An ultra-accessible
family-oriented fun park was the vision behind Morgan's Wonderland
Being accessible means much more than building ramps. It’s about developing the environment and culture of inclusion. Inclusion is so important to people with special needs – it increases their self esteem
GORDON HARTMAN
Owner, Morgan’s Wonderland theme park, San Antonio, Texas
I
'd love to talk to Katie Price about developing another theme park. Morgan’s
Wonderland, which we opened in 2010 and was inspired by my wonderful daughter Morgan, was designed for people with special needs, but we also made sure it would be a park for everyone. Many theme parks require people in wheelchairs to sit and watch everyone else having fun, whereas at our theme park
AM 4 2014 ©cybertrek 2014
everyone can do everything. We worked with Chance
Rides to develop rides which people can go onto in wheelchairs and these are now beginning to be incorporated at other theme parks. But, it’s not just about the
rides, it’s about the culture of inclusion which we've created. Morgan’s Wonderland looks
like any other park, but there are subtle differences: we don’t have fluorescent lights or latex, for example. That's because fluorescent lights can be overstimulating for children with autism, and many children with special needs have an increased propensity
for allergies – latex is one. Children with spina bifida in particular can have severe allergies to latex that can be life threatening. We also limit the number of visitors because if the park gets too crowded and loud it can also become overstimulating. The park has developed
beyond what we set out to do. We thought we'd be lucky to get 50,000 visitors a year but, without advertising, we’re getting over 100,000. Visitors have travelled here from 50 US states and 49 countries. We'll be extending the
park with an ultra-accessible waterpark in 2016. We're just
finalising the design phase and we'll start construction within six months. We want to take this concept elsewhere. Of 6.5 billion people in the world, 1 billion have special needs. Being accessible means much more than building ramps. It’s about developing the environment and culture of inclusion. Inclusion is so important to people with special needs – it increases their self-esteem. Then they try harder to participate, which leads them to do more and is a major plus in their lives. l
n
morganswonderland.com @MorgansWndrlnd
Read Attractions Management online
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