Going out

Call or write the place. A photo on a booking site is not the room you will get. Ask a person who is working that day.

Ask if there is a way in with no steps. If they mention a ramp or elevator, ask if it is working and where it is. A locked side door is not a plan.

Ask if there is an accessible restroom and which floor it is on. Ask if the path to it is clear.

Ask for a table you can use from a wheelchair, with room for your knees and a seat for the person with you. The Access Board standard for a dining surface that has to comply is 28 inches minimum and 34 inches maximum above the floor. At least 5 percent of the seating and standing spaces at dining surfaces have to meet the dining-surface rules, and those spaces are spread through the room. That standard applies where the 2010 Standards apply, including new construction and alterations. An older restaurant may not match it. Ask whether this table works tonight.

Ask where accessible parking is, how far it is from the door, and whether that path has steps. Do not assume the closest lot is the accessible one.

There is no Access Board number for a quiet table. Ask if they can seat you away from speakers, a band, or the kitchen door. Ask if an earlier hour is quieter.

Home is a real plan when the answers are no. You already know the door, the table, and the noise. Watch a film with captions on, or cook one meal you know. The meals guide lists food help if cooking is the hard part.

The U.S. Access Board's 2010 Standards cover assembly areas with fixed seats, including movie theaters. Section 221.3 says at least one companion seat is required for each wheelchair space the standards require. Section 802.3 says that companion seat lines up at the shoulder with the wheelchair space, sits on the same floor level, and matches the size, comfort, and extras of the seats around it. It may be a movable seat. Stadium-style theaters have extra rules about where those seats go. An older theater may not match a rule written for new or changed buildings. Ask which seats are the wheelchair spaces, and buy the companion seat with them.

The Justice Department's movie-caption rule says a theater has to offer closed captions and audio description at your seat when it shows a digital movie that was distributed with those features. The theater has to tell people which showings include them, and a staff person has to be able to help before, during, and after the movie. The rule does not cover an auditorium that shows only analog film. A theater can be excused if the aid would be too hard or too expensive, or would change the service in a basic way.

The device is individual. The Justice Department described two kinds of caption devices: a small wireless screen on a flexible arm that can sit in the cup holder, and glasses that show the words in front of your eyes. Audio description comes through a receiver you listen to. The theater chooses the brand. Ask what that theater calls the device, and pick it up at the desk.

Dolby CaptiView is one brand of cup-holder caption screen. Dolby's product sheet describes a small display on a bendable arm that fits in a cup holder. It is a product name, not a requirement. Your theater may use glasses or another screen. AMC's assistive moviegoing guide says AMC offers a closed caption device and an audio description receiver, and that the device can differ by theater. If a device fails, ask an employee for help.

The Justice Department's Title III manual says a business may not put a surcharge only on people with disabilities to cover a required aid. You still pay the regular ticket. Do not buy a device at the door.

Ask if the theater has a showing with the lights up, the sound lower, and room to move. Not every theater publishes one. AMC Sensory Friendly Films is one program on AMC's own site. AMC says it turns the lights up and the sound down, and that you can get up, dance, walk, shout, or sing. The page says the program is on the second and fourth Saturday for family-friendly films, and on Wednesday evenings for mature audiences. It says the movie starts at the listed time, with no trailers, so arrive on time. Showtimes differ by theater. AMC says it partners with the Autism Society for this program.

Start with the controls in the player. Captions are often a button marked CC. Audio description may be called audio description, described video, or a secondary audio track. Turn those on before you pay for a separate gadget or a higher plan. The FCC says a program that was captioned on U.S. television has to be captioned when that full program is shown again on the internet. A movie shown only online does not have to be captioned unless it was previously shown on television with captions. A home video does not have to be captioned unless it was on television with captions. Audio description on television uses the secondary audio track. Some sets label it SAP or a language track. The FCC audio-description guide is about television, not a promise that every streaming film has description. Check the title.

The 2010 Standards cover wheelchair spaces and companion seats in stadiums, arenas, and grandstands, including dispersion to levels that an accessible route serves. The seat you can buy still depends on the venue and the event. Ask the venue. Then use the seller that venue names.

Ticketmaster's U.S. help page says accessible tickets are reserved for fans with disabilities and their companions, and that misuse can get an order canceled. It says you can buy them on the event's seat map, or by calling (800) 877-7575. If the map shows no accessible tickets, they may be sold only at the venue box office or by the primary seller. Resale listings are not a promise that an accessible seat will be posted.

When Ticketmaster has them, the page lists these types: Wheelchair Accessible, Low Mobility Accessible, Blind and Low Vision Accessible, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accessible, and a Companion Ticket. The companion ticket is a reserved space for a caregiver, friend, or family member. The U.S. page we opened does not say that companion ticket is free.

