Cielo & Mike
Our
story.
More than twenty years of travel, one spinal cord injury, and a mission to get wheelchair users into the best of LA.
More than twenty years of travel, one spinal cord injury, and a mission to get wheelchair users into the best of LA.
Wheely Good Times started the moment Mike and Cielo decided to team up to explore the city from two different points of view.
Cielo is a born-and-raised Angeleno who spent over two decades traveling solo. She let crooked alleys, rich street-food aromas, and the kindness of strangers chart her path across the world all while earning her UCLA Global Studies degree along the way. Years on the road taught her how small moments of connection can turn an unfamiliar place into home. Over time those experiences gave her a keen eye for urban design, more specifically how public places and groups are built to welcome people in or quietly shut them out.
Navigating spaces took on an entirely new meaning alongside Mike. Rolling together with his power wheelchair, the street-level reality of Los Angeles came sharply into focus: every familiar curb, doorway, and threshold suddenly told a different story.
Recovering from a T10 spinal cord injury meant years of intense therapy, quiet grief, and uncertainty. Often the biggest obstacle isn’t the chair, it’s feeling sidelined. The mental barrier was paralyzing: the fear of venturing out when the city seemed completely unprepared for a wheelchair. Whenever Cielo suggested a concert or dinner, Mike’s reflex was to ask, “Are you sure I can do that?” It frustrated her deeply, knowing how much life was still open to him if they could just push past the doubt.
The breakthrough came when Mike chose to stop holding back. Returning to college and forcing himself to show up every day – navigating campus walkways and finding his rhythm in the crowd – rebuilt his confidence from the ground up and eventually earned him a UCLA degree as well in Philosophy.
Stepping back into the world, however, exposed the real problem: “accessible on paper” doesn’t always match real life. Venues claimed they were wheelchair friendly, but then had two-inch door thresholds or locked restrooms. Rather than hitting pause, Mike leaned in, pressed play and started scouting locations in person.
Teaming his real-world grit with Cielo’s eye for great outings, they turned every trip into actionable field notes, taking on the hassle upfront so you never have to second guess leaving the house.
Most conversations around accessibility stop at the bare-minimum: Did you get through the door? You survived though, right?
For Mike and Cielo, that bar is far too low.
Getting inside is just step one. What matters is the bass vibrating through the floorboards, the food, the crowd, and the feeling that you belong in the center of the room, not stashed by a service exit. Wheely Good Times exists because of a simple understanding: accessible entertainment is not a niche charity case, it involves a massive vibrant community ready to show up, spend, and celebrate without compromise.
This place is for the spontaneous planners, the skeptical adventurers, and anyone who’s ever stayed home because the logistics just felt too heavy. Don’t settle for spaces that merely tolerate wheels. We spotlight the places that welcome your entire crew and make having a great time effortless. You get the details before you commit so you save more, travel smarter, and focus on the fun.
Every review, guide, and outing comes back to these three.
We believe that people with disabilities are just like everyone else. We want to bring people together so we can all start treating each other with the mutual respect and accommodation everyone deserves.
Navigating a new reality can be daunting. We are here to show new wheelchair users that an incredible, fulfilling life is still out there, and we will help you find the events and venues to prove it.
We’re trying to move away from charitable language to show Los Angeles companies that considering and changing to the disability community is just good business. We bridge the gap between the disability community and local venues. By highlighting accessible experiences, we show businesses that investing in accessibility isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s a massive, untapped opportunity for all of us.
If you run an LA venue or event, we would love to talk about what the disability community brings through your door. If you are here for the best accessible brunch intel in the city, even better.
Not a venue? Say hi anyway.
The wheelchair accessible events, venues, and days out we checked in person, in one free PDF.