On Visit Tampa Bay’s site is a prominent link to Wheel the World, a trip-planning site designed for people in wheelchairs to find hotels, tours, and attractions workable for them. “Many of Tampa Bay’s attractions are actually stairs-free!” says Santillo. The site also provides ready links to accessibility services at Tampa’s airport and to a podcast with Chelsea Bear in honor of Disability Pride Month in July that discusses, among other topics, the experience of Tampa travel for the disabled.
The Center has also positioned its signage to be readable at the eye level of a person in a wheelchair and uses fonts that are more readable by people with various disabilities. Other attractions highlighted on Visit Tampa Bay include iFly World, an indoor skydiving center designed with visitors of all abilities in mind, where an instructor can individually guide visitors with mental or physical differences. “We try to let as many people as possible experience what it’s like to fly in a wind tunnel,” affirms an iFly World staff member. The amusement park Adventure Island also allows disabled guests to skip the lines for the rides they can enjoy safely.
ACCESSIBLE ATTRACTIONS The Visit Tampa Bay site highlights and sells an Accessible Riverwalk Pass, which offers discounts for a variety of attractions along the riverwalk that have taken steps to become navigable for the disabled. These include the Henry B. Plant Museum, a former turn-of- the-century resort turned historical attraction, which offers special tours for low-vision guests as well as large print programs, and the Glazer Children’s Museum, which is a certified Autism-Friendly Business and holds sensory-friendly events with the lights turned down. The Florida Aquarium also aims to be autism-friendly, with staff trained and
equipped to assist patrons with autism and other disabilities and indicators of what exhibits might be easier for someone with autism to visit. The History Center, which showcases Florida historical figures such as notorious pirate Jack Rackham and freewheeling and strong-minded former president Teddy Roosevelt, offers a helpful guide for visitors with autism. In addition, it’s highly convenient for visitors in wheelchairs. “Wow, this is the elevator? I’ve never seen one this big before!” says influencer Jamie Santillo, who wheels excitedly around in her video on VisitTampaBay.com.
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