For a sign language interpreter, Ticketmaster says to read the venue's access guide or contact the venue. A Live Nation venue may list Accessibility Services under Plan Your Visit.

The National Park Service Access Pass is a lifetime pass for U.S. citizens or residents who have been medically determined to have a permanent disability. The Park Service says it does not have to be a 100 percent disability. The disability has to severely limit one or more major life activities. The pass covers entrance fees at Park Service sites that charge one, and the USGS Store says six federal agencies honor it at sites that charge an entrance or standard day-use fee. It is not valid at state or city parks. USGS says it covers more than 2,000 federal recreation sites.

The pass is free. Picking it up in person is the way the Park Service recommends. Bring a photo ID and one document of permanent disability. A mail order from the USGS Store adds a $5 processing fee and a $7.50 handling fee. The store also describes that as $12.50 for shipping and handling. A receipt, photo, or copy is not a pass. The Park Service page mentions a digital America the Beautiful pass on Recreation.gov. The Recreation.gov pass page we opened describes site passes and the Interagency Annual Pass. It does not describe the free Access Pass as one of those digital passes. Use in-person pickup or the USGS mail order unless Recreation.gov shows an Access Pass screen on the day you order.

Documents the Park Service lists: a signed letter from a licensed physician that says the disability is permanent, that it severely limits one or more parts of daily life, and what those limits are; or a federal agency document, such as from the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Social Security Administration, showing disability benefits; or a state agency document, such as from vocational rehabilitation. USGS says a parking placard is not accepted, and a notice that only says an SSDI benefit went up is not accepted. A child can qualify. There is no age minimum.

At a per-vehicle entrance, USGS says the pass covers the pass owner and the passengers in that non-commercial vehicle. A second car needs its own pass or has to pay. At a per-person fee, it admits the pass owner and 3 other adults, and not more than 4 adults. Children under 16 are admitted free. Staff may ask for a photo ID. A Golden Access Passport is still valid for life.

Ask the park you are visiting. There is no single national theme-park pass on the pages we opened. Two parks publish their own programs. Read the page for that park the week you go. A pass from one park does not transfer to another.

Disney calls its program Disability Access Service, or DAS. At both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, the pages say it is for a guest who, because of a developmental disability such as autism or similar, cannot wait in a conventional line for a long time. It does not let you on immediately. It lets you request a return time close to the current standby wait. The registered guest has to be there to register and to use the return time. The party can be the registered guest plus up to 3 people, 4 total. You can hold one return time at a time. Registration can start 60 days before the visit. Disneyland says DAS lasts for the length of the ticket or up to one year, whichever comes sooner. Walt Disney World says it is valid for the length of the ticket or up to 1 year. You register again when it ends or you need a new ticket.

The registration path is not the same. Disneyland offers live video chat or an Accessibility Services kiosk in the park. Walt Disney World says registration is live video chat only, including on the day of the visit. There is no in-person registration option there. Walt Disney World's page lists disability.services@disneyparks.com for more help. Use the park's own page for hours and chat rules.

Universal's rider guides for Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Orlando, and Volcano Bay describe an Attractions Assistance Pass for a guest whose disability keeps them from waiting a long time in a regular line. The guides say it is equal access, not a way to pass people who are waiting. A guest who only needs a wheelchair or other mobility device does not apply, because the guides say the queues and entrances are accessible. Other guests can request an IBCCES Individual Accessibility Card at accessibilitycard.org within 30 days of the visit and at least 48 hours before. The guides say IBCCES does not ask for a diagnosis. An approved card does not guarantee the pass. Universal decides the accommodation. The Hollywood guide also uses the name Attraction Accessibility Pass for this accommodation. The number printed in those guides is (407) 224-4233. Guests who cannot register ahead can call or visit Guest Relations.

Ask the museum about a free ticket or a companion ticket. We did not open a national rule that every museum must give a companion a free ticket. The two programs below are the ones we could verify.

Museums for All is for people who have SNAP food assistance, not a disability ID. Its about page says the Association of Children's Museums administers the program. Bring the SNAP EBT card and a photo ID. You do not pay with the EBT card. Participating museums charge from free to $5 for up to four people per card, during normal hours. A card from any state works at a participating museum. You do not register on the Museums for All site. A museum that is not on the list does not have to offer that rate. The program says more than 1,600 museums participate. Check the list before you go.

The Smithsonian says admission is free at all of its locations except the Cooper Hewitt in New York City. Because those visits are free, a companion does not pay admission there. Four locations still require a free pass or ticket for every person, including a companion: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the National Zoo, and the Cooper Hewitt. The Smithsonian accessibility page says every Smithsonian museum has a limited number of manual wheelchairs to borrow, free, first come, first served, and not reserved. It does not lend motorized wheelchairs or scooters. It also describes Morning at the Museum, a free sensory-friendly morning for families of neurodiverse children, teens, and young adults. Read that page for the next date.