Morgan's Wonderland is an accessibility-focused

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

founded in 2010. Disabled individuals can attend the park for free.

History

In 2005, Gordon Hartman, a former homebuilder from San Antonio, sold his homebuilding business to establish The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation so he and his wife, Maggie, could aid children and adults with special needs. During a family vacation, his daughter Morgan wanted to play with kids tossing a ball in a hotel swimming pool, but when she approached them, they abruptly took their ball and vanished. That incident inspired Hartman to build Morgan's Wonderland. On March 3, 2010, Morgan's Wonderland opened, with basketball player

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

and actress

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...

as special guests. Starting in 2012,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

joined the park as a long-term sponsor. In 2020 the park closed after only 11 days into the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The park reopened for the 2021 season at limited capacity. In 2022 the park hosted the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

Texas Summer Games. Morgan's Wonderland has had over a net million guests since its opening in 2010.

Attractions

The park has playgrounds, gardens, a catch-and-release

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

lake, a sensory play center, a special-event center, and 575-seat amphitheater. Rides at the park include a Ferris wheel, miniature train, and a carousel.

Events

The park holds a Snowball Run annually in December, which involves both 5K and 1K walking/running events. The events are open to all ages and abilities.

Related complexes

Morgan's Inspiration Island

On June 17, 2017, Morgan's Wonderland unveiled the Morgan's Inspiration Island splash park. The park features waterproof wheelchairs that guests can use. Some parts of the park use warm water, to be accessible to visitors with certain muscular conditions.

Morgan's Wonderland Sports Complex

In 2021 the park opened the Morgan's Wonderland Sports Complex, which includes

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

-accessible

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

and football fields, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, pickleball,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

courts.

Morgan's Wonderland Camp

In summer 2022 the park opened Morgan's Wonderland Camp, an accessible camping program that can serve about 500 campers of any ability. The San Antonio Food Bank uses the camp's kitchen year-round.

Multi-Assistance Center

The Multi-Assistance Center (MAC), which provides medical services to disabled individuals, opened on October 2, 2022. As of its opening, services provided included therapeutic care, dental care, and same day surgery.

Awards and recognition

Morgan's Wonderland and Morgan's Inspiration Island have been acclaimed for their emphases on inclusion and

accessible design Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

References

{{San Antonio Accessibility 2010 establishments in Texas Tourist attractions in San Antonio Amusement parks in Texas Water parks in Texas Buildings and structures in San Antonio