Beloved California Amusement Park Set To Close After 50 Years

Six Flags is a well-known amusement park in America. It has many locations in Georgia, St. Louis, and many other states.

Despite its long run and multiple locations, Six Flags is slowly but surely starting to roll back on its amusement parks, California’s Great America being one of them.

Located in Santa Ana, CA, the conversations took place during a recent investor meeting for the company. The Six Flags CFO has announced that the park will close after the 2027 season unless its lease can be extended. This comes after the park was set to celebrate its 50th season in 2026.

“Unless we decide to extend an exercise, one of our options is to extend the lease of the park; last year, without that extension, it would be after the 27th season,” said Six Flags’ Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow.

This statement was made while answering audience questions at the Six Flags Investor Day 2025. This isn’t the only Six Flags amusement park to close. Earlier this year, Bowie, Maryland, announced that it will be closing its Six Flags at the end of this year.

“Those are two parts that are very low on the ranking of margins,” Witherow added.

The park itself first opened around Halloween of 1976 under the Marriott corporation. Last year, in 2024, the park’s parent company, Cedar Fair, made a partnership with Six Flags for an $8 billion deal. In 2022, Cedar Fair officially sold the 112 acres of land for $310 million to a real estate and supply chain logistics company called Prologis.

The amusement park company agreed to have the lease back on the land for 6 to 11 years, with plans to close the park at the end of the lease. The original lease agreement was set to end on June 30, 2028. However, the terms can be extended for five more years, ending in 2033. 

“We chose Prologis as our partner because they have deep ties in the Bay Area and their reputation for working closely with local communities on large developments,” said President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman in a press release in June 2022.

Ahead of the potential closure, Prologis is already making plans for the land.

“We’re focused on identifying and partnering with planning and design experts to help us create a master plan for the property,” said Jennifer Nelson to the Los Angeles Times in January.

Despite the California Six Flags’ closing, other locations, such as the one in Chicago, will receive enhancements ahead of their 50th season.

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