Gordon Hartman and his wife Maggie have a special needs daughter named Morgan. They came to realize that there weren’t any amusement parks that she could enjoy. So, they decided to build one!
Hartman sold his successful homebuilding business to set up The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities. The first project: building the "world's first ultra-accessible theme park".
Hartman gathered a group of doctors, therapists, parents and other people with and without disabilities to provide input.
The park, called Morgan's Wonderland, was built on a 25 acre abandoned quarry site in San Antonio and cost $34m. There is a fully-accessible Ferris wheel, adventure playground and a bunch of other rides including a carousel with specially designed platforms for wheelchairs that go up and down alongside the animals.
The park has hosted more than a million visitors from every state and 67 countries. A third of staff have disabilities and admission is free.
Check out the post-COVID reopening below:
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash