Six Flags Announces Closure of Another Iconic Park After 50 Years of Operation

It’s always a sad day whenever a fan-favorite theme park announces that it’s closing its doors. Such is especially the case for an amusement park with as lengthy a history as California’s Great America.
Since opening for the public in 1976, Santa Clara’s premiere theme park property has delighted fans across countless generations, thanks in large part to its family-friendly atmosphere and fast-paced thrill rides.
Sadly, history seems to be coming to an end for the iconic West Coast park, with its parent company Six Flags setting a closing date for the park in the very near future.
Fortunately, most travelers and amusement park fans still have a decent amount of time to visit California’s Great America one last time before its eventual closure. More recently, Six Flags has confirmed that the park will remain open at least until after the 2027 season.
While the company has the option of extending its lease on the land holding Great America’s property, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow said that such an extension remains incredibly unlikely.
“Unless we decide to extend, and exercise one of our options to extend that lease, that park’s last year without that extension would be after the ’27 season,” Witherow said during the most recent Six Flags Investor Day.

Six Flag’s closure of California’s Great America comes a short time after the company’s property in Bowie, Maryland (Six Flags America) similarly announced their closing dates. Unlike Great America, though, Maryland’s Six Flags America is expected to shutter after its 2025 season.
In the past, Great America achieved long-standing for its eclectic variety of rides and attractions, including the award-winning Gold Striker wooden roller coaster, RailBlazer and the inverted Flight Deck roller coaster.
Additionally, the park is best known for providing backdrops for such films as Beverly Hills Cop III and the Ted Danson-led Getting Even with Dad.