The park used to be owned by (the now defunct) Paramount Parks and was known as Paramount's Great America.
Location and Phone
Santa Clara (near San Jose and San Francisco), CA
(408) 988-1776
California's Great America Admission Info
General admission passes include access to both the dry rides and the water park attractions. Reduced prices available for juniors (48"and under) and seniors (62+). Reduced prices available for tickets purchased in advance and online at the park's Web site. Season passes available.
Hotel Info
Compare rates for California's Great America-area hotels at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
Directions
From San Francisco: US 101 S to Great America Parkway exit
From San Jose: US 101 N to Great America Parkway exit
From Oakland: I-880 S to 237 W to Great America Parkway exit
California's Great America Highlights
- Drop Tower freefall ride
- Invertigo inverted boomerang coaster
- Flight Deck inverted coaster
- Survivor the Ride, a Disk'O Coaster attraction
- Grizzly wooden coaster
- Nickelodeon Central- Land themed to kids TV network
- Boomerang Bay- Water park included with admission.
More California's Great America Info
California's Great America Photo Gallery
Boomerang Bay Water Park Overview
New for 2009
All Wheels Extreme, a sports stunt show with skateboarders, BMX riders, and other performers
Halloween Event
Info about the park's annual spooky festival.
Official Web Site
California's Great America
California's Great America Overview
When Paramount Parks sold Great America to Cedar Fair (the chain that operates Cedar Point in Ohio, Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California, and other parks) it lost its Hollywood connection and most of its movie themeing. The Top Gun inverted coaster, for example, is now known as Flight Deck. Among the park's other coasters is the wooden Grizzly and the stand-up ride, Vortex. A hybrid coaster/spinning attraction, Survivor The Ride incorporates a spinning platform that careens back and forth on a coaster track. The Drop Tower is one of the industry's first second-generation, magnetically braked freefall rides and, at 224 feet, is still one of the tallest.
Nickelodeon-themed shows, characters, and rides, such as Dora's Dune buggies, await smaller children in Nickelodeon Central. A second area for younger guests, KidZville, also offers pint-sized rides, including the Taxi Jam coaster.
California's Great America offers the state's only onsite water park that's included with theme park admission. Boomerang Bay's attractions include a wave pool, a lazy river, and a bunch of water slides, all themed to the land down under.
