Florida really is a great place to go to and whilst most of the time you are not going to need one of those brilliant Florida Guide it certainly comes in useful and this is simply because there is so much to do out there!

Is It Time To Eat?

Okay, if I am being really honest, a lot of the restaurants out in Florida can be found across the whole of the USA but there are some out there that are of course unique to Florida and this needs to be remembered. Although ones like the Golden Corral are located across the US I have not experienced any other one that has done their world famous golden corral volcano pudding cake as well as the chains in Florida do. You need to know that a lot of the restaurants out there are of course buffet which is great to a certain extent but if you are staying out there for a while you can easily start to put on the pounds which is not good at all of course.

Theme Park Time

Okay so the main reason people travel out to Florida is not because of the food but because of the theme parks like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and who can blame them, they truly are fantastic! There are many parks located in Florida and they range from the parks in Disney World to the ones in Universal Studios. These are not the only two and there are many others out there like SeaWorld, Gator Land and of course who could forget Busch Gardens.

If Florida is still something you have never done then I would say just do it because it is a fantastic place to go to no matter how old you are. Just get out there and have fun!

There is a need for some serious revamping of what we call accessible travel in this country. Anyone facing a disability is going to require a little more effort on behalf of those around them to get from point A to point B.  Restaurants and restrooms, for example are simply not set up to allow for the maneuverability of a wheelchair.

There are many special needs bathrooms that are literally too small to allow a wheelchair to be manipulated 360 degrees to allow for full access to the toilet, door, and the sink. Airports, train stations, and bus depots have created excessive difficulties when it comes to maintaining reasonable access ramps and doorways that are reasonable to navigate. All of these are impediments to fully enjoyable travel for the disabled.

Handicapped accessible cruise ships have been cited for not having the ability to allow wheelchair bound guests to open the doors. In fact, many of the doors are so heavy that those who are assisting the disabled have difficulty getting the wheelchair through the door. The location of access ramps, elevators, and assistance buttons are generally inconvenient enough that it can’t really be considered accessible.

What the travel industry really needs is to gather real life experience from those who have tried to navigate an airport or train station while disabled. Leaving someone sitting in a wheelchair, tucked nicely and discreetly out of the way, can attract unscrupulous individuals who like to prey on those less able than them.

If employees of the airports, train stations, and cab companies were all required to spend just a few days in a wheelchair navigating the area without assistance there might be some valuable insight gained. We need to stop hiding elevators at the far corners of the buildings and start  recognizing that the disabled have regular needs as well.

Traveling by car, plane, bus, or train should be an experience that is safe, courteous, and perhaps even right on the edge of pleasant. Yet due to underdevelopment of staff personnel and the poorly planned design of many of today’s accessible travel facilities there is little hope for independent travel. The gains of independence that have been made are only wiped away by society’s desire not to be asked to go out of their way to make sure that the disabled retain their independence.

Access should be easy enough to get to that those with all kinds of disabilities should be able to travel without the need for extra assistance that they would not normally require. Just because one has been struck with an illness or accident doesn’t mean that the world should be set up to work against them.

The biggest problem with accessible travel is that it actually isn’t all that accessible. Restaurants and restrooms are simply not set up to allow for the maneuverability of a wheelchair.

The biggest problem with the travel industry is that the disability access areas are designed by able bodied people. Something relatively simple like making sure the doors are light enough to be opened by someone in a wheelchair is overlooked by the able bodied designer.  Something as simple as that could truly help make travel for the disabled more of a reality.

Handicapped accessible cruise ships have been cited for not having the ability to allow wheelchair bound guests to open the doors. In fact, many of the doors are so heavy that those who are assisting the disabled have difficulty getting the wheelchair through the door. Airports require people to wait excessively long periods of time when a wheelchair is required and cab companies will leave those same people waiting for an additional 30, 45, 60 minutes or more while waiting for the one access friendly van to come which has often been dispensed by the parent company.

What the travel industry really needs is to gather real life experience from those who have tried to navigate an airport or train station while disabled. This should come in two forms. The first is to ask those who face the disabled life on a daily basis how to make things easier for them. You would be surprised at the insight available by just going to the source.

If employees of the airports, train stations, and cab companies were all required to spend just a few days in a wheelchair navigating the area without assistance there might be some valuable insight gained. We need to stop hiding elevators at the far corners of the buildings and start  recognizing that the disabled have regular needs as well.

Something as simple as requiring assistance for refueling at a gas station often becomes a compromised situation. Read the fine print of the assistance sticker and it is made clear that if there is only one person on duty those needing assistance will not be helped. The gains of independence that have been made are only wiped away by society’s desire not to be asked to go out of their way to make sure that the disabled retain their independence.

Additional training could make it painfully obvious that the elevators are poorly accessible for those in wheelchairs and that the so called accessibility that is mandated by law is just not adequate for those who want to travel despite their disability. Management of travel facilities can play a huge role in creating the safe and user friendly environment that is required not only by law, but by the state of consciousness.