As a child, did your family ever head to the water park to beat the heat on summer days? While splashing in the water is a fun activity that may have seemed like an everyday pastime for us as kids, people with disabilities couldn’t necessarily take advantage of water parks. Until now.
Morgan’s Inspiration Island in San Antonio, Texas is a new water park designed specifically for people with disabilities. Park founder Gordon Hartman worked with doctors, teachers, parents, special needs therapists, and caregivers to create a special extension to Morgan’s Wonderland. The extension caters to people with all different sorts of disabilities, ensuring that they can partake in the water park fun just as able-bodied people can.
Morgan’s Inspiration Island provides traceable bracelets, so parents can easily locate their children. The park also offers PneuChairs, which are air-powered, waterproof wheelchairs. Families can rent the wheelchairs for free, so they don’t need to risk getting their standard wheelchair wet. The entire park is wheelchair-accessible, and children with “special needs” are granted free admission. If guests are cold, the park can quickly change the temperature of the water for increased comfort.
“Morgan’s Inspiration Island promises to give individuals with physical or cognitive special needs a place where they can splash and play without barriers,” Gordon Hartman said. “[It] is not a special-needs park; it’s a park of inclusion.”
While water parks are great summer outings, they aren’t usually inclusive of people with disabilities.
But Morgan’s Inspiration Island is changing the game.
This is the world’s first water park made specifically for people with disabilities.
The park is designed to provide a safe, enjoyable experience for people with disabilities.
It’s an extension of Morgan’s Wonderland, located in San Antonio, Texas.
The park is named after Hartman’s daughter, Morgan, who has disabilities.
Hartman worked with teachers, parents, doctors, special needs therapists, and caregivers to design the park.
The unique park is designed to be accessible to people with all different sorts of disabilities.
Traceable bracelets let parents quickly locate their children.
PneuChairs take the place of wheelchairs and are designed for water use.
The entire park is wheelchair-accessible.
Children with special needs are granted free admission to the park.
Thanks to the park’s special design, people with physical or cognitive special needs can enjoy the water in a safe environment.
“It’s not just a special needs park, it’s a park of inclusion,” said Hartman.
What do you think of this new water park?