I visited "Top of the Rock" in August 2025.

We bought our tickets at the entrance, we paid the additional cost for SkyLift. Our tickets were full price, it's fairly standard in New York for there to be no reductions for accessibility – accessibility is usually really good though so I thought it was fair that there is no reduction.

The route to the observation deck was completely accessible – with lifts, tiled flooring and no steps. There were three observation floors, each with an indoor area and the outside deck. There were large windows all around the inside area, with low window sills which would give a good view from any height.

However, outside it’s a different story – there is a shaped edging that runs all the way around the outdoor decks on each floor. Because of the height of this, I could only see straight out between the shaped edging – I hoped that there might be a raised area for wheelchair viewing, but there was nothing. The second floor was the same and that third floor was even worse – the first and second floors had safety glass around the outside area, but on the third floor this was replaced by safety bars which obstructed my view even more.

The Skylift was a circular glass‑edged platform that rose above the 70th floor. For the first time during my visit, I could see the skyline without obstruction — and the view was spectacular. However, the platform didn’t pause for long at the top, which meant there wasn’t much time to truly take in the view. The whole experience only lasted a few minutes, so seemed very expensive for what it was – even by New York prices. On the plus side, it was completely wheelchair accessible.

Overall I was very disappointed with my visit and definitely wouldn't go back. Looking out our the windows was fine, so technically I did get to see everything – but that isn't really what you're paying for when you buy tickets to an observation deck! Maybe if my ticket price had been reduced I might have felt differently about the experience, but as it was they charge the same price to people who use a wheelchair as everyone else, even though the experience is significantly less. I did complain, and eventually got the observation deck element of the ticket price refunded – but I really think at my ticket price should have been reduced to start with.