Accessibility Review: Nationals Park Section 201

Finally planned ahead enough to get tickets on the other side of the park, although still didn't manage to be able to get Gallery Level despite trying during presale (couldn't get anything) and as soon as all Opening Day tickets went on sale. It was a toss up on whether it was the way to go as Opening Day can sometimes be on the cooler side and being on the sunny side of the park in our usual choice in Right Field Terrace can be good. However, it ended up being very nice Opening Day weather in the 70s and being on the shady side worked out good.

Mik has now declared this section as his favorite as you can see the whole field (part of right field is obstructed from Right Field Terrace) and you can also see the scoreboard easier. Still noisier speaker wise than Right Field Terrace, but not bad like when we sat on the Field Level concourse for Opening Day last year.

The cup holders were even more convenient for him in this section as they are at about his knee level rather than being almost on the ground.

The only thing that makes Right Field Terrace still preferable other than it being much cheaper is that no one can crowd around you there as that area has the wheelchair seating separated from the concourse as well as the rest of the section. Section 201 is like most other wheelchair sections in that it is at the top of the section and on the concourse. Not that big of a deal and certainly was not as crowded as Field Level, but it is kind of nice that you don't have to worry much about getting in and out of your spot the way the section is in Right Field Terrace, which is one of the reasons Mik is glad he didn't decide on his powerchair for this game (mainly was about the crowds on the Metro, though).

Accessibility Review: Nationals Park Section 230

On Monday, June 30, Mik and I went to the Rockies @ Nats game because it was Bryce Harper bobblehead day.  It was Mik's first experience taking his power chair to Nationals Park and he did great other than he really needs work on his backwards driving skills for navigating the Metro, especially the elevators, but I'm sure after a few more months of living here he'll get the hang of it.

Since we got there before they opened up the all the sections, we spent some time in the outfield concourse.  Mik enjoyed checking out the heights of the pitchers that they have on the one parking garage.  Also, we are looking forward to that area becoming a team store and hoping it ends up more spacious and thus more accessible compared to the current one.

Overall Mik liked the seats in Section 230.  Of course, any ballpark with cup holders makes him happy even though these are a little low for him to easily use himself.  The view is good other than some of deep right field is obstructed.  The main thing he didn't like is that it is in the sun and it was a somewhat hot and humid day.  However, the fact that the speakers aren't nearby and it is thus quieter than sitting in the concourse sections makes him still prefer this area over the others we have tried before.  Plus, these seats are almost the cheapest possible (actually, were the cheapest when I got around to buying tickets the day before the game).

Next time, I think I will try to get the actual cheapest over in the upper outfield gallery because those are on the shady side.  Also, maybe next time Mik will actually get around to trying some ballpark food besides the Boardwalk Fries because yet again that is what he wanted first and then the lines were crazy and it was hot, so we decided to go home rather than get anything else.

Mik's Mini Ballplayer Collection: Wrigley Field 100 Year Anniversary

Earlier this month I was browsing the MLB.com shop to see what mini ballplayer Mik might choose when we went to the Wrigley Field 100th Anniversary game and found that they actually had a special 100 Year figure.  We decided to just order it online and not have to worry about finding it at the ballpark since we barely found Screech at the Nats Opening Day due to the crowded Team Store.  Mik and Dad didn't have to deal with a crowded store since we were so early to the game, but they did find out that they were out of stock of the 100 Year figures and they currently are only available online anyways.

The 100 Year Anniversary Figure not only has the logo on the jersey and hat, but it also has it on the home plate base.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Wrigley Field 100 Years Brick and Ivy

I probably wouldn't have got this ball if I had gone into the store with Mik and Dad, but better they got too many than nothing.  It seems I have a bunch of Wrigley ones with the brick wall and ivy design.  They are all slightly different and having one for the 100th Year of Wrigley is cool to go with the others, I guess.  I just like the official ball better.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Wrigley Field 100 Years April 23, 2014

The official MLB ball with the Wrigley Field 100 Years logo is the one I wanted to get when we went to the 100th Birthday Game.  It is even cooler that they had the ones for the game, though, as they are only using this style today while the logo without the date is being used at the games at Wrigley all season.  Of course, buying it is not as cool as getting one from the game, but better than nothing and actually I like it better than the other souvenir one Dad and Mik also choose for me (I was holding our spot in line to get in the park while they souvenir shopped before the game).

Mik's Mini Bat Collection: Wrigley Field 1914-2014

To commemorate going to the 100th Birthday Game at Wrigley Field, Mik got a Wrigley Field 1914-2014 bat for his collection.  It has a ballpark view similar to the Wrigley Field bat he got on the ballpark trip, but it also has the 100 year logo and says Wrigley Field 1914-2014.

Accessibility Review: Wrigley Field Section 208 and Green Lot

For the Wrigley Field 100th Birthday game, I got us tickets in Section 208.  I ended up buying the tickets as part of a six game pack that was on sale before single game tickets to ensure we got tickets to the Dbacks game on April 23rd.  At the time we tried to buy parking, but they said it was not on sale until single game tickets.  Dad called back then and they still did not have parking or at least not accessible parking on sale and they took his number to call him back when it did go on sale.  We ended up with the last available accessible parking a few weeks later

The parking we got was the green lot, which is a few blocks from the park, but still very convenient.  Not anywhere near as close and nice as the parking right by the park entrance we got on the ballpark trip, but still nice to know you have a spot before heading over there, especially for such a major game.  However, the green lot is just dirt.  There are no actually spaces, but they didn't say anything about Dad leaving a huge area between the truck and the car they said for him to park back up right next to.  Rather disappointing parking situation after knowing they have good lots, but there is hope for the parking lot in the future because it is also clearly marked as being under construction.

Section 208 has much less hope, though. Mainly we didn't like the section because you cannot see the scoreboard, which is our favorite part of Wrigley. Also, the seats are not raised up more than the normal step between rows, so Mik couldn't see anything once people started standing up for the pregame ceremony.  This issue is made more annoying by the fact they have a bunch of TV screens there and they were just showing ads.  At least at Nats park for Opening Day when we couldn't see the scoreboard the TV screens there showed the pregame stuff even though the view of it was not actually obstructed.

Next time I will pay more attention when getting wheelchair seats at Wrigley and pay the extra for those ones up another level and behind home plate as while they were the most expensive on the ballpark trip they are totally worth it for an enjoyable game experience.

We will give them some credit for having cup holders for all spots in this area, which is good because while the rest of the 200 sections have cup holders I think there are still some regular sections closer to the field that don't have cup holders..  Also, the ushers are good at paying attention and bringing out the chairs for the companions.