posted Aug 23, 2023

Wheelchair Accessible Travel to Lancaster, PA for Families

Lancaster County, PA is a family friendly and wheelchair accessible destination that's overflowing with fun.

From exploring Amish farms and historic sites to jumping into the thriving city scene filled with the arts and foodie delights, there really is something for everyone. It's the perfect place for families, with a variety of wheelchair friendly children's museums, themed restaurants, and indoor and outdoor play areas. Lancaster is also home to the kingdom for kids - Dutch Wonderland!

Lancaster is far too diverse and widespread to be covered in one trip. The following is a roundup of family friendly and wheelchair accessible highlights from eastern Lancaster, in the Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse areas. If you’re looking for more options, check out the complete list of Lancaster’s wheelchair accessible attractions.

Magic & Wonder Dinner Theater

You won't believe it unless you experience it for yourself! At Magic and Wonder Dinner Theater, you'll be treated to non-stop, mind-blowing entertainment that will leave your jaw dropping. This is one you'll be talking about for weeks, and trying to figure out the magic behind the wonder!

Magic and Wonder puts on different shows throughout the year, so every visit is a new adventure, but they all feature a master illusionists, music, and circus style acts that may make regular life seem dull. They make people float, disappear, and disappear while floating! You won’t want to miss this one!

Easy wheelchair accessibility throughout the theater, gift shop, and facilities.

Ephrata Performing Arts Center

The Ephrata Performing Arts Center remains committed to providing a unique theatrical experience. The center has a reputation for producing outstanding musical theater as well as stimulating, cutting-edge drama.

Dutch Wonderland

It's a kingdom for kids! Dutch Wonderland is a theme park aimed at families with younger children. Enjoy over 35 rides, attractions, shows, and a water park with accessible splash pads and you'll see why wheelchair accessible Dutch Wonderland was voted one of the Top 5 Best Kid’s Park in the World by Amusement Today magazine. The park has a thorough accessibility program in place. Most rides require a wheelchair transfer but the park, shops, dining, and facilities are all easy to navigate with wheels.

Strasburg Rail Road

Did you know the Strasburg Rail Road offers one of the only wheelchair accessible historic train rides in the world? As America’s oldest continuously operating railroad, that's saying something! The train ride is a unique experience through Lancaster's beautiful countryside and the station offers a variety of activities from shopping and dining to rides and a train-themed playground (not an all abilities playground). Strasburg is a true train lover's paradise. In addition to the historic train ride, you can visit the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (one of the top railroad museums in the country), the Choo Choo Barn (1,700 square foot custom model train display), the National Toy Train Museum (a world-class collection of toy trains) - all wheelchair accessible destinations. There are trains to eat in, play in, and even sleep in!

Amish Village

Are you curious about Amish heritage and looking for a unique cultural experience? The Amish Village is the perfect destination for you! With its comprehensive and wheelchair accessible tour, you can explore a small village, farm, and an Amish home all in one immersive experience.

The grounds of The Amish Village are easy to navigate with a wheelchair, except for the upstairs of the house. You'll get an educational experience to learn all about the Amish community, and even get the chance to pet some friendly goats.

Indoor Play

Lancaster has so many great tourist attractions that these local favorites are often undiscovered. Mix up your trip with some interactive and educational play for something the kids will rave about!

Snapology has come to Lancaster and it's the city's latest hub for STEAM programs! (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math). Bring the whole family and trick your kids into learning while having a blast. With LEGO building, robot racing through coding, engineering ball mazes, games, and creativity stations, there's something for everyone at Snapology.

Tiny Town is a miniature town, complete with a post office, grocery store, library, firehouse, and more. All of the play structures are wheelchair accessible! There’s also a gated off play area for little crawlers.

The Hands on House in Lancaster’s children’s museum. Discover Lancaster life as a farmer or factory worker, put on a show, play a game, or check out the ever changing activities in the STEM lab.

Lancaster Science Factory is perfect for ages 3-12. Create a giant bubble around yourself, build a bridge, experiment with wind and water energy, and catch a science show that will change the way you see the world around you.

Dining

Calling all foodies looking for a new culinary adventure! Lancaster County has a diverse and exciting food scene that you won't want to miss. With a unique blend of traditional Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, as well as farm-to-table restaurants, craft breweries, and wineries, there's something for every taste. Don't miss out on trying the local favorites like shoofly pie, whoopie pies, and chow-chow, but the foodie scene goes beyond these Pennsylvania Dutch staples, and feel free to dive deeper.

Cartoon Kitchen

Cartoon Kitchen, located inside the Cartoon Network Hotel, offers a uniquely fun dining experience. Even if you're not an overnight guest, you can still dine at Cartoon Kitchen and enjoy all the lobby activities. Watch cartoons "make" your meal in a fully cartoon themed environment, and then enjoy a variety of fun activities. Play a game of virtual tag, bring your colored food creations to life, dance on the floor tile game, make a craft, or play in the arcade. This is the perfect place to turn a meal into an outing that everyone will love! The Cartoon Network Hotel is new and hip, with wide spaces, automatic doors, and easy wheelchair accessibility throughout.

DJ’s Taste of the 50’s

Have your kids ever seen a telephone booth? DJ's Taste of the 50's is your grand opportunity for a history lesson with a side of fries! Voted the best burger in PA by USA Today, you can enjoy your burgers and shakes along with plenty of themed 50's photo opps. Both indoor and outdoor seating options are easily wheelchair accessible. Accessible restrooms available.

Casey Jones’ Restaurant

At Casey Jones' you can eat on a train car, while watching the steam engine pass by, as miniature trains run overhead. Order from an engineer, check out the free petting zoo, and stock up on all the train paraphernalia you can imagine. The dining cars, gift shop, restrooms, and petting zoo are accessible.

Plain & Fancy Farm Restaurant

Plain & Fancy is for everyone looking for that authentic Amish experience! Your meal is served family style, which means you'll get big platters of made-from-scratch fried chicken, chicken pot pie with homemade noodles, roast eye round of beef, sausage, real mashed potatoes, chow chow, fresh rolls, and all the desserts to pass around. Yum overload. The restaurant, gift shop, and restrooms are easily wheelchair accessible.

Lapp Valley Farm Creamery & Café

Visit Lapp Valley Farm Creamery & Café for the rich, creamy, small-batch ice cream and freshly made waffle cones and stay to play in the indoor farm play area. You can also head a little farther north to visit the original farm location and visit the cows providing milk for these sweet treats.

Bird-in-Hand Bakery

Bird-in-Hand Bakery & Café is an essential stop before heading home. Whether you’re coming from out of town and need to try a whoopie pie and shoofly pie, or a local looking for a deliciously hand crafted sandwich on fresh artisan bread, stop for a fill-up and grab some extras to bring home.

Playing

The Treehouse Playground of Lititz is about a 20-minute drive from Intercourse, but it’s worth it if you’re looking for an all abilities playground where you can enjoy hours of fun! From an in-ground carousel to a seated zipline - they’ve thought of everything so that families can play together throughout the park!

Staying

Bird-in-Hand Family Inn makes the perfect getaway for families with accessibility needs. The pool lift is portable so that you can use it for any of the three pools or the hot tub. The accessible rooms have appropriate design for reaching shower controls, rolling under sinks, reaching light switches, and other things that are often overlooked. Adjoining rooms are available for larger families. There's an arcade, basketball courts, tennis courts, fire pit, and walking trail - enough to make a full day of play without ever leaving the hotel. They also have a playground (not all abilities) and mini golf within walking distance.

For more accessible family travel tips, visit Wonders Within Reach.

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