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You are here: Home / Blog / Disabled Parenting / The Place That Will Make You Actually Want to Take Your Kids to a Waterpark This Summer

The Place That Will Make You Actually Want to Take Your Kids to a Waterpark This Summer

January 29, 2020 by Erin Andrews 1 Comment

Last June, I reviewed Morgan’s Wonderland, an “ultra-accessible” playground/theme park. I promised I’d visit the separate water park there, and we went in August 2019. I figured the middle of winter is as good a time as any to write about the experience!

Logo for a Morgan’s inspiration island. Morgan’s is in cursive colored yellow, inspiration is in COLORED blue, and island is in COLORED yellow. There is a lighthouse positioned vertically to represent the eye in inspiration and the background is clip art of a beach with a starfish, waves, and a palm tree.
I’ll start by saying that I hate, absolutely hate and abhor the name of the water park. It’s called Morgan’s Inspiration Island, and I don’t need to explain to anyone in the disability community or those familiar with disability culture why the words inspiration and disability should never be used together. For everyone else: it’s an overused trope that makes my skin crawl. Watch Stella Young’s TED talk about inspiration porn.

Okay, once I vowed to ignore the awful name, it was time to hit the water park with my kids! Let me preface our visit by stating that I have never taken my kids to a water park before. Although there a a few other reasons, the primary one is that my body in a swimsuit around droves of young children in a public space is a disaster. I’m not in any way ashamed of my body, and I like to buy super cute swimsuits because I love to swim, especially with my kids.

Color photograph of the author, a white blonde woman, in a pool with head and shoulders out of the water holding a child’s colorful circular floaty toy with a toddler girl wearing a white hat inside the floaty. Both are smiling.

Author and daughter swimming at home

But my body is a foreign anomaly to young kids who have never seen a body like mine and who are naturally curious and uninhibited with their questions and staring. The problem is that my whole experience becomes about normalizing disability by smiling and waving at these kids and patiently answering their questions and telling their parents it’s okay, let them ask. And to be honest, that’s not my favorite way to spend a day. I’ve already spent too much of my life making non-disabled people feel comfortable. And it’s  just not fair to my kids. They don’t understand why I’m such a novelty to other children, and it gets annoying – fast.

 Color photograph of the back of the air powered waterproof wheelchair showing the tanks of air underneath the seat.

Air powered waterproof wheelchair from the back

So, the opportunity to go to a water park where there might be less disability-related chaos, and where I would be able to use a power wheelchair to get around instead of crawling on the ground or being pushed in a manual chair was something I could not pass up. The water park, like the main Morgan’s Wonderland, is very accessible. It’s built FOR disabled people. It’s an amazing feeling to experience this after living your lifetime in a world that constantly reminds you that was never meant for you. They expect disabled people, and no one bats an eye at missing limbs or wheelchairs or stimming.

Color photograph of the author, a white blonde woman with only a right arm and no legs using a air powered wheelchair in the splash pad area with toddler daughter running beside her.

One of many splash pad areas

The changing area was nice, and the staff were helpful. They traded my power wheelchair for a waterproof  chair that was powered by air. It was amazing! It lasts a couple hours before needing a “re-charge.” My only complaint was that the changing area was private, but not air conditioned. Texas is unbearably hot in August and I know I’m not the only crip who struggles with dressing sweaty skin. They keep your personal wheelchair in a back area only accessed by staff, but I wold put anything valuable in a locked locker.

Color photograph of the author, A white woman with blond hair, a right arm, no legs, and a left arm amputated above the elbow, wearing a two piece bathing suit in the waterproof air powered wheelchair in a splash pad area.

Author at the waterpark

I had a blast going through the park in this magical waterproof chair. I was able to do everything WITH my kids, instead of sitting back and just watching them. It was a lot of fun.

Color picture of the author's children playing at the waterpark. Author’s school aged son is having water dumped on his head streaming out of the mouth of a seahorse statue. He is wearing black swim trunks and a gray rash guard with a skull and crossbones on it. Author's toddler daughter is looking on with her back to the camera, wearing a two-piece multicolored striped swimsuit.

Author’s son getting soaked (willingly)

 

 

 

 

There’s a “restaurant” there that’s more like a glorified snack bar that takes a really long time to make nachos, but whatever. We didn’t come for the food.

The one actual ride they had was kind of a river boat, except it went very slowly. This is a theme throughout both parks. This is not the place to go if you are looking for fast and exciting rides. The vibe is definitely slower paced, making it a good choice for folks with a wide range of disabilities. I was surprised that the riverboat ride could not accommodate the waterproof wheelchairs. So I was able to ride, but I had to transfer into the boat. This was in contrast to the jeep rides and the train over at the theme park where my power wheelchair was able to go on board.

Color photograph of the riverboat coming through the canal with authors two children sitting in the front seat and another family in the rows behind them.

Author’s kids riding the slooooow riverboat

One of the other great things about this waterpark was just being around a lot of other disabled people. Many of the employees are disabled, and we met several adults and kids with developmental disabilities who were also guests there. We don’t get as many opportunities as I’d like to simply be with others in the disability community. I want my kids to understand that even though someone with Down Syndrome, for example, may not look similar to me, we are still part of the same disability culture and community.

In conclusion, I would recommend Morgan’s Inspiration Island to other disabled families looking for a waterpark experience. The waterpark is seasonal so only it is open between May and September. Check the website for dates. San Antonio has several fun and accessible attractions in addition to both Morgan’s Wonderland and Inspiration Island, so I think families could make a vacation trip out of it.

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Filed Under: Disabled Parenting Tagged With: accessibility, adult child, disability, family, San Antonio, summer, waterpark, wheelchair

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About Erin Andrews

Dr. Erin Andrews serves as a parent advisor and co-researcher for the DPP. She is a board certified rehabilitation psychologist and her areas of interest are disability as diversity, disability culture and identity development, social justice in sexuality, reproduction, and parenting, and disability in post-secondary education. Erin has published and presented nationally on a wide range of disability topics and holds positions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Texas Dell Medical School. Erin is married with two grown stepchildren and two young children; they live in Austin, Texas.

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  1. AvatarLynn Navarro says

    January 29, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Great article! I love stuff like this!

    Reply

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