For people who grew up around San Francisco Bay, the roar of a roller coaster in Santa Clara has been part of summer for half a century. Now the countdown has started. California’s Great America will shut its gates for good on Labor Day, Sept. 6, 2027, after one last run the park is calling its Farewell Season.

The news comes by way of a TheStreet report carried by AOL, and it lands hard for families who made the park a yearly tradition since 1976.

“Unforgettable Memories”: Park Manager Says The Farewell Season Is A Thank You To Generations

The Six Flags park will open for its final year on Saturday, March 27, 2027, according to its 2027 operating schedule. Until then, the gates stay closed.

Park Manager Dave Vosejpka put out a statement that reads like a goodbye letter. “For more than five decades, this Santa Clara theme park has brought people together, created family traditions and served as the backdrop for unforgettable memories,” he said.

He added that the Farewell Season gives “generations of Bay Area guests” a chance to come back, spend time with family and friends, and revisit the attractions and traditions that made the park such a meaningful part of the community.

Before Silicon Valley Boomed, Northern California Finally Got Its Own Theme Park

The park opened in 1976, the nation’s Bicentennial year, as Marriott’s Great America. Back then it sat beside a lone Marriott hotel, surrounded by hundreds of acres of empty land that would later fill up with Silicon Valley office and research buildings.

For Northern Californians, that opening was a big deal. They no longer had to drive five or six hours south to visit places like Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm or Magic Mountain.

The TheStreet writer remembers his first trip a month after opening. He tried something he had never heard of, a Cherry Coke, made at the concession stand by adding cherry syrup to a Coca-Cola. It was a novelty, he notes, since the Coca-Cola Company did not make Cherry Coke itself until 1985.

New Names, New Owners, And A Stadium Next Door

Over the years the park changed hands more than once. It was sold to Paramount Parks in 1992 and became Paramount’s Great America, until Cedar Fair bought it in 2006.

Across the parking lot sits Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, which opened in 2014.

The Land Was Sold Out From Under The Rides Back In 2022

The road to this closing started in 2022. That year, Cedar Fair revealed it had sold the 112 acres beneath the park, but not the rides and other improvements on top of it, to real estate developer Prologis.

Under the deal, the park could keep operating for up to 11 years on a lease. The first lease was set to expire in June 2028, with a five-year extension option, but the owner will not use that extension.

That leaves 2027 as the finish line, ahead of the June 2028 date on the first lease.

A Merger, A Smaller Six Flags, And A Shrinking Calendar

Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced a merger on Nov. 2, 2023, with a combined enterprise value of $8 billion. At that point the new company counted 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and 9 resort properties across 17 states, Canada and Mexico.

The two companies also merged their intellectual property, so characters from Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts could appear in every park.

Since the merger closed, Six Flags has been trimming its portfolio. As of Nov. 6, it runs 20 amusement parks, 14 water parks and 9 resort properties in 13 states, Canada, Mexico and one park in Saudi Arabia.

The Warning Signs Were There: WinterFest Ended And Seasons Got Shorter

Signs of trouble showed up in 2024. On Dec. 19 of that year, Six Flags told season pass holders that the 2025 season would run from April until late October, and that “Seasonal events will not be part of the 2025 calendar,” as the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

That ended WinterFest, the holiday event that began in November 2016 and ran from November until just after New Year’s Day. The 2024 edition turned out to be the last.

The 2026 season brought one small bit of good news. Six Flags stretched it past the original Labor Day closing plan and shut the gates after Halloween, on Nov. 1.

How To Make The Most Of A Farewell Season

If you have a family tradition tied to this park, a final-season visit takes a little planning. Here are some practical ideas for any beloved park that announces a farewell year.

• Go early in the season. Opening weeks, starting March 27, 2027, tend to be less crowded than a final summer weekend or Labor Day itself.
• Bring the grandkids and the old photo album. Comparing a snapshot from decades ago with the same spot today is half the fun.
• Check the park’s calendar before you travel, since operating days have been shortened in recent years.
• Take your own photos and videos of the entrance, the signs and your favorite rides, because those details disappear once a park is gone.

Parks like this one are more than rides. They are where first dates, birthday parties and school trips happened, and where a kid could try a Cherry Coke before anyone else had heard of it.

Whether you ride the coasters or just stroll the midway one more time, the final season is a chance to say goodbye on your own terms. After Sept. 6, 2027, the memories will be all that is left of this Santa Clara landmark.

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