Everyman is probably one of my favourite cinema chains in London, and I went to their Baker Street venue for over a decade. However, in order to even get into the cinema itself, you have to go down a number of stairs, which quelle surprise did not make my knees all that happy. Now that I’m a wheelchair user, going there isn’t really an option (unless we literally carry the chair down the stairs – which we have done twice but it was far from ideal), especially because the nearest station isn’t accessible either.
So, I was intrigued to hear from Sebastian after a recent visit to their King’s Cross venue, that it looked like it would be a more accessible option for me, so we decided to give it a try. We popped along today to watch Booksmart (HIGHLY RECOMMEND, BTW!), and I thought I’d share my access experiences.
My standard disclaimer here: I am an ambulatory wheelchair user with limited mobility. My experiences will be based off of that and whether it was accessible for me. I am not an expert in access for other conditions, but am hoping to get some training on this in the future and become more educated.
Before we start, a tip!
If you’re disabled and meet their criteria, you’re able to apply for a CEA Card, which is a national card scheme for cinemas in the UK which gives disabled customers a free companion ticket (at participating cinemas). The free ticket is provided on the assumption that the person you take with you will provide assistance.
They have a really thorough FAQ section, and you can find more information here. The card costs £6 and overall has been really helpful for us over the last few years.
Booking
My first port of call to find out about accessibility for any venue is to visit their website. On the page for Everyman King’s Cross there was some information, which isn’t always a given, so that was reassuring.
There is one removable seat for wheelchair in each Screen 1, 2 & 3 and there are two wheelchair positions provided in Screen 4. There is access via lift to Screens 1, 2 & 3 and shared accessible toilet all with level access to Screen 4.
I couldn’t find any information for customers with visual impairments or information about films that are subtitled.
Frustratingly, there is no online booking option for people who have a CEA card at the Everyman. I have spoken to them about this for a number of years, and was told that it was coming, but it still hasn’t. I understand that not all of their cinemas are wheelchair accessible, but not all disabled people are wheelchair users, and the inability to book online is yet another example of disabled people having to spend extra time (and often money) that they wouldn’t have otherwise had to.
Their reasoning for this is that they have no way of validating the CEA card online:
You can book using a CEA Card via our venue box offices or by calling our Customer Service Line on 01233 504815. Please make sure you have your CEA Card number ready when calling the Customer Service Line. We are unfortunately unable to take the payment online at the moment because our website has no way of verifying the CEA Card.
And look, of course booking something like a cinema ticket isn’t exactly a long or difficult process. But it’s still extra time that I wouldn’t have had to spend just to make a booking, and all that stuff really adds up and gets frustrating.
Getting There
Bar a few transport access issues that aren’t relevant to this review, getting to the cinema from the nearest station, King’s Cross was easy. We exited from the Northern line platform and took two lifts to get to street level. It was then a flat and easy roll to the venue, passing a bunch of stuff that wasn’t built the last time I was up there! I will quickly note that on the way home, even though the platform was supposedly level with the train, the train was too high for my chair to get on, so I had to get out and Sebastian had to carry it on. This always makes me feel really vulnerable and especially annoyed at the platforms that I should in theory be able to use myself.
The Venue
The Everyman shares a building with a pizza place and a few offices, including Google DeepMind. When you enter through the automatic doors, you’ll see a little ticket desk ahead of you. There was nobody there when I got there, so we went straight upstairs, using the lift on the left-hand side. The lift is a proper lift (not the incredibly slow push button jolty lift that are at some other cinemas) and had enough room that I didn’t end up crashing into the sides when getting out.
Because of the set-up, with different parts of the cinema set over different floors, I did manage to get lost at one point (more below), but I really enjoyed the art-deco inspired design, and it all felt very pleasant and open.. It’s much bigger than the Baker Street venue, so it felt a lot less stressful being there (I struggle being in more cramped places with a lot of people around!)
We’d booked our tickets online, so we went to the bar to order a couple of sundaes (they do a bunch of sweet and savoury food options), which would be brought to our seats before the film started.
