If Disney is the Magic Kingdom, this is the Magic Kingdom\u2019s cooler sister.<\/p>\n

Morgan\u2019s Island Water Park<\/a> is the place where kids with special needs aren\u2019t just included; they are ushered in with open arms and free admission. Yes, you read that right. All kids with disabilities get into this water-themed park for free, and that\u2019s just the beginning of its charm.<\/p>\n

As the mom of a son with cerebral palsy, we know what \u201chandicap accessible\u201d usually means for a person who makes 90 percent of his movements in a wheelchair. It means ramps with bumps and peak-like curbs. It means elevators in dark corners far away from the main attractions. It means winding paths that you cross your fingers on, hoping they will wind you back to the main thoroughfare. It\u2019s often a game of trust and secret doors and mazes that make you wish for the wheelchair edition of Uber.<\/p>\n

But Morgan\u2019s Island seems to be the anomaly. No more ramps. How about riverboats that rise to meet you instead? No more lugging my 40-pound five-year-old through the splash pads so he can get in on the action. They\u2019ve got waterproof wheelchairs instead that run on air, the \u201cPneuChair,\u201d<\/a> which you can check out \u2013 for free. It\u2019s like a wormhole into Marty McFly\u2019s better world.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had the opportunity to go to Disney World and let it pass us by. Even with the fast passes for those with special needs, it just felt too\u2026daunting. But Gordon Hartman, the owner and creator of Morgan\u2019s Island, seems to have thought of everything. He\u2019s even installed areas for privacy when kids need to be moved in and out of wheelchairs. He\u2019s got water-proof wristbands for tracking your kid if you know he or she is a wanderer.<\/p>\n

Oh, and if your child is sensitive to water temperatures? No problem. The park can adjust the temps to their comfort level. And one of the biggest things for us: Hartman has limited attendance to half-capacity to keep the crowds down. One trip to an especially busy farmer\u2019s market can send my son into a tailspin, so I appreciate the sanctity of a little space.<\/p>\n

Hartman says his main goal is \u201cinclusion for those with and without disabilities.\u201d As the father of Morgan, a young woman with disabilities of her own, his foresight makes sense. This is what all parents of kids with special needs learn to do \u2013 think ahead to all contingencies. That\u2019s why he brought in other parents, therapists, and doctors to consult during the planning phase.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hartman has also created a workforce, a third of which is adults with special needs. When my son sees a grown-up spinning wheelies in his wheelchair or using sign language with him, he gets to see a glimpse of a successful future, and so do I as his mom.<\/p>\n

When asked about this non-profit park<\/a>, Hartman said, \u201cIt is the most fulfilling work I could ask for\u2026. It\u2019s better than making a dollar. This isn\u2019t even work, this is something different. I don\u2019t wake up for work feeling tired, I wake up wanting to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

The park opened Father\u2019s Day weekend to great aplomb, and we\u2019re planning our trip now. I\u2019ve shown the videos to my son. He points at the screen and laughs and signs for \u201cmore.\u201d I\u2019ve tried to explain that you can\u2019t have more of something you\u2019ve never had. But in this instance, I catch myself thinking \u201cmore,\u201d too.<\/p>\n

I want more of this in the world \u2013 more places where \u201call-inclusive\u201d really does mean what it says. At least we\u2019ve got a start.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*This article originally appeared in Parent.co<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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If Disney is the Magic Kingdom, this is the Magic Kingdom\u2019s cooler sister. Morgan\u2019s Island Water Park is the place where kids with special needs aren\u2019t just included; they are ushered in with open arms and free admission. Yes, you read that right. All kids with disabilities get into this water-themed park for free, and that\u2019s just the beginning of its charm. As the mom of a son with cerebral palsy, we know what \u201chandicap …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[86,23,11,26],"tags":[78,28,97,250,46,34,209,55,136,54,84,15,64,257,37,135,237,208,52],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mom-gene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Screen-Shot-2017-06-23-at-3.44.44-PM.png?fit=770%2C487&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ca5p-JY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2850"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2860,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions\/2860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}