Abstract
The word “disability” is defined as, “A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities” (Brennan, p. 1, 2013). In order to provide more inclusive environments for individuals with various disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed and passed by George H. Bush in 1990 which supported their natural human rights and prevented discrimination. However, any architectural structures built before the passing of this act may be inaccessible and cause segregation due to the lack of Universal Design (UD) for people requiring special needs, which includes a handful of long-standing amusement parks. Therefore, it was hypothesized that a majority of U.S. amusement parks will be inaccessible and lack diverse accommodating services to create an inclusive environments for persons with disabilities.
The hope of this particular study is to spread awareness and further inspire future research related to the prevalence of accessibility features of public spaces and how they impact individual daily occupations and basic human functions. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with three (3) participants in order to collect personal responses and feedback regarding accessibility features of various amusement parks. The theme parks discussed during the interviews included Coney Island, Holiday World, attractions at the Indianapolis Zoo, and Walt Disney World. After the completion of semi-structured interviews, participant responses were coded using Qualitative Description Analysis that revealed four underlying themes.
Semester/Year of Award
Spring 2020
Mentor
Julie A. Duckart
Mentor Department Affiliation
Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Access Options
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
Bachelor Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Scholars
Degree Level
Bachelor's
Department
Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Department Name when Degree Awarded
Occupational Therapy
IRB Approval Number (if applicable)
002732
Recommended Citation
Carl, Morgan, "‘It’s An Accessible World After All’: Evaluation of Amusement Park Accessibility and Accommodations for Guests with Disabilities" (2020). Honors Theses. 741.
https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/741
