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California's Great America
Attractions
Previously known as Marriott's Great America 1976–1984 Great America 1985–1992, 2007 Paramount's Great America 1993–2006

Location	Santa Clara, California, United States
Coordinates	37°23′45.4″N 121°58′20.1″W / 37.395944°N 121.972250°W / 37.395944; -121.972250
Status	Operating
Opened	March 20, 1976 (1976-03-20)
Owner	Cedar Fair
General manager	Manuel Gonzalez
Slogan	It's Amazing in Here
Operating season	Late March–December
Area	100 acres (40 ha)
Total	52
Roller coasters	9
Water rides	2

California's Great America is a fun amusement park in Santa Clara, California. It used to be called Marriott's Great America and Paramount's Great America. The park opened in 1976.

Today, Cedar Fair owns and runs the park. California's Great America has over 40 rides and attractions. Some of its most famous rides are Gold Striker, a top-rated wooden roller coaster, and RailBlazer, a unique single-rail coaster. Another popular ride is Flight Deck, an inverted coaster. You might have even seen the park in movies like Beverly Hills Cop III and Getting Even with Dad, both from 1994.

Park History: How it Grew!

Early Years (1976–1992)

Marriott's Great America first opened on March 20, 1976. It was built by the Marriott Corporation, a hotel and restaurant company. Marriott also opened a second park near Chicago in Illinois. They had plans for a third park, but that idea didn't happen.

A bird's-eye view of California's Great America.

Even though the park made money, Marriott decided to sell it in 1983. The city of Santa Clara bought the park in 1985 for $93.5 million. The city then hired Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) to manage the park. In 1989, KECO bought the park from the city.

Paramount Takes Over (1992–2006)

In 1992, Paramount Communications, the company behind Paramount Pictures, bought KECO. This meant they owned Great America and other parks like Kings Island. They created a new company called Paramount Parks.

Later, Viacom bought Paramount in 1994. This brought popular Nickelodeon characters and themes to the park. During this time, many exciting new rides were added. These included the Action FX Theatre, Nickelodeon Splat City, Drop Zone Stunt Tower, and Invertigo. Some older rides, like the classic train and the Sky Whirl, were removed to make space for these new attractions.

Cedar Fair Era (2006–Present)

In 2006, Cedar Fair bought the park from CBS, which owned Paramount Parks at the time. Cedar Fair is a big company that owns many amusement parks.

On October 25, 2007, Cedar Fair changed the park's name to California's Great America. In 2008, they added a new ride called FireFall. They also started the popular Halloween Haunt event.

In 2009, all the Nickelodeon-themed areas were changed to Peanuts themes. A new area called Planet Snoopy opened in 2010. In 2011, the Invertigo roller coaster was moved to another Cedar Fair park.

In 2018, the park opened RailBlazer. This was the first single-rail coaster in the western United States. The park was closed for the entire 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It reopened for the 2021 season.

Rides and Fun Areas

The park has different areas, each with its own cool rides!

Intensity rating (out of 5)
1 (low) 2 (mild) 3 (moderate) 4 (high) 5 (aggressive)

Note: The numbers are from California's Great America. The colors are just for this page.

Roller Coasters

The Gold Striker Roller Coaster at Great America.

Get ready for thrills on these awesome roller coasters!

Name	Location	Opened
Demon	County Fair	1976
Flight Deck	Orleans Place	1993
Gold Striker	Celebration Plaza	2013
The Grizzly	Action Zone	1986
Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie	Planet Snoopy	1999
Psycho Mouse	Action Zone	2001
RailBlazer	County Fair	2018
Patriot	Celebration Plaza	1991 (2017)
Woodstock Express	Planet Snoopy	1987

Thrill Rides

The Drop Tower.

These rides offer big thrills and excitement!

Name	Location	Opened
Berserker	County Fair	1976
Celebration Swings	Celebration Plaza	2001
Centrifuge	Action Zone	1976
Delirium	All American Corners	2002
Drop Tower: Scream Zone	Action Zone	1996
Orbit	All American Corners	1976
Tiki Twirl	Action Zone	2006

Action Zone

This area is packed with high-energy rides!

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Centrifuge	1976	Calypso	Used to be called Fiddler's Fling.	3
Drop Tower: Scream Zone	1996	Giant Drop	This 227-foot tall tower drops riders at 62 mph! It was called Drop Zone: Stunt Tower before 2007.	4
Eagle's Flight	1976	Gondola lift	This is the name for the Action Zone cable car station.	2
The Grizzly	1986	Wooden roller coaster	It's like the old Wildcat coaster from Coney Island.	4
Psycho Mouse	2001	Wild Mouse roller coaster	This was the last Mad Mouse coaster made by Arrow Dynamics.	4
Thunder Raceway	2001	Go-kart track	You pay extra to ride these go-karts.	4
Tiki Twirl	2006	Disk'O	It was called Survivor: The Ride! from 2006 to 2011.	4

Delirium, a pendulum ride.

All American Corners

Find a mix of exciting and unique rides here.

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Mass Effect: New Earth	2016	4-D Theater	This theater used to show different movies.	3
Delirium	2002	Revolution 32	This ride was designed in the Netherlands.	5
Flying Eagles	2002	Flying Scooters	The cars can go up to 28 feet high during the ride.	3
Orbit	1976	Enterprise	It was first known as the Orleans Orbit.	4
Rip Roaring Rapids	1988	river rafting ride	Riders float through water channels with rapids and whirlpools.	5

Celebration Plaza

This area has some of the park's biggest attractions.

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Carousel Columbia	1976	Double Decker Carousel	This huge carousel has over 100 horses and is 101 feet tall.	1
Celebration Swings	2001	Wave swinger	This ride used to be at another park called Carowinds.	3
Gold Striker	2013	Wooden roller coaster	This coaster is often listed as one of the top wooden roller coasters!	4
Star Tower	1979	Gyro Tower	Passengers ride in a spinning cabin 200 feet high, with great views.	2
Patriot	1991	Floorless coaster	This floorless coaster drops 91 feet and goes through a loop and corkscrew. It was called Vortex until 2016.	5
Whitewater Falls	1990	Spillwater	A water ride where a large boat drops 45 feet, making a huge splash!	4
Xtreme Skyflyer	1997	Skycoaster	This is an extra-cost ride.	5

County Fair

Step right up for classic fairground fun!

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Barney Oldfield Speedway	1976	Antique Cars	Ride in old-style cars on a track around The Grizzly.	3
Berserker	1976	Bayern Kurve	It was first known as Yukon Yahoo.	3
Demon	1976	Looping Coaster	Opened as "Turn of the Century" in 1976, then became "Demon" in 1980.	5
RailBlazer	2018	Raptor Track	This ride replaced Invertigo, a roller coaster that closed in 2011.	5

Orleans Place

This area has a New Orleans feel with exciting rides.

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Delta Flyer	1976	Gondola line	Delta Flyer is the name for the Orleans Place cable car station.	2
Flight Deck	1993	Inverted roller coaster	This coaster was formerly known as Top Gun.	5
Rue Le Dodge	1976	Bumper Cars	A classic bumper car ride for all ages.	4

Planet Snoopy

Planet Snoopy is the special area for younger kids. It opened in 2010.

