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International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

ICFA Accessibility Policy

By In IAFA, ICFA On February 17, 2016


ICFA is committed to being an accessible conference that supports the varied needs of our members. We understand how important it is for our attendees and panelists to feel comfortable and welcome.

The conference is held at the Orlando Marriott Lakeside Hotel. Members should be aware of the following:

  1. The hotel has a number of mobility accessible rooms, which include full deaf alert systems. Members can select rooms with roll-in showers or handle-grip tubs (please note that the tubs are generally available only with rooms with single king sized beds.) Most of the mobility accessible rooms are not equipped with refrigerators; if you have medication that needs to be refrigerated, please contact the hotel in advance to arrange for a refrigerator in your room, or contact ICFA staff for assistance.

The main hotel registration desk is not fully accessible.

Please note that mobility accessible rooms are limited and may sell out. All nearby hotels contain at least eight mobility accessible rooms per hotel.

  1. Following Florida law, service animals are allowed for guests with disabilities.
  1. The hotel does not have a disabled accessible restroom on the second floor, where some panels are held.  Two elevators provide access to the disabled accessible restrooms on the ground level.  Many panels are held in in the hotel’s ballroom event area, which has fully accessible restrooms.
  1. The hotel’s lunchtime restaurant/bar area is divided by stairs. Members can reach the ground floor area directly, or reach the top area through a long access ramp off to the side of the bar.
  1. The hotel’s complimentary shuttle service is not wheelchair accessible. Boarding this service requires climbing three steps.
  1. The Orange County Lynx Bus service and all theme park buses are wheelchair accessible. Most services will require wheelchair users to use the complimentary seatbelts/straps.  Many Orlando taxis offer roll in wheelchair service; please alert the taxi service when making your reservation.  The Marriott hotel will be able to assist you with finding accessible taxi services.

Please note that ACCESS Lynx is not available at this time to out of state residents.

  1. Although a sidewalk does lead away from the hotel, it does not fully connect to other sidewalks offering access to local restaurants and overflow hotels. The curb cut from this sidewalk to the street is tilted and may cause issues for heavy power chairs and mobility scooters.  The curb cut from the main guest parking lot into the hotel is narrow and may cause issues for heavy power chairs and mobility scooters. The curb cut from the parking lot by the main ballroom area is fully accessible; that, and the main lobby entrance, are recommended entrances for wheelchair users.
  1. The hotel pool has a lift; although labeled self-operating, guests will need the assistance of hotel staff to use it.
  1. The Marriott hotel currently uses fluorescent lighting in most of its meeting rooms. The restaurant and bar area use a mix of LED and fluorescent lighting.
  1. Our banquet menus have been selected to offer a broad variety of foods, including clearly labeled vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free options.
  1. At this time, financial restrictions preclude us from offering ASL interpreters or captioning. We welcome any suggestions on how we can improve accessibility for members in this area.