Visit Quad Cities is making it easier for people with physical challenges to learn how area attractions are becoming as accessible as possible.
Tina Staniscia, a senior corporate mapper with Wheel the World (funded by Visit QC), is criss-crossing the QC this week to document accessibility details on popular destinations.
In 2025, the Quad Cities was designated as a Verified Destination with Wheel the World, joining a global movement to make travel more inclusive for people with disabilities. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (March 9-11), Staniscia is mapping the Adler Theatre, RiverCenter, Celebration Belle, I-74 Oculus, Putnam Museum and Science Center, Bally’s Quad Cities, Rock Island Arsenal Museum and the Quad City Botanical Center.
This means data and information are being collected on these points of interest to help potential visitors understand the layouts, details and amenities that they offer. They will join these existing 11 profiled places that are on the Wheel the World QC website:
- The Axis Moline Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
- Barrel House (5141 Utica Ridge Rd, Davenport)
- Channel Cat Water Taxi
- Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse
- The Current Iowa, Autograph Collection
- Figge Art Museum
- Foundry Food + Tap
- The Half Nelson
- John Deere Pavilion
- Riverboat Twilight River Cruises
- Whitey’s Ice Cream (2601 41st St., Moline)
Wheel the World offers travelers with disabilities and seniors with the detailed accessibility information they need to book hotels, tours, and experiences with confidence. It has 5,000+ verified accessible hotels, activities, and experiences; one seamless platform to discover, plan, and book inclusive travel, and over 180,000 members in the world’s largest accessibility-focused travel community.
Every listing includes verified accessibility information — real photos, key measurements, and features you can trust. You can create an accessibility profile, to have the right places and experiences customized to your needs.
They collect on-the-ground measurements, photos, and details for hotels, tours, and transportation (door widths, step-free paths, roll-in showers, grab bars, ramps or lifts in vehicles, etc.). Each listing shows these specs so you can confirm what meets your needs.
Staniscia (based in the Hudson Valley of New York) has been with the company three years, and has been to 12 states, mapping 525 sites so far.
Of the QC, she said Tuesday: “Everybody is lovely. Yes, there can be improvements, but there's no place I've been in the country where they can't do better.”
“Wheel of the World, we're not the ADA police. We're not about compliance,” Staniscia said. “We just evaluate what we see so travelers can make the best decision for them when they're traveling. And I think oftentimes they don't think about maybe little things, like a parking spot closer to the entrance.”
She was especially impressed with the Putnam Museum & Science Center, which has designated showings of “sensory-friendly” films in the Giant Screen Theater, and that will be noted on the Wheel the World site.
“I thought the Putnam was great. I was there for like three hours yesterday. I had a great time,” Staniscia said. “And they were very welcoming.” At sensory-friendly films (supported by the Autism Society of the Quad Cities):
- Theater lights are dimmed.
- Volume is turned down.
- Movies are in 2D.
- No trailers are shown unless they are embedded in the film.
- Handicap accessibility in theater.
- Freedom to move around and make noise in theater.
- A “chill out zone” outside of the theater.
Another positive accommodation is when museums offer a QR code to their website, so patrons could do a self-guided tour and make things easier to read on their phone, Staniscia said.
Raising public awareness
Visit QC recently released results of a resident survey, including one question that asked how accessible the QC is for visitors with disabilities, and 23% of the 632 respondents said they didn’t know, said Katrina Keuning, brand and content strategist with Visit Quad Cities.
“That was one of those nuggets we flagged as an education point. It wasn’t that many people disagreed with it, but that many said, ‘I don’t know if it is or not.’ That’s super important, because if we’re trying to make Quad Citizens ambassadors of the community, we want them to know what’s going, what initiatives are taking place,” she said Tuesday.
Accessibility was flagged in the group’s tourism master plan, after staff heard a speaker about traveling with a disability and the inherent challenges.
“It was kind of showing that it's possible and here's how to do it, but also opening people's eyes to the additional needs and planning he has to go through,” Keuning said. “That kind of showed us, like, a real case scenario, people who may have mobility needs or disabilities or what have you. They just need to know what you've got before they come. So that was kind of, the impetus of how do we get going on a project like this? And then Wheel the World and us got connected a couple years ago.
