's Wonderland Celebrates Grand Opening

[Guest guest]

http://www.ksat.com/news/23113462/detail.html's Wonderland Celebrates

Grand Opening

POSTED: Saturday, April 10, 2010

UPDATED: 10:40 pm CDT April 10, 2010

*SAN ANTONIO -- *Thousands of people turned out Saturday for the official

grand opening of 's Wonderland in San .The park is a

first-of-its-kind, designed for people with special needs.Amber who

brought her 5-year-old son, , said this park means will no

longer have to " sit on the sidelines. " " He's able to interact with children

that have a lot of the same issues that he has, " said . " It's great

to see him smiling and interacting with kids, not to be left out. " The park

features swings and several other rides, including a carousel and a park

train, built to fit wheelchairs.Founder Gordon Hartman told KSAT 12 on

Saturday that the inspiration for the park comes from his 16-year-old

daughter, , who inspired him to create a place for those with special

needs and their families. " By watching her and seeing her desire to want to

be with others made us think, hey, we can do better, we can build a park for

everybody and that's what 's Wonderland is all about, " said

Hartman.The grand opening ceremonies featured appearances by

and Eva Longoria-. told the crowd she is glad the park is in San

for her sister to enjoy. " This is something that was always a problem

growing up, worrying about my sister and where we could go and how we could

do vacation, " said . " So. to be here with Gordon and to see his dream

come true is pretty awesome. " " It really is momentous, " said .

" It's just a great forward thinking project. It's going to be a place for a

lot of people, a lot of families to have great joy together. " And while

Saturday marked the official grand opening, the park has actually been open

for a little more than a month.During that time, the response from visitors

has already been overwhelming. " We hope everybody will go home this evening

with a very good feeling about this great addition to San , " said Bob

McCullough with 's Wonderland.

*Copyright 2010 by KSAT.com All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.*

*

*

[Guest guest]

Irma:

That is wonderful!

I didn't know Eva Longoria had a sister with special needs. What special

needs does she have?

Heidi

[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

It was a blast yesterday evening.

Yes, as a matter she is also Founder of Eva's Heroes here in SA.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i15e631438\

4dccfe3119d7918963cf31a

http://www.showbizspy.com/article/55773/eva-longoria-says-having-a-mentally-chal\

lenged-sister-helped-her-get-life-into-perspective.html

I do not know what her sister's diagnosis is but only know that she mentions

" mentally challenged " . Her mother was a Special Education teacher.

http://www.evasheroes.org/

Fwding. as is via 's Wonderland Park:

's Wonderland

Thank

you so much for coming to the Grand Opening tonight!! We enjoyed having

over 10,000 of you!!! If you have been before, you know we rarely have

lines; this is because we control how many come through the front door.

Tonight was more like an open house. When you return again, it will ...be

back to normal. Thanks ...so much for your love and support!!! Don't forget

to post photos on our Flickr site (http://bit.ly/dkjwP3) and videos on

YouTube (we will share these on our YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/cjQjIj))!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morganswonderland/

Irma,21,DS/ASD

>

>

> Irma:

>

> That is wonderful!

>

> I didn't know Eva Longoria had a sister with special needs. What special

> needs does she have?

>

> Heidi

>

>