3 ms·

Great America, a beloved Bay Area theme park, to shut down within next 11 years

15 points by fortran77 4y ago

UIUC_06 4y ago
> It was not announced what Prologis, the new owner, plans to do with the property after the rides have shuttered. Office buildings. Google buildings. Condos. Shopping. Yawn.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  at a time where we should be working at best in hybrid mode or from home...
- fortran77 4y ago
  > “The land sale was the outcome of a strategic review initiated by Cedar Fair in 2021 to explore potential avenues to maximize the value of the company’s extensive asset portfolio,” said a June 27 press release."
  - UIUC_06 4y ago
    Is that a satire on Corp Speak, or what?
drzoltar 4y ago
In all seriousness what is there to do for kids in the South Bay? Is there anything fun left, compared to the 90s and 00s? Fry’s, Micro Center and Circuit City, gone. Tilt Arcade gone. Now soon Great America.
- jfim 4y ago
  There's Round 1 in the Eastridge mall if you're looking for an arcade. It has a pretty decent selection of games according to ZIV: https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcade.php?id=2868#games https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcade.php?id=2868#games
- usrn 4y ago
  Why bother going outside when we literally have the whole world in our hands now?
- LeoPanthera 4y ago
  The beginning of the end was the closure of Weird Stuff. It still hurts.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  Nickel City is also gone
RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
When I visited the park a few years ago and rode the elevated car that crosses the park, the thought came to me that this was super valuable real estate and I wondered how much they could make just by selling the land. The other thing is that “Great America” felt so out of place in the Bay Area. For whatever reason, the Bay Area felt like one of the least “patriotic” places I had ever visited in the US. And having a theme park with that vibe seemed so out of place.
- dottrap 4y ago
  I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of the Bay Area. But as somebody who remembers Great America from its beginning, things were different all around compared to today. Also, 1976 being the US bicentennial, doesn't stretch the imagination that the park developers (Marriott back then) wanted to leverage the event and overall positive sentiment. But ignoring the patriotism angle, back then, to the best of my recollection, Marriott actually made a legitimate effort sticking to the park theming to try to give you a sense you were walking into another world (similar to the Disney approach). Each "land" (e.g. Hometown Square, Yankee Harbor, Yukon Territory, Orleans Place), was themed to a different US historical period, and the buildings, rides, decorations, and even the restaurants/food made a stronger effort to adhere to the historical themes in each land than they do today. You didn't need to feel patriotism in order to enjoy the immersion of being in a fantasy historical period/place. In contrast, the last time I strolled through Great America, I got no sense of any theme, nor feeling that I have walked into another world. Ironically, the thing I remember most is the Claw Crane Machines were touting you could win iPhones. So instead of being able to escape into a fantasy reality, this really kept me stuck in the reality of our normal world.
  - kylehotchkiss 4y ago
    Sounds like the Cedar Fair effect. They bought the theme park I grew up near (Kings Dominion) from paramount and within the following years, all the great paramount themed goodies (Hannah Barbara, etc) were gone and rebranded generically. Cedar Fair sure knows how to partner with Intamin to get some great coasters built, but can’t really build much character into parks. I used to work on an incredible drop coaster there and they themed it after a race car driver?
fortran77 4y ago
Also see: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Great-America-amusement-park-will-close-after-17270040.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Great-America-am...
JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Built out in the boonies, now completely developed Silicon-valley-style all around. It was inevitable they would cash out some day.

15 points by fortran77 4y ago

> It was not announced what Prologis, the new owner, plans to do with the property after the rides have shuttered. Office buildings. Google buildings. Condos. Shopping. Yawn.

ekianjo 4y ago
at a time where we should be working at best in hybrid mode or from home...
fortran77 4y ago
> “The land sale was the outcome of a strategic review initiated by Cedar Fair in 2021 to explore potential avenues to maximize the value of the company’s extensive asset portfolio,” said a June 27 press release."
- UIUC_06 4y ago
  Is that a satire on Corp Speak, or what?

drzoltar 4y ago

In all seriousness what is there to do for kids in the South Bay? Is there anything fun left, compared to the 90s and 00s? Fry’s, Micro Center and Circuit City, gone. Tilt Arcade gone. Now soon Great America.

jfim 4y ago
There's Round 1 in the Eastridge mall if you're looking for an arcade. It has a pretty decent selection of games according to ZIV: https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcade.php?id=2868#games https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcade.php?id=2868#games
usrn 4y ago
Why bother going outside when we literally have the whole world in our hands now?
LeoPanthera 4y ago
The beginning of the end was the closure of Weird Stuff. It still hurts.
Apocryphon 4y ago
Nickel City is also gone

RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago

When I visited the park a few years ago and rode the elevated car that crosses the park, the thought came to me that this was super valuable real estate and I wondered how much they could make just by selling the land. The other thing is that “Great America” felt so out of place in the Bay Area. For whatever reason, the Bay Area felt like one of the least “patriotic” places I had ever visited in the US. And having a theme park with that vibe seemed so out of place.

dottrap 4y ago
I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of the Bay Area. But as somebody who remembers Great America from its beginning, things were different all around compared to today. Also, 1976 being the US bicentennial, doesn't stretch the imagination that the park developers (Marriott back then) wanted to leverage the event and overall positive sentiment. But ignoring the patriotism angle, back then, to the best of my recollection, Marriott actually made a legitimate effort sticking to the park theming to try to give you a sense you were walking into another world (similar to the Disney approach). Each "land" (e.g. Hometown Square, Yankee Harbor, Yukon Territory, Orleans Place), was themed to a different US historical period, and the buildings, rides, decorations, and even the restaurants/food made a stronger effort to adhere to the historical themes in each land than they do today. You didn't need to feel patriotism in order to enjoy the immersion of being in a fantasy historical period/place. In contrast, the last time I strolled through Great America, I got no sense of any theme, nor feeling that I have walked into another world. Ironically, the thing I remember most is the Claw Crane Machines were touting you could win iPhones. So instead of being able to escape into a fantasy reality, this really kept me stuck in the reality of our normal world.
- kylehotchkiss 4y ago
  Sounds like the Cedar Fair effect. They bought the theme park I grew up near (Kings Dominion) from paramount and within the following years, all the great paramount themed goodies (Hannah Barbara, etc) were gone and rebranded generically. Cedar Fair sure knows how to partner with Intamin to get some great coasters built, but can’t really build much character into parks. I used to work on an incredible drop coaster there and they themed it after a race car driver?

fortran77 4y ago

Also see: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Great-America-amusement-park-will-close-after-17270040.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Great-America-am...

JoeAltmaier 4y ago

Built out in the boonies, now completely developed Silicon-valley-style all around. It was inevitable they would cash out some day.