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Accessibility

A Special Welcome to Guests with Disabilities and Their Families

We recognize that 18th-century architecture may present difficulties for those with physical disabilities and are working to ensure guests with disabilities have a wonderful and inclusive experience. Discounted Colonial Williamsburg Single-day and Multi-day admission tickets and Annual Passes (50 percent off) are available at on-site ticketing centers. Interpreters in the Historic Area will be glad to provide directions to accessible areas, and we are prepared to make accommodations, including special parking arrangements, as needed. Our Visitor Center, hotels, restaurants, museums and shops are largely accessible. See below for exact building accessibility information.Service animals are permitted in all buildings.

Colonial Williamsburg ADA Policy

Colonial Williamsburg is committed to complying with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding barrier free access to all Colonial Williamsburg programs, services and activities including dining.  Accordingly, Colonial Williamsburg will make reasonable modifications to policies, practices or procedures when the modifications are necessary to afford visitors with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit Colonial Williamsburg’s programs, services, and facilities.

Visitors with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations or modifications to assist them in accessing Colonial Williamsburg’s programs, services, and facilities.  These requests can be made by contacting 888-965-7254.


Guests with Hearing Impairments

Closed caption televisions are available at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge, and the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel & Suites. Battery-operated strobe light fire alarms, TDD machines, amplifier headsets, and shake-awake alarm clocks are available at all hotel front desks.

Headsets with adjustable volume control are available for programs in the Hennage Auditorium of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg and the Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge.

Upon request, Colonial Williamsburg will contract with a signing interpreter to accompany hearing-impaired guests through the Historic Area. Requests for this service must be made at least two weeks in advance. Call us at 757-220-7205 or email cwres@cwf.org.


Guests with Limited Mobility

Folding wheelchairs are available at the Visitor Center and may be rented on a first-come, first-served basis. No motorized chairs are available.

Guests with wheelchairs will find the streets, most gardens, and outdoor activities in the Historic Area accessible. While ramps and wheelchair lifts are available at selected exhibitions, many of the historic buildings require at least a few steps.

Most buildings in the Historic Area have steps, but most interior doorways are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Many of the exhibition buildings have second floors that are interpreted, and stairs are often steep and narrow. Colonial Williamsburg’s buses are wheelchair accessible.

Wheelchair-accessible Restroom Locations

Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located throughout the Historic Area and Colonial Williamsburg properties, including the following:

  • Williamsburg Lodge
  • Merchants Square Ticket Office
  • The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg
  • Bassett Hall Reception Center

They are also:

  • Adjacent to the Magazine on Francis Street
  • On Botetourt Street between Duke of Gloucester St and Nicholson St.
  • On the Palace grounds

Accessibility for Historic Buildings and Trade Shops

Most of the exhibition gardens in the Historic Area are accessible to guests with disabilities. Paths are of brick, marl, or gravel, and sidewalks are of brick.

When visiting a trade shop not accessible to wheelchairs, please request assistance from the interpreter. Historic trade interpretations can often be done outside the shops at the guest’s request.

Benches are located at intervals throughout Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Cold drink vending machines may also be found throughout the Historic Area.

Planning Your Visit

Please consult the descriptions of Colonial Williamsburg’s historic buildings, restaurants, hotels, shops, and other facilities when planning your visit. Most evening performances take place in the historic buildings. Please check accessibility before purchasing separate tickets for these performances and other special events.

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