Ride	Opened	Type	Notes	Rating
Character Carousel	N/A	Carousel	This carousel used to have Hanna-Barbera characters.	1
Flying Ace	1999	Kiddie Ride	It was first known as KidzAir.	2
GR8 SK8	2015	Kiddie Ride	This ride was originally at Knott's Berry Farm.	3
Joe Cool's Dodgem School	1999	Kiddie bumper cars	It was first known as Fender Bender 500.	2
Kite-Eating Tree	1999	Kiddie Ride	It was first known as Junior Jump Club.	2
Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie	1999	Kiddie roller coaster	It was first known as Taxi Jam.	2
Peanuts 500	2015	Kiddie Ride	This ride also came from Knott's Berry Farm.	2
PEANUTS Pirates	2003	Breakdance 4	It was first known as SpongeBob's Boat Mobiles.	2
Planet Snoopy Construction Zone	2014	Playground	It was first known as KidZ Construction Co..	1
The Pumpkin Patch	2003	Kiddie Ride	It was first known as Wild Thornberry's Treetop Lookout.	2
Sally's Love Buggies	2003	Kiddie Ride	It was first known as Dora's Dune Buggies.	2
Sally's Swing Set	N/A	Family Wave Swinger	It was first known as Swing Swing Swing.	2
Snoopy's Space Buggies	2015	Kiddie Ride		2
Snoopy's Space Race	1976	Kiddie Ride	It was first known as Buzzy Bee and then Ghost Chasers.	1
Woodstock Express	1987	Steel roller coaster	It was first known as Blue Streak and Rugrats Runaway Reptar.	3

South Bay Shores Water Park

South Bay Shores is a water park inside California's Great America. It opened in 2004 as Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay. The name was later shortened to Boomerang Bay. In 2019, it was expanded and renamed South Bay Shores. You can get into the water park with your regular admission ticket to Great America.

Rides That Are No Longer Here

Over the years, some rides have left the park to make way for new ones. Here are a few:

H.M.B. Endeavor: A spinning ride that was removed in 2017 for the water park expansion.
Snoopy's Splash Dance: A kids' water play area removed in 2017 for the water park.
Logger's Run: A log flume water ride removed in 2017 for the water park.
Firefall: A flat ride that closed unexpectedly in 2016.
Vortex: A stand-up roller coaster that was changed into the floorless Patriot in 2017.
Invertigo: An inverted roller coaster removed in 2011 because it had problems. The area is now home to RailBlazer.
Stealth: A flying roller coaster that was moved to another park, Carowinds.
Great America Scenic Railway: A train ride that went around the park.
Yankee Clipper: Another water ride that was removed.
Greased Lightnin': A shuttle loop roller coaster.
The Edge: A freefall ride.
Skyhawk: A ride that had problems with its cabins.
Sky Whirl: A huge triple Ferris wheel that was removed for Invertigo.
Lobster: A spinning ride.
Bottoms Up: A classic spinning ride.
Triple Play: A spinning ride.
Nickelodeon Central: A themed area with Nickelodeon characters. It closed in 2009 and became Planet Snoopy.
Whizzer: An old steel roller coaster. Gold Striker is now in its place.
Trolley Cars: Old-fashioned trolley cars that used to travel around the park.
Dolphin and Seal Show: During the early years, the park had dolphin and seal shows.
Smurf Woods: A small kids' area with Smurf-themed houses. This area is now part of Planet Snoopy.

Fast Lane Pass

Fast Lane is a special pass you can buy. It lets you use a separate line for popular rides, so you don't have to wait as long. Only a limited number of these passes are sold each day.

Halloween Haunt Event

The Halloween Haunt logo.

Halloween Haunt is a spooky event that happens at California's Great America every fall. It started in 2008. During Haunt, the park fills with over 500 monsters! There are haunted mazes and scare zones all over the park.

Current Haunt Attractions

For 2017, Halloween Haunt had eight haunted mazes, three scare zones, and four shows. If you buy a Fright Lane pass, you get to go through extra interactive rooms in some mazes.

Attraction	Type	Opened	Location
Backwoods	Maze	2017	Celebration Plaza
Chaos House	Maze	2017	Rue Le Dodge
CornStalkers	Maze	2008	County Fair
Feary Tales	Scare Zone	2017	Planet Snoopy
JesterTown	Scare Zone	2017	Orleans Place
Madame Marie's Blackout	Maze	2012 (flashlight element added in 2018)	Hometown Square
Roadkill Roadhouse	Maze	2014	Celebration Plaza
Tooth Fairy	Maze	2018	Action Zone
Ripper's Revenge	Scare Zone	2018	County Fair
Wax Museum Chamber of Horrors	Maze	2014	All American Corners
Zombie High	Maze	2013	Action Zone
Nytewalkers	Show	2014	Celebration Plaza
Blood Drums	Show	2016	All American Corners
El Alonzo, the Second Greatest Showman	Show	2018	Showtime Theater in Orleans Place
Sideshow	Show	2015	All American Corners
Demon Re-Ignited	Attraction	2017	Country Fair

California's Great America Timeline

Water slides seen from the cable car.

