I hope you enjoyed this video. Let me know what you think? Do you think their disability access needs a little bit of work? Where do you like to visit?

That looks like a nightmare if you struggle with crowds or sensory stuff.

America typically only really does accessibility well when it's a giant tourist trap. Many places here only do the BARE minimum, most times less. ADA laws aren't enforced as well as they should be. We have buildings that get away with not being accessible because they were made before the law and were grandfathered in. And even if the building is accessible, employees aren't really trained well enough to accommodate.

There are definitely places in America that would be like that, they sqeak by with the bare minimum to meet ADA requirements

I hate the way I'm treated as a disabled person, as I'm a wheelchair user but mental illness is my biggest disability, I can't be left alone.

She is a great disability advocate and KZfaq content creator. My favourite thing about her videos is her main focus is accessibility and how it impacts her and other people life when things are not accessible, then from time to time we do get to see her interactions with her husband and her daughter Daisy. I think these videos can demonstrates younger couples what can be achieved even if one of them happens to be disabled her family dynamic is very sweet and you can tell how close her and Daisy are! :-)

There are a lot of places that are not guide dog accessible either with big gaps and make it scary to be accessible

I've seen a lot of your videos this week to learn. After 2,5 years of severe pain when walking due to back problems and the last 5 weeks flat in bed and twice in hospital because my legs stopped functioning as they should. I got a wheelchair waiting for a neurosurgeon appointment to see if I can be operated. Used it in my house a couple days and it made a big difference in my pain level. Today I went to lidl in my wheelchair and it was amazing, I got my freedom back. Can do my shopping myself again. Stupidly enough I still felt like a fraud because I can stand and wobble around in agony. The duality in my head is maddening, I can use my legs so I should, and at the other side; if I feel that a wheelchair gives me back my freedom I really need it. I can't wait to go shopping for new clothes soon which I finally can do with my wheelchair now. I've been in lockdown for the last 3 years due to my backpain.

I guess the weird line split up was so you have to wait the same amount of time. The way Disney in America does it makes much more sense. You can just get a pass to come back at the right time instead of being split up

If the Monongahela incline In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (opened 1870) can be made accessible, anything can. (Fun fact: The Ft. Pitt Bridge is a sister structure to the Sydney Harbour Bridge!)

We’re booked a couple of helicopters excursions to get around the crowds. They strapped me in & held my chair. We love it - seeing the Hollywood sign close up is amazing

Thank you for sharing, Gem! The lack of disability was really disappointing. Just watching the crowds and queues was overstimulating. I would not have had a good time 😅

Your baby no longer looks like a little girl. How she has grown up! She's so lovely!

Fortunately I haven't found a place that willingly separates you from your party. Some do however limit the number of people you can take ahead of the que. You Essentially experienced a place with no special disability considerations. Some folks can't stand nor participate in long waiting lines. The US has been pretty accommodating.

Holy Katoomba! What has happened to you?! I was there in 1991, stayed at the hostel. None of this was there. We did take the railway but it was a bit more clackity than what is there now. Seems like they've tried to increase tourism with all the cable cars but not thought about how to manage those tourists... bathrooms, accessibility, queues... What a nightmare! I would've had to turn around and gone back to the car. But you're right, beautiful views and nature.

Thank you for your videos, some things I've seen you do are popping into my mind as I now temporarily navigate in a wheelchair. When my MIL passed last Summer, I asked for one of her wheelchairs, knowing that there were surgeries in my future in which having it would be useful. Well, yesterday I had foot surgery and not allowed any weight on that foot until further notice. So I asked my husband to setup the wheelchair with one foot support and without the other, knowing that my MIL often pulled herself or stopped herself with her feet, but couldn't walk long distances. The hospital sent me home with crutches, which I fell on at the hospital and fell twice at home with but was able to direct my fall onto the bed at least. So, I'm refusing to use the crutches, using a walker (hoping on one foot) to get into the bathroom since the doors are too small for the wheelchair, and otherwise using the wheelchair to get around the main areas of the house. fortunately this is not forever since the wheelchair doesn't fit in kitchen, bathrooms, or laundry room. But remembering some things from your videos is helping. I'm actually using my arms more than my good foot to move the wheelchair. And when we went to pickup my post surgery prescriptions, I told my husband to bring a handled box, which I intended to put on my lap, but with a foot down didn't balance, so i strapped it around my neck to pickup lunch while he got my prescriptions. the hardest shopper to get around, was my husband, always where I thought I'd run over him and always eager to push the chair wanting to go faster, but when pushing he can't see my foot and is closer to things than he thinks. It's only been a day so far but there's interesting things you learn (toilets seem sooo low when you can't use both feet to balance for instance), I'm getting better at steering though it's getting tempting to take the bedroom door off it's frame, and my husband is starting to learn that no I don't want him to touch the chair but he wont' get yelled at if he asks first.

