California’s Great America still rolling with coasters, movies

The Gold Striker roller coaster is popular at California’s Great America, which is offering a shortened guest season this year. COURTESY OF SIX FLAGS

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By Jason Mastrodonato

Bay Area News Group

Local theme park fans may not have much time left to appreciate Great America’s classic beauty.

The Santa Clara park — marking its 49th year this season and facing redevelopment in the coming years — is one of a few in the country that welcomes visitors with a double-decker carousel, which is nestled against a reflecting pool with water fountains. The entrance is an exact replica of Great America’s sister park in Gurnee, Illinois.

Following a 2022 sale of the land on which the park operates, Great America could close as soon as 2028. Park owner Six Flags is offering a shortened season here for 2025 — no Halloween or holiday festival — and is putting the focus on its classic rides and summer events.

Of the more than 50 rides and attractions, the three most popular, not surprisingly, are the big roller coasters: Flight Deck, Gold Striker and RailBlazer.

The park also will continue to offer guests access to South Bay Shores waterpark, making it the only amusement park in Northern California that includes access to a waterpark with park admission.

Movie nights will return on Fridays in July. Guests are invited to bring a blanket and enjoy some treats while watching a movie from the grassy area near RailBlazer, spokesperson Sara Gorgon said.

And then there are the fireworks, popular not only with parkgoers but residents for miles around. This year’s shows will take place on July 4, 5 and Sept. 1.

Returning to action this year will be the 8,500-seat Redwood Amphitheatre. To get its turnstiles in motion, the park will host a June 28 concert with LaRussell, a rapper from Vallejo whose nearly 2 million followers on Instagram have helped propel him to national fame.

He will star alongside Juvenile in “Backyard Boogie” in what is believed to be the first time in years that the stage will be used for a musical act.

“It has a history of hosting big names but now is usually used for graduations,” Gorgon said.

LaRussell Thomas saw his profile grow in November, when he was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, and has since announced that he’ll be making his acting debut as the star of an upcoming film, “Vallejo,” which is based on Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia’s 1989 Little League team.

Tickets to the concert alone are $75, while $100 bundle tickets that include admission to the park and concert are sold out.

Questions have swirled over the park’s future after the 2022 sale of its property for $310 million to Prologis, a warehouse and supply chain logistics company. The park agreed to lease back the land, but the lease could end as soon as 2028, records show.

Details >> Open at 10 a.m. on weekends through Oct. 25, and daily from June 6 through Aug. 11, at 4701 Great America Pkwy. in Santa Clara; cagreatamerica.com. South Bay Shores waterpark is open for the season starting this weekend; cagreatamerica.com/south-bay-shores.