National Mall and Memorial Parks: Lincoln Memorial

Date of Visit: March 19, 2011


The Lincoln Memorial is the first memorial we visited as part of our visiting the memorials on the National Mall.  It is a logical starting or ending point with it being the west end of the National Mall.

There really is not a nearby Metro, though, which means walking a ways from Foggy-Bottom GWU (Blue and Orange Lines) or even walking across the bridge from Arlington National Cemetery (Blue Line).  The Washington Monument (East End of the main memorial part of National Mall), however, is near Smithsonian (Blue and Orange lines, I do not like this elevator wise, as it is not actually on the Mall like the escalator entrance and can be hard to find if you do not know the area) as is Federal Triangle (Blue and Orange lines, elevator is more obvious than escalator entrance) and Archives-Navy Memorial is only a little further away (Yellow and Blue lines, elevator quite near escalator entrance).  We did notice there are some wheelchair spots near the Lincoln Memorial, but they seem to easily fill, as it was not even that crowded when we visited, especially compared to how bad it can get in late Spring and the summer months.



The Lincoln Memorial might appear to not be accessible from photos, but when you walk up to it from either side it is quite obvious that there are ramps up to an elevator, which is also where there are restrooms (not very accessible according to Mik's experience when with Mom).  There is also a little exhibit area here, that I honestly never knew about until I first went with Mik to the Lincoln Memorial in 2006.



The ramp up is not bad, but when you get to the top there are doors that do not have an automatic button.  That is not the appalling part, though.  The real annoying part is that they actually have a handicap symbol on them, which usually signifies it can be operated automatically somehow.  However, no such luck and it just is an extra unnecessary symbol to tell you are going the right way for the elevator or at least that is the only thing I can think it means.  Not too big of a deal, as Mom was with us, but it was still tough with there being a second door after a small entryway.  Sure, if there are people around they tend to be helpful, but there is easily no one going this way on low crowd days/off season like we were on the tail end of.



Mik was impressed with the elevator.  It is not all that amazing, as it did not line up properly at the top and we had to tilt his front wheels up to get in.  However, it is gold colored inside and sure seems fancy.  It is a little odd that the doors are on adjacent walls, but it works about as efficiently as front and back doors in that you do not have to try and turn around inside the elevator if you roll in properly.

We did not stay long up top at the Lincoln Memorial.  We tried to go in the gift shop, but quickly aborted that, as it is extremely small.  We knew that, but this time there were only a few people and we thought we would give it a shot, as Mik likes looking at all the books they have.  However, it really only takes only one other person to make it too crowded for a wheelchair to be able to turn around to just get out.  Unfortunately, this is also where you need to go to get the Lincoln Memorial stamp as well as stamps for other nearby memorials such as Korean and Vietnam Memorials.  I ended up just going in and doing the stamps leaving Mik in the wide open main area of the Lincoln Memorial.

Overall the Lincoln Memorial is pretty cool to see up close and it is accessible.  However, it has some wheelchair accessibility issues.  The gift shop is not too big a deal, as it basically seems an afterthought and there is not any way to make it bigger without messing with the memorial unless they put it in the exhibit area by the elevators and exhibit space is way more important.  However, it would be nice if the stamp could be gotten at a little station right outside the shop or something like that.  Also, it makes no sense at all for the doors into where the elevator and exhibit are to not have a button to open them automatically.

Photos by Mik and Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Lincoln Memorial National Memorial
Lincoln Memorial Circle
Washington, DC 20037

National Museum of American History

Starting today at the National Museum of American History. We might also hit the Natural History Museum.

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Hyatt Regency Crystal City Wheelchair Shuttle Bus

Date of Visit: March 18, 2011

We varied from the tried and efficient DC Metro and ended up attempting the shuttle bus on this visit to DC.  I used to live in Crystal City, so taking the Metro from Washington Reagan Airport one stop to Crystal City is something we have done before.  Mik's new wheelchair does not allow for pushing him and having any bag on the back, though, so going on the Metro with luggage did not seem as easy.  Not to mention the front wheels are so hard to tip up for the boarding and unloading (they also get stuck easier than old chair, hence have to tilt them up for bumps the old chair's front wheels would have gone over) and do not need any extra weight on it to make it harder.

