In 2010, a Texas father opened an accessible theme park inspired by his daughter; Morgan’s Wonderland has since welcomed more than 3.8 million guests from 50 states and 123 countries

Many mainstream theme parks emphasize thrill, capacity and spectacle, features that can create barriers for some disabled visitors. For families with a child who uses a wheelchair, is sensitive to sound, or cannot speak, a theme-park visit can become an organizational challenge. Although there are arrangements at the parks to accommodate such visitors, there is usually nothing that is pre-planned according to their requirements. In San Antonio, Texas, one individual decided to create something new by considering the opposite approach. As a homebuilder rather than an amusement-park operator, he drew inspiration from a deeply personal experience. Namely, he saw how his daughter was excluded from the playground. This experience led him to create a playground designed for everyone.From a foundation in 2005 to opening day on April 10, 2010The Gordon Hartman Foundation was established in 2005 by Gordon Hartman, a former real estate developer, to assist people with disabilities, Gulf News reports. In 2007, after realizing that other children often avoided Morgan because she could not speak, Gordon decided to create an inclusive park. Morgan’s biography of Hartman says that Morgan’s Wonderland opened on April 10, 2010, as the world’s first Ultra-Accessible theme park and the park’s own account puts the journey from the 2007 decision to opening day at 39 months. Hartman thought that families like his required a space that was less bustling than the traditional parks but was not sure that people were going to show up.A 25-acre park with a core of 25 attractions and free entry for guests with a disabilityThe park covers 25 acres and Morgan’s 2024 press release describes a core of 25 attractions that existed before the expansion. In 2024, Morgan’s Wonderland unveiled the largest expansion since its 2010 opening and Visit San Antonio’s release on the plan covers the four new attractions. A report carried by Intergame Online says the park caps daily attendance so it never gets too loud or the lines too long and admission is free for guests with special needs. Morgan’s March 2024 press release put the expansion at $6.5 million, while the plan announced the previous October had estimated $6 million, a figure Blooloop repeated. Morgan’s Wonderland’s 2024 announcement lists the four new attractions as the 4D Magic Cinema, Pirate’s Island Cruises, Rocket’s Sky Flight Adventure, which is a four-seat zip line and Jette’s Magic Bikes. According to Health Club Management, the Magic Cinema uses electric actuator-based motion effects, which can be disabled for guests who do not want motion effects.From 1.6 million guests in the first decade to more than 3.8 million todayThe family travel site Taking the Kids reported that more than 1.6 million guests from 50 states and 73 countries had visited the park during its first decade. During the 2024 expansion announcement, Hartman cited the figure as 2.7 million guests from 50 states and more than 120 countries. The park’s website currently reports more than 3.8 million guests over 16 years of operation, from 50 states and 123 countries. The number of countries represented has risen from 73 to 123, while total attendance has more than doubled.What a 2023 review of 14 playground auditing tools foundThe wider research context helps explain why a park like this stands out. A 2023 paper in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, A Scoping Review of Tools to Evaluate Existing Playgrounds for Inclusivity of Children with Disabilities, was led by Leah G. Taylor. The authors also draw attention to the fact that there are almost 240 million children who suffer from disabilities throughout the world and have problems properly participating in society. In the 2023 scoping review, there were 14 resources from both academic and grey literature on playground auditing tools found. The team synthesized features of those tools into 13 recommendations for inclusive playground design. Just two tools covered 12 of those 13 recommendations and the tools applied the notion of inclusion differently, mostly in terms of physical inclusion.The paper also notes that most of the tools were at an early stage of development and few had been formally tested for reliability and validity. Most of the tools also paid little attention to sensory, social and communication barriers. For its part, the park’s biography says it was not meant to be a separate place for people with disabilities, but a place where disabled and non-disabled visitors could share the same rides.A 2022 observation study and the 71% active play figureA second paper, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, looked at how children actually behave in an inclusive setting. The study, Children’s Usage of Inclusive Playgrounds: A Naturalistic Observation Study of Play, used two trained observers and a modified version of the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Children tool at a playground built for all ages and abilities. The study also found that 71% of the children observed were engaged in active play. Moreover, it should be noted that there were children without disabilities who seemed to be attracted to the playground. Both papers discuss further research into the interactions between the children with disabilities and playgrounds. The study observed not only the children’s activity but also their interactions and found that most were social or parallel rather than solitary. Nevertheless, neither of these two papers considered Morgan's Wonderland directly; instead, they create the background for the park. In the study of the auditing tool discussed above, it is stated that every space should be audited in regard to its current capabilities and shortcomings. It is true for every inclusive park.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.