A Quick Loo Break
The disabled loo was just before the bar (I didn’t get a picture this time but I will add one in if I go again – I was distracted by cramps!).
There was one swing door, and the loo itself was on the lefthand side next to what I think was the kitchen. The door was light enough for me to open without pain (something which was surprisingly not a given), and the room was big enough for me to easily drive my chair in.
They had a red emergency cord which went all the way to the floor and an emergency button to the right of the toilet. The only quibble was that the hand dryer was located in an awkward position next to the loo which made it a bit uncomfortable to stretch to, and also ended up spraying water over the toilet itself.
So, it was perfectly suitable for my needs, however, I’m not sure that it meets the full Changing Places standards (I’m not an expert on this and will make sure to fill in more information about this next time I go).
The Screen
I got a bit lost finding Screen 1. I went to the loo (again) before going in, and then was supposed to meet Sebastian by our sofa as the loo for him was on a different floor. I’d been told that the screen was downstairs, and I hadn’t seen it on the ground floor, so went to the basement. I got out of the lift and it was pretty dark. There was a door with a sign ‘to the screens’ which took you to stairs, and another door to the other loos, so I went back up and figured out that the screen was behind the stairs on the first floor. I didn’t notice it marked at all, but I may have just not looked in the right place!
There was one wheelchair space at the back of the room, but because I tend to struggle sitting in one place for a prolonged period of time, unless there’s a safety reason at a venue which means I need to stay in my chair, I usually prefer to transfer.
One one of my favourite things about the Everyman are their sofas and cushions, which give me more freedom to move my body around and sit in a way that doesn’t cause as much pain.
I made the decision to go down a few small steps to get to the sofa, which was so incredibly comfortable, and really helped me enjoy the experience way more than if I’d been sitting in my chair. Additionally, the screen was so spacious that there was actually a good amount of space between each row, which meant for the first time in a cinema, I wasn’t nervous when someone walked past me to get to their seat (it probably helps that I have short legs which when tucked away left a lot of space!)
In Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at the Everyman King’s Cross, and we’ll probably make this our go-to cinema from now on. Everyman cinemas are expensive, but using the CEA card makes it more affordable to us, which means we’re able to go somewhere that is ultimately more comfortable and less stressful (and therefore a place I’m likely to spend my energy on going out). It is further away from where we live than other places, but generally the journey and the venue itself are less stressful than other accessible cinemas we’ve been to.
The staff at every Everyman I’ve been to have been great, and this was no exception. They were incredibly helpful, non-patronising (it’s sad this has to be a consideration), and I felt pretty relaxed being there, and generally wasn’t worried that I would face any issues.
The sofas were extremely comfortable, and I loved that it was spacious enough to not make me scared of being injured. We love that we can have food and drinks delivered to our seat, and overall it was a thoroughly positive day out. If I can leave a venue without having any problems, it’s a win in my book.
The only real disappointment for me is the lack of online booking options, and I really hope they do look into this in the future.
What is your favourite London cinema for access? Let me know in the comments below! If you liked this post, please subscribe to my newsletter!
Disclosure: This post is not sponsored. The dress and wheelchair featured in my top image were gifted to me previously.
1 thought on “Access Review: Everyman King’s Cross”
I loved the Renoir cinemas which are now called the Curzon cinemas in Brunswick Square. There use to be three cinemas, but they put six and there are elevators where people can go down. I assume that this cinema is wheelchair accessible, but I have only been there a few times and I do not need a wheelchair. I can walk downstairs with my two feet. There is the Odeon, but I never been to this cinema during my visits in London, so I do not know whether it is wheelchair accessible or not. At the cinemas, I think that there is a concessions ticket where seniors, students, and people with disabilities can pay, but I do not know, since I do not live in London. I am glad that they gave you a special card for the Everyman King Cross cinema and it is wheelchair accessible. Did you ever been to the Curzon cinemas and Odeon cinemas in London?