History of Great America & Which Parks Are Still Open Today?
Long before Great America became several theme parks, it started with a company most people still associate with hotels. In the 1970s, Marriott decided to enter the theme park business, likely after seeing the success of Disney’s parks. The company planned a chain of big, clean, family-friendly parks filled with rides, shows, food, music, costumed characters, and patriotic nostalgia. The first two parks opened in 1976, right as the country was celebrating the Bicentennial. Only two Great America parks were ever built, one in Santa Clara, California, and one in Gurnee, Illinois. Both opened in 1976, changed owners over the years, and are still open today.
Other Six Flags parks, including Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia, and Six Flags Magic Mountain, have their own separate histories and were not part of Marriott’s original Great America plan.
California’s Great America
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California’s Great America opened first, on March 20, 1976, in Santa Clara. Back then, it was called Marriott’s Great America. The park had a big, showy entrance, themed areas, live entertainment, and one of its most recognizable opening-day landmarks, the double-decker Carousel Columbia. Marriott did not stay in the theme park business for very long, as the park proved unprofitable for the company.
The Santa Clara park was sold in the 1980s, later joined the Paramount Parks family, and was acquired by Cedar Fair in 2006. After Cedar Fair and Six Flags merged in 2024, California’s Great America became part of the larger Six Flags company. In 2022, Cedar Fair sold the land under California’s Great America to Prologis for about $310 million and leased it back, allowing the park to keep operating for several more years.
The park is still open in 2026 and is celebrating its 50th season, but its long-term future is uncertain. The current lease runs through June 30, 2028, with an option to extend it through 2033. Without that extension, 2027 could be the park’s final operating season.
Six Flags Great America
The second Marriott’s Great America opened in Gurnee, Illinois, on May 29, 1976. It was built as a sister park to the Santa Clara location, with a similar layout and themed lands. For families in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas, it became a summer tradition. Marriott sold the Gurnee park in 1984, and it became Six Flags Great America. Over the decades, the park added larger rides and more thrill-oriented attractions while also preserving elements of its original history. One of the most beloved examples is Whizzer, an opening-year coaster from 1976 that is still operating today. The parks also featured Looney Tunes characters, which later became an even bigger part of Six Flags’ identity.
The Great America Park That Never Opened
Marriott did not originally plan for Great America to stop at two parks. A third location was considered for the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore region, with plans and proposed sites connected to both Virginia and Maryland over the years. One of the better-known proposals involved the Manassas, Virginia area. That park ultimately never happened. Local opposition, zoning issues, and long planning battles helped derail the project. By the early 1980s, Marriott was already pulling back from the theme park business anyway.
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