A father from Texas said there were no theme parks where his disabled daughter could play. So he decided to build one.
Gordon Hartman had just got out of the swimming pool on a family holiday, when his 12-year-old daughter Morgan went up to some children playing in the water. She tried to make friends with them but they quickly left the pool. Hartman thought they ran away from her because they didn't know how to react to someone with a disability—Morgan has the cognitive understanding of a five-year-old child as well as a form of autism(自闭症).
The incident played on his mind. Hartman and his wife Maggie asked other parents where they could take their daughter—somewhere she would feel comfortable, and others would feel comfortable staying with her. But they couldn’t find such a place. So in 2007 he decided to build it himself. He sold his businesses in 2005. Then he started to create the "world's first ultra-accessible theme park". He brought together doctors, parents and other people with and without disabilities to consult on the equipment. These were built on the 25-acre site in San Antonio, Texas.
The park, called Morgan's Wonderland, cost $34 million and opened in 2010. Attractions include a fully-accessible Ferris wheel, adventure playground and small train. Visitors often tell Hartman it is the first time that they've been able to experience such attractions.
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