want it to be, but there's still a lot to see and do down in town... and St. Louis is one of my favorite cities in the world, and we often escape up there for long weekends; overall most things there are fairly wheels-friendly.

It's tough to find vacation spots that are as easy to use as WDW for folks who use personal mobility devices. I am often disappointed when I realize how "unfriendly" a (now former favorite) place is.