Too much like sardines in a tin in those rides sorry it a definite NO a for me. There should be signs saying can be very crowded and avoid if have those issues.

I'm a disability advocate in Wisconsin USA fighting ever-exhausting small town ableism

Daisy is so cool and nice, I just want to be friends with her!

I am from the US and I can tell you that everything created after the Americans with disabilities act Hass to be accessible for people with disabilities so depending on when that was created that would be accessible

Someone who’s adhd this atmosphere would be a nightmare I could not cope

They definitely look like they need to work on their accessibility. That's not really very accessible considering someone got stuck trying to get across the cable car gap and no employees were there to help. It's hard to say if the accessibility would be better in the US, though, because it really depends on the state, the area, and the exact place you are going. Disney World is the best of accessibility in the US, in my opinion, as long as your disability doesn't prohibit you too much with what is available there. There are other places in the US that can be similar to the cable car place or even worse. Some states are much better with accessibility than others because each state's rights and laws make a big difference in what you will experience for accessibility. Money is also a big factor.

There are certainly places in the US that have large steps to enter and exit especially when full. I can remember the subways in both NYC and Washington at rush hour.

For me, Senic World was just not hitting the matk when it came to disability inclusion. I didnt really see any set up for people with disabilities and the hour long queues really took it out of me. What do you think? Do you think you could cope with these queues. I actually find this a lot when I visit attractions in Australia.

I sure understand how you didn’t want to argue with the very rude employee for unnecessarily separating your family but for all our sakes, I wish you had told her it was not okay. I think every one of us should call or write to let them know our thoughts about how they treated our favorite family. We want an apology provided and their assurance that if this is their company policy to separate families, they will change it to reflect the respect that every guest deserves. Whenever people try to separate me from my husband, I let them know he is my caregiver and I need him to stay beside me.

The step/gap reminds me of the rapid transit in Cleveland Ohio. Not the best for many but thankfully I can do it

This policy of them separating you from your family is extremely ignorant and disrespectful. You’re on a family outing, and you deserve to be with your family whether you’re in a wheelchair or not.

Hi Gem, I hope you had a freat time "Down under". Am jalous of you and yours. Love from a colder than Australia Canada. Jon van Beilen.

You are correct - Sometimes you are just NOT up for the "fight" especially when with family. It shouldn't be like that here in America cause of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) especially at major tourist attractions but legal loopholes and unattended sites allow for some to slip through the cracks.

OK, you did go during the peak tourist season, there would be crowds

i live in NYC and travel between america-canada in my wheelchair frequently. it is routinely much worse over here (:

You are correct about auties and aspies, that would have been a nightmare.

Hi Gem. When you had to wait on your own if you needed someone with you for medical reasons could Shaun and Daisy have waited with you in case you were to fall ill? Also the lack of toilets especially disabled loos would be difficult for certain people. Did you see any changing places in Australia apart from at Bondi? Naomi

All I can think is when is the off season lol have a day love from TEXAS

18:09 "Plenty of room" = pack in tighter, folks!

I always wanted to go to Australia one of the places I actually did want to go would be the Australia zoo that I did want to meet Steve Irwin when he was still alive during that time. Also notice that Australia is big on eating meat just like in the US and also your daughter is growing into a beautiful young lady.

Too many people for me, though it looks beautiful. Disappointing that there's no access to the train. Separating you to queue was not at all cool, as someone else in the comments said, it's disrespectful. I noticed pushchairs in the clip, were those people allowed to queue as families, or one adult on pushchair?

There are places everywhere in Australia and the rest of the world that have a l o n g way to do go when it comes to disability accessibility im a wheelchair user and the number of tourist places i can't access sucks

I hate to say it Gem but some of the issues you come across do not surprise me here. This is what usually happens when governance and planning does not listen to disabled people with lived experience. This is something I’m trying to battle in my little corner of Australia. We still have a long way to go here.