Anyways, the Hyatt said they had a wheelchair accessible shuttle.  We just had to call and request it when we arrived.  Well, the shuttle definitely does have a lift, but it was not a good experience at all.  First, off the lift ramp flap did not come down all the way and the driver was telling us to go on oblivious to it not being already down all the way.  I noticed, though, and he pushed it down.

Once on board we were standing just inside of the lift and he was ready to go.  Then he reconsidered and had a passenger move to actually lift up the seat that makes room for the chair to be behind the driver.  Then off we went.  No tie downs or anything.  And this was a shuttle bus that actually had buckles on the regular seats.  The ride is not even a mile, but there are a lot of stops and turns in that short distance.  Mik hates buses and was freaked out the whole time.  Usually he just overreacts, but this time he had a reason to fear, as even though I was holding his chair down at one turn his right wheel actually left the ground.

From now on, we are sticking to the Metro or maybe a taxi for the airport.  Sure, there are no tie downs on the Metro, but the ride is smooth enough to not be a problem.  Only problem we ever run into is elevators being down, but this trip there are very few throughout the system that are out and the one that ended up being where we wanted to get on was only two blocks from the next station.

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202

Disney's California Adventure: World of Color

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

The World of Color show was the main reason we went to Disneyland on March 10.  We got Fastpasses as part of the D23 2nd Anniversary event, so we did not have to worry about getting over to the park when it opened.  It is definitely a good idea to get over to Disney's California Adventure first thing for fastpasses, as they were supposedly gone by 11:30am that day and it was not quite the peak season, yet.

Mik often does not care for the shows (he still has never seen Fantasmic) other than the indoor theater ones (Aladdin, Great Moments with Lincoln, etc.).  However, we have both been looking forward to this show since we have seen the area under remodel back in 2009.  It opened last summer, but we visited in April last year.

We got to the Fastpass area around 7:15pm (show started at 8:15pm) and it was already quite full.  We were in the yellow area, but when we got there they directed us to go to the next area to get to the ramp.  We got over there and the cast member taking the Fastpasses for that area (Red?) was ready to send us back to yellow, but another cast member knew that we were sent there for the ramp and escorted us down.  He did not quite know where he was going, but he was very friendly and did make sure we got down to a good wheelchair seating area.

The wheelchair sections are manned to make sure other people do not crowd it.  There is a row of benches in the front for those that need them.   The area is not right in front, as there is a lower area right by the water, but the area is raised above the lower area, so there is no problem with people standing in front and getting in the way of enjoying the show.

Mik and I both loved the World of Color show.  It was awesome how the video is projected on the water screens and the other lighting and flame effects.  The end Tron scene is really awesome.

Mik thought the wheelchair section was good, except that you get some of the spray depending on the wind.  His pants ended up wet along with his top because he was sitting in his wheelchair compared to those standing only getting wet on top.  He said next time he wants to bring a blanket for the show for that to get wet instead of him.  At least that means he is willing to see it again, though, as it is pretty awesome.

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's Wheelchair Accessibility Input

Destination Info:
Disney's California Adventure

1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Verizon Center: Nets @ Wizards

Mik's goal since the ballpark road trip is to slowly get to all the NBA Stadiums. Verizon Center, home of the Washington Wizards, is his 2nd NBA stadium, as the only other stadium he has been to before today is the one in Phoenix. He's a Lakers fan, but today he is rooting for the Wizards.

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Collecting Stamps and Seeing Memorials on the National Mall

Date of Adventure: March 19, 2011

This morning we got a slower start than I wanted, but we did at least still get in almost all of the National Mall and Memorials we wanted to see this DC trip.  The only memorial we skipped was the Washington Monument because we did not want to deal with getting the tickets if they even had any to give out, as online showed none available.

