“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.” - William Arthur Ward
Traditionally I post stories of inspiration every Thursday. But there have been so many wonderfully inspiring stories this week… that I decided to save this very special story for today, when the actual event is occuring. And so it is with great pleasure that I announce Saturday April 4, the Grand Opening of Morgan’s Wonderland — the first major theme park built specifically for children and adults with special needs (Watch the Good Morning America video below).
The idea first struck Real Estate developer and philanthropist Gordon Hartman, one summer day in 2006 while watching his 12 year old (now 16) daughter attempt to interact with other children in a hotel swimming pool. Morgan, a beautiful smiling girl with severe cognitive delay had trouble engaging with the other kids and that almost moment of connection unfortunately never materialized.
From that day, Gordon set out to create a “special place for special friends”, a magical land designed specifically to match and unleash the full fun potential of the special needs community. He started out with $1 million of his own personal money, then expanded his vision to raise another $30 million from the City of San Antonio, the State of Texas, private investors, charitable foundations and corporations. Construction began in the Spring of 2009, and the end result today is a sprawling 25 acre Wonderland, filled with 25 custom-tailored attractions and innovative technology which include:
A music garden, water play area, pirate’s island, an amphitheater and the Wonderland Express — a locomotive that runs through landscapes reminiscent of exotic, faraway lands. As well as the Sensory Village with its abundance of light, touch and sound. A carousel built to lift wheelchairs up and down, as well as off-road vehicles (go-carts) that are fully accessible to wheelchair-users.
The park also offers guests special bracelets with microchips so they can keep track of children who may wander off. The radio frequency technology enables users to check on children from screens located all across the park. (courtesy abcnews)
Because crowded public spaces can often be overwhelming for many people with special needs, the park controls visitor numbers. And the best part, Morgan’s Wonderland is free to anyone with special needs. Friends, families and caregivers get in for only $5. Today, 4 years later, Gordon’s vision of a safe, accessible place where his daughter can interact with other children in an unrestrained atmosphere of excitement is finally realized. And the reaction, from the joy on the kids faces to the tears on their parents already express the magic that Gordon and Morgan have successfully created.
As one mother, Debbie West, said while watching her cerebral palsy afflicted 11 year old son, Ashton play in the park: ”You are only disabled in an environment that makes you that way. And you are not here. Seeing him without that limitation, it’s just overwhelming”
Gordon hopes that Morgan’s Wonderland will be just the first in many ultra-accesible amusement parks across the Nation. It is a beautiful and noble vision. And as always, the smiles it brings are incredibly infectious. In Gordon’s own words:
“The best thing is when these kids come up to me and hug me and say ‘thank you,’ and they don’t have to say thank you, you can see it in their eyes… That’s a good feeling.”
Thank you Gordon for spreading your good feeling with all of us, and for building such a wonderful oasis in (what can oftentimes feel) a desert of disability. It just proves that there is nothing imagination, inspiration, and love can’t overcome.
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