Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
California's Great America history
California's Great America company history timeline
Cedar Fair purchased the land, totaling 112 acres, from the City of Santa Clara, which has leased the land since the founding of the park in 1976.
In 1976, the Marriott Corporation opened two Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA parks.
1978 California’s first IMAX movie theater, the IMAX Pictorium Theater, opens at Great America with the premiere of Man Belongs to the Earth.
1980 Demon opens, casting its spell on Great America’s thrill seekers.
1981 Marriott’s Great America press releases
The park, though profitable, was still an earnings disappointment for Marriott, leading the company in 1983 to explore options to sell.
Fearing homebuilding on the land by Caz Development would lower home values of existing homeowners, the city council approved a $101 million purchasing agreement on January 31, 1984, by a 4–3 vote that also had to be approved by city residents.
Unable to broker a timely agreement, the city council voted 6–1 to scuttle the sale on February 5, 1985, though the city was still interested in owning the park.
Kings Entertainment Company, who owned and operated other amusement parks, was hired in 1985 to manage Great America for the city.
1986 The 10,000-seat Redwood Amphitheater makes its debut at Great America.
1987 Great America opens Smurf Woods and unveils the newly renovated Fort Fun.
1988 Rip Roaring Rapids makes a splash at Great America.
In 1989, the city decided to return the park to the private sector and sold it to Kings Entertainment.
The first film featured is Days of Thunder, named after the hit 1990 Paramount film.
The company acquired Kings Entertainment for $400 million on July 31, 1992 and created Paramount Parks.
Viacom, who are the parent company of both MTV and Nickelodeon, then bought Paramount in 1994 which then allowed them to introduce Nickelodeon merchandise into the amusement park. It wasn’t until 1992, however, that things really started to take off for the amusement park when Paramount Pictures bought King’s Entertainment in an effort to join other major entertainment companies in becoming an amusement park owner.
Viacom, the parent of MTV Networks (including Nickelodeon), then assumed control of Paramount in 1994 by purchasing a controlling interest, allowing Nickelodeon theming and merchandise into the park as well.
1996 The park celebrates its 20th anniversary season with the unveiling of Drop Zone Stunt Tower (known today as Drop Tower) -- at 224 feet, one of the tallest and most intense free-fall rides in the world.
1997 Xtreme SkyFlyer opens.
Cedar Fair, which purchased the park in 2006, expected to use the cash proceeds from the sale to reduce its senior secured debt.
On October 25, 2007, Cedar Fair renamed the park California's Great America.
Introduced in 2008, it takes you to a height of 60 feet and then spins and twists you 360 degrees through fire and water effects.
For the 2008 season, the park saw the addition of a Huss Rides top spin ride called FireFall, a new ice show in the "Great America Theatre" (formerly The Paramount Theatre), and the addition of the Halloween Haunt event to the park.
2009 Great America pushes the thrill envelope once again with the addition of “All Wheels Extreme,” an all-new, high-flying sports stunt show in the park’s Redwood Amphitheater.
In the summer of 2009, Cedar Fair announced that all the Nickelodeon themed areas would be replaced with Peanuts themed areas.
In 2010, the newly rethemed Planet Snoopy opened in the park.
The sale required approval by the City of Santa Clara, and its city council was scheduled to vote on the matter on December 6, 2011.
In 2013, the park opened Gold Striker, a wooden twister model coaster manufactured by Great Coasters International.
In 2018, the park opened RailBlazer, the first single-rail coaster in the US west of Texas.
Cedar Fair purchased the Great America land from the city of Santa Clara in March 2019; the city retained the main parking lot.
California's Great America did not open for the 2020 season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
On May 22, 2021, the park reopened after being closed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
News The London Resort passes first test of Planning Inspectorate Date 29th Jan 2021 Category Theme Parks
Rate how well California's Great America lives up to its initial vision.
California's Great America jobs
Do you work at California's Great America?
Is California's Great America's vision a big part of strategic planning?
California's Great America competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elitch Gardens | 1890 | $6.0M | 50 | 3 |
| Kings Dominion | 1975 | $69.0M | 3,000 | 17 |
| Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | 1884 | $32.0M | 331 | 9 |
| Worlds of Fun | 1973 | $44.0M | 3,000 | 12 |
| Lake Compounce | - | $3.7M | 152 | - |
| Carowinds | 1973 | $23.0M | 506 | 68 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood | 1964 | $4.2B | 30,000 | 31 |
| Six Flags | 1961 | $1.4B | 14,450 | 674 |
| Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park | 2001 | $50.0M | 350 | - |
| SeaWorld | 1959 | $1.7B | 22,100 | - |
California's Great America history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of California's Great America, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about California's Great America. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at California's Great America. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by California's Great America. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of California's Great America and its employees or that of Zippia.
California's Great America may also be known as or be related to California's Great America.