We started by taking the Metro to Foggy Bottom-GWU.  There really is not any Metro close to start on the Lincoln end and on the Washington Monument end has several close options, so it made more sense to start from the far end and work our way to the Washington Monument end and the nearby Federal Triangle station.  The Smithsonian Station is also near there, but the elevator entrance is an extra few blocks away and the Federal Triangle elevator entrance is actually closer than the main escalator entrance.


We ended up start our walk around the National Mall near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  We did not walk right by the wall, as we have done that many times before and it was kind of crowded.  We did stop at the Women's Vietnam Memorial for some photos, though.


From the Vietnam Memorial we went to the Lincoln Memorial.  Here we actually spent some time and went up through the Memorial.  We visited the bookstore here, although Mik only went in very briefly because it is so small and hard to move around in his wheelchair even with only a few other people in it.  We had forgotten our National Park Passports at the hotel and ended up buying new ones because they had special 25th Anniversary of the National Park Passports versions.  They also had a special Lincoln Memorial stamp for the 25th Anniversary.  Additionally, they had some stamps for nearby memorials that did not have their own shops, such as Korean Memorial, Constitution Gardens (did not get this one, since we skipped this), and Vietnam Veterans Memorial as well as general National Mall and National Mall and Memorial Parks ones.


After the Lincoln Memorial we stopped for a quick lunch at a nearby refreshment stand.  Then we went to the Korean War Veterans Memorial.  After this we ditched Mom and Mik and I headed over to the Tidal Basin area.

The Tidal Basin was confusing with part of it closed off for the construction of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.  We ended up going almost to the World War II Memorial to get over to go around the Tidal Basin because the old signage has you cross right where the new memorial is and nothing tells you to cross over earlier.  No big deal, as we did not mind having to walk a little extra, as we still got to see the stuff we wanted.


The Jefferson Memorial also has a bunch of construction around it with them updating the levee area.  It just ruins the outside aspect, but you can still go inside it and see the statue.  Of course, all kinds of barricades make it hard to get to the sidewalk area that you can access the memorial without having to squeeze between concrete barricades and walk/roll across a grassy area.  The was only because we approached from the East, though, as leaving to the West was where we ended up entering after walking all the way around.

At the Jefferson Memorial, Mik finally got a DC miniature for his miniature collection.  He got a White House pencil sharpener.  We also got some more stamps in our National Park Passports including the Jefferson Memorial, a 25th Passport Anniversary Jefferson Memorial, and George Mason Memorial.


From the Jefferson Memorial we headed over to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  Along the way we stopped at the George Mason Memorial, which Mik had never seem before and is easily skipped.  It is actually a pretty cool memorial and his legacy is quite interesting.  At the FDR Memorial we got a few more stamps for our National Park Passports: FDR Memorial, 25th Passport Anniversary FDR Memorial, World War II Memorial, and DC World War Memorial (this memorial is under renovation, but we went up to it as close as you can right now).  It was fun collecting the stamps and we already have almost 2 pages full of the passports.


The last memorial we hit was the World War II Memorial.  Did not spend much time here, as it was almost 5pm and Mik was tired.  Thus we did not even end up walking up and around the Washington Monument like we thought we would.  We figure we can easily do that when we go to the National Museum of American History in a few days.

Photos by Kjersti, Mik, and Mom
Text by Kjersti with Mik's Wheelchair Accessibility Input

Destination Info:
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Washington, DC

Related Wheelchair Accessibility Reviews:

• Lincoln Memorial
• Korean War Veterans Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

We are walking around the National Mall today. We started at the Lincoln Memorial, where we got a 25th anniversary National Parks Passport to get stamped because we left our regular ones back at the hotel.

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Update: Read our Lincoln Memorial Wheelchair Accessibility Review here.