Gordon Hartman, founder of Morgan’s Wonderland, established the inclusive theme park in San Antonio, Texas, in 2010. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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. 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. 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. A 2022 observation study and the 71% active play figure
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. The wider research context helps explain why a park like this stands out. Taylor.
The study also found that 71% of the children observed were engaged in active play. A 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. 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.