"We first mapped our first batch of points of interest between 2024 and 2025 and became a verified destination last May.”
Wheel the World collects information for travelers not only in wheelchairs, but visitors with a variety of physical challenges, like mobility, vision and hearing.
“It's all just about, like, pulling back the curtain on what a place is like before people come,” Keuning said. “I've found the data useful just as a mom who might have a stroller that I have. I want to know, are there stairs here? Is there a ramp? I mean, it can apply to so many people in different scenarios.”
Each place has to agree to be mapped, and VQC contracts with Wheel the World to cover the costs, so it’s free to each location, she said.
“It's in the tourism master plan that we are moving in this direction to be a more accessible destination,” Keuning said.
“Then in return, they get not only exposure on a special webpage, but they also get a report of things from Wheel the World privately, things they're doing great, things they can improve upon, and just little notes from the mapper and the organization.”
Each site is chosen based on being a popular visitor destination, which is willing to be profiled, she noted.
“I think that's something people like incorrectly think because you think, all of these places that are on our list or they must be ADA compliant, they must be like gold star places,” Keuning said. “But it's not really the case. It's more of like just showing what's reality and any amenities or features that are like accessibility, pro accessibility and are helpful, they'll definitely highlight those. But it's really just laying it all out. Whether it's an old building from 1920 or something that's just like absolutely superior ADA compliance. It's across the board.”
Making responsible decisions
“The last thing we want is, as a community, for people to come here and not have been told the whole story of what they're getting into,” she said. “We want people to be able to make the most responsible good decisions for themselves before they come to a place. Like I never want someone to come here ignorantly and go, I'm expecting this, this and this. And then that didn't happen.”
The VQC website has an Accessibility page (under Plan Your Trip), which notes:
“As part of our commitment to belonging, we strive to ensure that all visitors—regardless of ability—can fully experience the music, food, festivals, history, and adventure that make our community special,” the site says. “From museums and restaurants to scenic trails and riverfront excursions, we are dedicated to making the Quad Cities an accessible and inclusive destination.”
“We believe that travel should be without limits—which is why the Quad Cities is a Wheel the World Verified Destination. Through our partnership, we provide detailed accessibility information and partner with businesses to enhance experiences for travelers with disabilities,” it says.
This is a trend worldwide in the travel industry, for destination management organizations (DMO) like Visit QC, Keuning said.
“It's becoming every conference I go to, it's a topic that there's at least one session on. And so I think people are starting to think that way and realizing this is not just a gap in the Quad Cities, it's a gap everywhere,” she said of improving accessibility. “And that we all can do a little bit better because what people will find when they're looking on Wheel of the World's website or any DMO website is that there's always room for improvement. No place is perfect. But I think people really appreciate it when it's just transparent.”
“The goal is not to wave a shaky finger at anybody, but just to expose, here's what you're dealing with when you come,” she said. “People are really open to it.”
Visit QC wants to help get the area “on the map as a destination that is trying its best to be transparent, to be helpful, and to just really show everybody who travels, you're welcome here. We want you here,” Keuning said. “We can help fill in the blanks as people need.”
“But if everybody is a little bit more aware of these initiatives and a little bit more inspired to chip in, the Quad Cities can become a really inclusive and really accessible destination,” she added.
In March 2025, Visit Quad Cities won the People’s Choice Award at the Iowa Tourism Conference at Prairie Meadows, for its work to advance accessible tourism through partnerships with Wheel the World and Hidden Disabilities Sunflower programs. The award was presented by Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Travel Iowa.
In October 2024, Visit QC announced its partnership with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program. This global initiative provides a discreet way for people with non-visible disabilities to signal that they may need extra understanding, patience, or support while navigating public spaces.
As part of this effort, Visit QC staff has been trained through the Sunflower Program to better assist individuals with hidden disabilities.
You can learn more about Wheel the World locations in the Quad Cities.
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