Alton towers sometimes makes wheelchairs do the seperate wait for Rita. It is irritating. Just got back from US where, as you say,wheelchairs are priority

Did you hubbie say that the cable car only use to go out to the middle and you couldn't get off? Why would he want to get off in the air??? Lol 🤣

"would it be like this in America?" If you are asking this question the answer is usually no it will be worse in America. When I saw your video able accessible bathrooms I was shocked by how good they are we don't have biohazard bins those are extremely rare because they don't want homeless people in the bathrooms and there is never a red wire to pull you will only find those in the hospital. The anti homeless stuff really hurts disabled people in America. I'm honestly surprised they haven't damaged or lost your wheelchair when you flew to America cause people aren't putting effort into their jobs because they aren't paid enough to care which is understandable but they lose pets and wheelchair a lot.

6:03 I'm in California and they have never split me up from my other people. That is strange.

Hi Gem hope you see this. I broke my back around 3 yrs. ago and now use a wheelchair and today I decided I want to travel to the UK London baby. I live in Florida in the U.S. Honestly I don't care where I stay city wise I was just wondering if you had any suggestions to what airport is good to fly into and what places are good to stay. Seeing you and your family out and about makes me want to get out too, unfortunately I will be traveling alone (bummer) but heck why not. I'm thinking about May or June to make my flight cheaper. If you ever come to Fl you and your family can come crash here we have plenty of room.

I'm very surprised you got separated. I mean, it worked out fine for your situation, but what if you were someone that needed to have someone with you? I understand not wanting to fight it, but I probably would have asked for a supervisor. Hopefully it was just that one employee getting it wrong. If not, that could really backfire on them one day if someone gets into a situation that could have been avoided if they had just had someone with them. Even though the situation is now over, maybe you could email them? That way they might consider changing things.

Though america does have the ada to deal with things related to ada, there is nothing to enforce them. They can only be enforced by lawsuits. So, if you run into issues you can complain to those in charge. If nothing is done then one would seek a ada lawyer and file a lawsuit. In this case, I have no idea of the Australian laws regarding lawsuits. Or what rights the disabled . For us we also have civil rights. Look up the unruh act.

Did you find the access and peoples attitudes any better than the last time you were in Australia? The scenery is amazing at least!

I would’ve been annoyed by having to split up to there’s no reason why they had to go back and wait in the queue when you were there anyway

I would hate that I would have had a panic attack without my partner and kids but I need my partner to push me and I don’t think they would come with me omg I would love that My wheelchair would be able to go I struggle with the underground in London even with the raised up you don’t realise how different the world is from our point of view I hate it as due to all the medication I’m on put weight on so I’m a very big lady and of course their is always one that makes the comments about she’s only in that because she’s fat she should walk I fell over in a cafe in London people laugh but not one came to help my teenager son had to help I can’t believe how rude they was so sad thank you for your vlogs 💜

Indinesia menyapa

I can understand avoiding families jumping the queue but there are better ways to manage the process than separating the family. Easiest way would be for the worker to count on x number of guests then let the family through the wheelchair barrier. As for the sensory issues, I really don't know what the answer is. As much as we want equal access for all, some experiences may just fundamentally be impractical for some people... such as someone who struggles with sensory overload and crowds (like myself)... how do you make a busy tourist attraction accessible when fundamentally just being there with everyone else is overwhelming.

Not a nice ride ! Too many sardines !

Don't wonder about the USA country to much . USA is not best country insofar as the way they treat disabled people. Ableism is very real especially in employment where is only 30 percent maybe. NYC is hard to get around.

Nah my chums Renata and get a lot of priory access and they only use wheelchairs for long distance or if they are going to be out for a long bit of time . So that is what I know of. But I’m not a wheelchair user so I’m going off the info Renata and Adrianne gave me. Also lines as we call them on the states are stressfully for me and yea I’m high functioning but on the spectrum . So yea I’ll never ride a lift car , sky trolley 🚋 thing …. ITS A HUGE EVEREST SIZE NO 👎🏽 . THE TIMES IVD HAD TO LINE UP UP AT THR GROCERIES SHOP ..NOPE AND THEN A SKY TROLLY NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO ! 👎🏽