When is California’s Great America closing?
California’s Great America, a theme park owned by Six Flags, will eventually shutter permanently, but when is the closing date?
When is California’s Great America closing?
California’s Great America and its accompanying South Bay Shores water park in Santa Clara, Calif., will close sometime between Jan. 1, 2028, and Dec. 31, 2032. The current arrangement of its parent company, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, keeps the park open through Dec. 31, 2027, with an option to extend the lease for an additional five years if desired. (See exact phrasing from Six Flags in the next section.)
Prologis, Inc. — the owner of the land upon which California’s Great America sits — can terminate the above agreement with Six Flags, but must give Six Flags two years’ prior notice. Prologis is a Bay Area-based logistics real estate company, and purchased the park’s land in 2022.
Seeing as this article is being written in mid-2025 and Prologis has not expressed any such termination, this would place the soonest possible closure of California’s Great America as 2027, or close to the end of the existing lease already, should Prologis exercise that option.
California’s Great America opened in 1976. The park currently features nine roller coasters and a Planet Snoopy area themed to the Peanuts characters, among other attractions.
What has Six Flags said about the closure?
Six Flags phrased the arrangement this way in its 2024 annual report. (Note: “Combined Company” refers to the merged Cedar Fair and Six Flags. The companies merged in 2024.)
The land at California’s Great America was sold on June 27, 2022. Concurrently with the sale of the land, Cedar Fair entered into a lease contract that allows the Combined Company to operate the park during a six-year term with an option to extend the term for an additional five years. The lease is subject to early termination by the buyer with at least two years’ prior notice. Upon termination of the lease, the existing park operations will close and the rides and attractions will be removed from the land.
Page 82, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Annual Report 2024, June 2025
At some point after June 2022, the “six-year term” was shortened to 5.5 years.
…the estimated useful lives of the remaining property and equipment at California’s Great America were updated to an approximate 5.5-year period, or through December 31, 2027.
Page 65, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Annual Report 2024, June 2025
In a recent statement to Fast Company, Six Flags stated it has not made a decision about whether or not it will extend the lease for California’s Great America through 2032; again, the company has until the end of 2027 to consider this option.
As previously announced at the time of the sale [2022], the park’s land lease will expire in 2028 with a potential five-year renewal option. At this time, we are still in the planning stages and are working with stakeholders and engaging the community. Until we know more, we remain focused on the great season that’s already underway at the park and the events ahead.
Six Flags statement to Fast Company, July 2025
Is California’s Great America closing because of the Six Flags merger with Cedar Fair?
No. The decision to close California’s Great America was made in 2022 by Cedar Fair prior to the 2024 merger with Six Flags.
Post-merger, Six Flags did conduct a “portfolio review” of its 56 parks for potential “divestiture,” which resulted in the company announcing the permanent closure of Six Flags America near Washington, D.C. That park will close at the end of its 2025 season. The closure of California’s Great America is completely separate from Six Flags’ portfolio review.
Timeline
June 2022
Prologis purchases the land at California’s Great America for $310 million from Cedar Fair (then the parent company of the park). Cedar Fair plans to close the amusement park once the lease agreement with the new owners expires.
July 2024
Cedar Fair merges with Six Flags. The arrangements for the future of California’s Great America remain in tact.
June 2025
Six Flags reiterates the terms of the deal for California’s Great America closing in its 2024 annual report.
July 2025
Six Flags reiterates the terms of the deal in plainer language to Fast Company, and says it has not made a decision about whether or not to extend the lease (currently expiring at the end of 2027) into 2032.
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