SAN ANTONIO – KSAT’s Solutionaries series shines a spotlight on the people, programs, and places that are finding ways to solve problems in our community. One person locally isn’t just filling a gap in San Antonio but across the globe.
Gordon Hartman is the definition of a Solutionary.
Hartman created the world’s first-ever all-inclusive theme park for people with special needs.
Since Morgan’s Wonderland, he’s added around 13 other projects for that population.
KSAT’s Solutionaries team took a day to stroll around the park with Hartman, asking him to go back to the beginning.
“One of my first jobs was actually walking dogs when I was very young because if I could walk a dog around the block, I got 50 cents. So I started thinking, ‘Well, if I can have numerous dogs with me at one time, I can make maybe $2.50 every time I go around the block,” Hartman said, pulling out memories.
That mindset fueled the entrepreneur in him, starting his first business at 15, a landscaping rotation.
As he gained skills, his eventual homebuilding business brought tremendous success.
“I, many times, think of my life split into three parts. I spent 20 years as a kid, 20 years as a businessman, and now 20 years as what I referred to as a social worker. I really like to get in-depth into what we’re doing, not just give funds to things, make it something that’s well — we’re all engaged in the process,” he said.
In 2005, Hartman sold his companies and developed the idea for something that had never been done before. It was all inspired by his beautiful daughter, Morgan, who has special needs.
“Morgan has everything that she needs. She has all the doctors. She has all the therapists. She has a great caregiver. She has two loving parents who serve as her navigators. That many times is an exception to the rule. We wanted other families to have that,” Hartman said.
So he dreamt up Morgan’s Wonderland, the first theme park in the world fully available to people of all abilities, where people with special needs can come without stress for free.
Walking around the park, Hartman pointed out each station was designed carefully and with innovation in mind.
“This is our 4D Theater. And what’s unique about it is that if someone’s in a wheelchair, they’re sitting here,” he said.
Hartman pointed to a front row of spots where wheelchairs could be secured and tilted for the ride.
“They get the same spray of the water, the same air, and then the up and down of the feeling of being on a roller coaster,” Hartman explained. “The person in a wheelchair is not sitting there and going, ‘I wish I could be a part.”
The rides around the park keep that in mind, whether it’s wheelchairs, cognitive delays, hearing or visual impairment.
Proof of that is in the music area, where different instruments are placed for anyone to play.
“A symphony of just enjoyment and just a feeling of being apart, and that’s what this is,” he said.
The sounds are not loud or high-pitched intentionally to avoid triggering people who are sensory-sensitive.
Every single inch of the park is meticulously planned with the most crucial input.
“We went out to the special needs community. We went out to doctors, we went out to therapists, we went out to grandparents, we went out to caregivers. We had numerous town halls to learn, and then from that is how we determine what to build,” Hartman said.
The goal is to give people with special needs a seat at the table, which has worked. Now, nearly 3 million people from over 122 countries and all 50 states have come to Morgan’s Wonderland.
“Many times I heard about, ‘I saw my daughter or my son do something I never thought they would be able to do before’. Then they talk about how their self-esteem is different when they leave Morgan’s,” Hartman said.
Hartman sees the same emotion across the park.
“I have seen teenagers cry here because they’ve never been on a swing ever in their life,” he said. “We have 60 swings here — five different types.”
That feedback, starting in 2010, was initially so powerful that Hartman couldn’t stop there. So, in 2017, they opened Inspiration Island, the world’s first ultra-accessible water park.
“It’s warmer waters because not everybody can handle tap water. Also, take someone who’s in a wheelchair. Many times, they look and they watch people who are having fun. We have a wheelchair valet. Privately, you change into another wheelchair that we have that can handle the chlorinated water,” Hartman said.
Fast forward to 2021, they opened Morgan’s Camp, a summer camp-style program for everyone.
“We have the only challenge course that we know of, where we actually have someone in a wheelchair enjoying at 22 feet in the air. Someone who has visual impairment, cognitive impairment can enjoy that,” Hartman said.
A month later came Morgan’s Sports, a three-acre ultra-accessible sports center for athletes of all ages and abilities.
By 2022, they looked beyond just the fun of parks and camps and opened Morgan’s Multi Assistance Center, or the MAC, a central one-stop-shop for life-changing resources.
“We navigate individuals with special needs from medical therapeutic and other needs that they may have, such as food insecurities or whatever legal issues,” Hartman said.
It’s the framework of a massive solution for communities worldwide that struggle with ways to support their special needs families, especially when it comes to jobs or health care.
“We make sure the follow-through is there, and that’s what’s important, so they don’t fall through the cracks,” Hartman said.
The people they’ve caught falling through those cracks fuel the continued programs that bring even more people to San Antonio.
“Morgan’s Salon opened at the beginning of this year. We’ve had people come here who have never had a professional haircut before because they wouldn’t sit still or they didn’t feel comfortable, whatever the case may be. Sometimes haircuts may take two or three hours, and that’s OK,” Hartman said.
Their new Ambulatory Surgical Center is opening in a month, and right now, they’re expanding their dental facilities.
After winning award after award, Hartman had to create a place to teach all the people who want to replicate this globally.
“We’re building Morgab Inclusion Campus, which will include our institute, which will be an opportunity for people to come from all over the world to be able to learn about what we are doing,” he said.
Now zoom back into that day when a KSAT crew was walking around Morgan’s Wonderland with Hartman.
At the end of that conversation listing accolades and plans, Hartman’s message was quite simple: belief.
A Solutionary has to have belief in ideas, no matter how risky.
“It was a risk because when we built Morgan’s Wonderland, we didn’t know if anyone was going to show up. We didn’t know. It had never been done before. It’s like when I was in the homebuilding business and opened subdivision. I hope someone wants to live here! And luckily, it worked out,” he said with a laugh.
Standing in the present, it’s easy to look back and see how the pieces have all connected.
All the success, no matter what kind, has been measured by belief in the community.
“I think about that story of the mother who tells me, ‘I’m not so concerned about my son’s physical issues and some of his cognitive issues. My biggest concern is he’s lonely.’ And so inclusion allows us an opportunity to bring everybody together,” Hartman said.
That’s why he has no plans of stopping at the present. He said with a smile to stay tuned for the future.