London Eye

Visited in my wheelchair. Staff couid not have more helpful, even stopped the wheel momentarily to I could get on after they put a foldable ramp down, got the same at the exit. I knocked half a point off as I couldn’t hear the commentary and there was no loop. My hearing companion said I didn’t miss much!

Very easy access, ramo to the wheel was not too steep, pods are stopped to allow wheelchairs/mobility impaired access, staff are competent in safely using the ramp.

The ticket office is not clearly labelled and difficult to find. Once found you’ll see that the entrance is up a flight of steps, and wheelchair users must go all the way around to the left side and up a ramp. They must then fight through the crowds flowing in the opposite direction to get to the ticket offices. There are multiple ticket offices and it is not clear where to go, but the desks themselves are a reasonable height for wheelchair access. This includes the VIP desk, and the VIP lounge can be accessed via a lift. The main eatery in the venue is a Fish & Chop shop. The staff here were incredibly rude; I was initially asked to leave my wheelchair outside & walk across the restaurant to be seated at another table, although a manager saw what was going on and intervened. The tables were very close together, and while eating I was knocked around the back of the head several times as staff walked past; not once did I get an apology. We had VIP tickets for the Eye but were asked to wait in the VIP ticket area rather than the lounge, where we would be met by a member of staff to escort us. This member of staff did not show up, and when we asked a passing member of staff they starting muttering about a ramp. Without proper explanation they disappeared. Several minutes later we finally got someone else’s attention; it had confused the team that someone would want both a ramp AND a VIP experience. We were then escorted to the wheel, up the fast-track queue which involved moving several barriers to pass by. Once at the wheel they stop it completely and place down a small ramp; the gondola’s themselves are very accessible. I positioned myself at the front of the gondola; the champagne as part of the VIP experience was being served at the back and was not being brought forward, so my husband fetched it for me. At the end of the ride the wheel was stopped again, the ramp placed down, and we got off without further event. As mentioned the staff were often rude, late, unhelpful, or had ableist notions about what a wheelchair user might want from the attraction. This is a shame as the physical access itself is, on the whole, very good. Accessible toilets can be found near the VIP lounge. They are clean & spacious. There are nearby bus stops & taxi ranks, but not accessible tube stations.