The former Invertigo coaster (Removed 2011).

A full view of the former Invertigo coaster.

2020: South Bay Shores water park was expanded and renamed. The park was closed all season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019: Drop Tower got a new paint job to look like a Redwood Tree.
2018: RailBlazer, a new type of roller coaster, opened. Halloween Haunt and WinterFest events grew bigger.
2017: Patriot, a floorless coaster, opened after the old Vortex coaster was changed. Several rides were removed for the water park expansion.
2016: A new 4D ride called Mass Effect opened. Winterfest, a new holiday event, started.
2015: Planet Snoopy took over the old KidZville area.
2014: Flight Deck and Grizzly got new paint. Fun TV was added to most rides.
2013: The new wooden coaster, Gold Striker, opened.
2012: The park made many improvements, like repainting rides and adding an elevator for Loggers Run.
2011: The Invertigo coaster was moved to another park.
2010: Nickelodeon Central became Planet Snoopy.
2009: New stunt shows were added. Halloween Haunt expanded.
2008: The park was renamed California's Great America. FireFall ride opened, and Halloween Haunt officially began.
2007: The park was briefly renamed Great America. A new wave pool was added to Boomerang Bay.
2006: Tiki Twirl opened. The park was sold to Cedar Fair.
2005: Boomerang Bay water park expanded with a lazy river and new slides.
2004: Boomerang Bay water park opened.
2003: SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D show opened. Nickelodeon Central expanded. Stealth coaster was removed.
2002: Delirium and Flying Eagles rides opened.
2001: Psycho Mouse, Celebration Swings, and Thunder Raceway opened.
2000: Stealth coaster opened. The Scenic Railroad and Skyhawk rides were removed.
1999: KidZVille opened.
1998: Invertigo coaster opened.
1997: Xtreme Skyflyer opened. The Triple Wheel was removed.
1996: Drop Tower Scream Zone opened.
1995: Nickelodeon Splat City opened.
1994: Action Theater opened with a Days of Thunder show.
1993: The park was renamed Paramount's Great America. Flight Deck coaster opened.
1991: Vortex coaster opened.
1990: Whitewater Falls water ride opened.
1989: Skyhawk ride opened. The park was bought by KECO.
1988: Rip Roaring Rapids opened.
1987: Woodstock Express opened.
1986: The Grizzly wooden coaster opened.
1985: The park was renamed Great America.
1984: Marriott sold the park to the City of Santa Clara.
1983: The Edge ride opened.
1980: The Demon coaster opened after being remodeled.
1979: Star Tower opened.
1978: IMAX Pictorium Theater opened.
1977: Tidal Wave coaster opened.
1976: Marriott's Great America first opened its doors!

A panorama from the peak of Star Tower at California's Great America in 2015

In Movies and TV

Beverly Hills Cop III

The park was used in the 1994 movie Beverly Hills Cop III. In the film, it was called "Wonder World." Many scenes were filmed at the park. Some rides, like the Columbia Carousel and Vortex coaster, were changed for the movie. Even George Lucas, a famous movie director, had a small part in the film!

Other Appearances

The park was also used in the 1994 film Getting Even with Dad, starring Macaulay Culkin.
The park's inverted coaster, "Top Gun" (now Flight Deck), was in an Excedrin commercial in 2007.
Marriott's Great America was used in the 1983 animated movie Twice Upon A Time.

Images for kids

This walkway in County Fair is a main part of the western side of the park (2017).
The original Fort Fun area (now Planet Snoopy) in 2017, seen from the Eagle's Flight cable car.
The entrance gate for the Tooth Fairy maze during Halloween Haunt (2019).

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