Inclusive Tower Ride at Morgan’s Wonderland Now Open

(eap) The Texas-based theme park Morgan’s Wonderland, which specializes in inclusive attractions and rides, celebrated the opening of its new tower ride “WingZ of Wonder” last weekend. In specially configured gondolas themed as butterflies, both children and adults can ride together, interactively lift their gondola upward with “flapping” arm movements or – in the case of physical limitations – receive assistance in doing so. The attraction is also accessible for wheelchair users.

© Photo: P Michael James The twelve-meter-tall ride by Italian manufacturer Zamperla was first presented to the professional audience at the IAAPA Expo 2025 in Orlando (see EAP trade show report in issue 1/2026). It requires a footprint of 13 meters in diameter and reaches a theoretical hourly capacity of 320 people. Guests may ride from a height of 90 centimeters when accompanied, or from 1.2 meters unaccompanied.

The ride, developed by Zamperla’s engineers in close collaboration with the Morgan’s Inclusion Institute, aims to promote social participation for people with disabilities in amusement parks and create shared experiences for families and groups of friends. Thanks to a cable-driven system, the ride movements are described as particularly smooth and precise, while the interactive element allows each rider to control the movement dynamics of their gondola individually.

Park President Catherine Lorenzo said: “WingZ of Wonder represents what’s possible when engineering starts with inclusion as a design requirement, not an afterthought. Zamperla listened closely to how our guests move, play, and experience rides, and the result is an intuitive attraction never before seen in this industry.”

Antonio Zamperla, CEO of the manufacturing company, added: “With WingZ of Wonder, we are proud to bring our All Access commitment to life in a powerful way, creating opportunities for fun that can be experienced together. Supporting Morgan’s Wonderland, recognized globally for its inclusive mission, makes this project especially meaningful for our team.”

Opened in 2010, Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio now offers more than 25 barrier-free rides, play areas and interactive attractions across an area of around ten hectares. Insights into best practices for greater inclusion within the European leisure industry and key aspects to consider when designing accessible offerings can be found in the EAP special feature “Accessibility in European Theme Parks” in magazine issue 3/2025. ■