Seneca Niagara Casino

Posted by Megan Drummond May 21, 2007

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend (you’ll most likely read a lot about him in future blogs) and I attended a Bobby Flay show at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel. I didn’t hear about the show until about a week beforehand and since it was such a short time before the show, I anticipated some problems getting accessible seating. I never expected, though, all the hassles I ran into.

It took me fours hours on a Monday just to order two tickets. I started by calling the box office at the casino and was told that they didn’t sell accessible seating over the phone. I would either have to stop by the casino and purchase them in person (the two-hour drive made that option impossible) or call Ticketmaster and buy them. So I thanked them and called Ticketmaster.

The woman who answered the phone spoke, like most operators anymore, only very broken English. Between that and my own slight speech impediment, it was a fun conversation. Once I finally got her to understand the details of the show, she told me that Ticketmaster didn’t sell accessible seating for that show. I told the operator, as politely as I could manage at that point, what the casino had told me.

I called the casino again and the woman who answered told me there was no accessible seating available at all at the show. Not that they were sold out,; that there was none available. I was so shocked and upset that I didn’t know what to say and just hung up. I waited a few minutes to calm myself down and called back, armed with a rant about the ADA and getting a lawyer. Luckily, though, I did not need to use it since I spoke with a senior employee who knew what she was doing and got me all squared away.

Fast forward to the show. Their “accessible” seating had me sitting at the end of a row where all I could see was the black curtain that surrounded the stage and the camera that had been set up to record the show. I was not happy but I was okay since I’ve dealt with this all my life (there are times when you just don’t feel up to the fight). Ian was livid, however, and complained to anyone with an official-looking nametag. And he succeeded. We got moved to center stage where I could see. We didn’t get to sit together (he was directly behind me) but that was better than sitting together and staring at a curtain.

The whole point of this rather long-winded story is to beware when you get accessible seating for a show. Do your research and ask questions to know what you’re getting and if you’ll be able to see the stage. Good luck and enjoy the show!