Great day out, nice to see adaptions have been made
4
4
Date of visit: August 2019
I have experience of challenges around: moving around
Overall Rating
Good
We had a great little day out at Deep Sea World, since I went 5 years ago adaptions have been made and now all platforms are accessible which was great as I didn't miss a thing! The cafe does not have dairy free alternatives (no soya milk etc). The disabled toilet was a challenge
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
Coming from the carpark, you go down a long ramp to the entrance- it isn't too steep but might be difficult if pushing a heavy manual wheelchair. You can hire wheelchairs when you go in. There are double doors to get in that aren't automatic. There have been ramps added to raised platforms that were previously inaccessible which is great, so no where was off limits! Everything is really on one floor, with an outdoor bit (down some rather bumpy ramps!) but worth it to see the seals. There is also an underwater area where you go through a tunnel and the sharks, rays and fish swim over and around you- it's really cool and was all my favourite as a kid! The ramps going down are quite long and steep but were no problem for me in my power chair. I was slightly concerned when I got down and saw a sign indicating prams were not to be brought in and that
Parking & Transport
Good
We travelled by car and parked in the disabled bays. There's a ramp to get up to the pavement then a long ramp round the corner to get down to the entrance.
Accessible Toilets
Poor
The accessibility at Deep Sea World was great but unfortunately the toilets let it down. I had to ask twice where to find them as they weren't well signposted. It did not have a radar key lock and was quite unclean. There was no red cord. I barely fit in in my powerchair, there was a bin infront of me and no space to manoeuvre (see pics). The lock was a bit dodgy and I was a bit worried it wouldn't hold if someone tried to get in. There were grab rails at each side but no space to transfer at the side of the toilet. The door was quite heavy and slammed shut making getting out (backwards!) a difficulty. In the two halls next to each other where the toilets were, there were at least rooms for toilets, the centre would certainly benefit from a more accessible toilet for people with disabilities. A larger accessible toilet, with less clutter, a radar key entry and a red cord would certainly make a vast improvement.
Staff
Good
The staff I interacted with were all quite friendly and helpful, in particular the woman working in the shop and the young lady with a disability who was working in the cafe.
