Great America's Goodbye Starts in March. Santa Clara's Holidays Already Moved On

Six Flags announced on Nov. 6 that California's Great America will close on Labor Day, Sept. 6, 2027. The park opened on March 20, 1976, and spent 2026 celebrating its 50th anniversary. The news came five days after the park's extended 2026 season ended on Nov. 1, which means there was no open day left in that season for a goodbye visit. The gates won't open again until March.

So the park will be dark through the holidays, and that is nothing new. Great America's last WinterFest ended on Jan. 5, 2025. According to the Los Angeles Times, Six Flags then told passholders that seasonal events would not be part of the park's 2025 calendar. This is the second December in a row without lights on Great America Parkway. The new part is that everyone now knows the end date. That makes the city's own holiday calendar more important than it used to be.

What the Nov. 6 Announcement Settled

For years, people in Santa Clara have been asking when the park would close. Here is the short version, according to the Mercury News.

The park is closing about a year before it had to. The Mercury News reported that in May 2025, Six Flags CEO Brian Witherow told investors the Santa Clara park ranked near the bottom of the company's parks on profit margins. On the land itself, KQED explained why the city has little control. The city owned the plot for decades and leased it to the park. After California dissolved its redevelopment agencies, the city had to sell it. Cedar Fair bought it in 2019 and sold it to Prologis in 2022.

Santa Clara Councilmember and Mayor-elect Karen Hardy told KQED she was "beyond frustrated." She also described what's at stake for the city:

"Because we don't own the land anymore, we don't have as much say, but we do have some say."

Hardy told KQED she has asked Prologis executives about keeping the water park, which was recently remodeled, and saving the historic carousel at the entrance. That carousel is Carousel Columbia, a 100-foot-tall double-decker that has stood at the gate since opening day in 1976. KQED also reported Hardy's concern that residents would not want data centers or more industrial development on the site. In 2025, Prologis told the Los Angeles Times it was working toward a master plan with planning and design experts and intended to work with the city and the community.

The site's future is a question for the years after Labor Day 2027. This December's holiday plans are a separate question, and Great America isn't part of them.

WinterFest Now Means a Drive to Vallejo

Once Great America dropped its seasonal events, WinterFest went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. It ran there from Nov. 28 through Jan. 4 last season. The Discovery Kingdom WinterFest page lists select nights from Nov. 27 through Jan. 3 at 1001 Fairgrounds Drive. Light displays, live shows and most rides come with park admission.

This matters for anyone thinking about a 2027 pass. According to the Six Flags farewell announcement, 2027 Gold and Prestige passes cover unlimited visits to Great America during the final season, plus access to Discovery Kingdom. Six Flags says the farewell season opens in March 2027 and ends on Labor Day. Days and hours will be announced later.

If you'd rather stay in town, here is Santa Clara's December.

The Santa Clara Holiday Calendar, in Order

Thanksgiving weekend on Great America Parkway

The largest holiday event near the park this year is next door at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The SJMADE Holiday Fair runs Nov. 27 and 28 with more than 350 makers. Admission and parking are free. This year the fair is also adding its first-ever Eki Stamp Station. Two days later, on Nov. 29, the 49ers host Seattle at Levi's Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way. For the first time in years, Thanksgiving weekend brings two big crowds to the corner of the city next to Great America while the park itself stays closed.

The weekend before is smaller. The Triton Museum's Holiday Art Fair on Saturday, Nov. 21, is free and indoors, with carolers and baked goods. The museum's events page says the fair will have 25 to 30 local vendors.

Dec. 4 has two events on the same night

The city's tree lighting and Santa Clara University's Festival of Lights both fall on Friday, Dec. 4. The Festival of Lights is in its 27th year. The Chamber Singers and Concert Choir perform by candlelight at Mission Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 and again on Dec. 5. Since the tree lighting runs until 8 p.m., families who want both can go to the tree lighting Friday and the Festival of Lights Saturday.

At the Holiday Tree Lighting, Santa's Photo Express hands out free tickets first-come, first-served starting at 5:30 p.m. City staff take the photos on your own phone between 6 and 8 p.m., one pose per family. Children get a teddy bear and candy cane while supplies last. There's also a holiday market with local artisans and a crafts table.

Parking at Central Park this year

Central Park is also a construction site. The city's entrance and parking improvements project began its second phase at the Kiely Boulevard and Kaiser Drive entrance and signal, with completion expected in summer 2027. When the page was last updated in September, it listed the Pavilion parking lot and the kids' playground as closed. Magical Bridge Playground and the basketball courts stay open, and the Creek Trail entrance remains available on foot.

The tree-lighting page still lists the Pavilion lot as free event parking. It also lists these options:

1. Free parking at 2625 Patricia Drive
2. Permit parking at the Community Recreation Center lot, 969 Kiely Blvd., with no drop-offs
3. Rideshare drop-off at Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road

Before you leave on Dec. 4, check with the city to see whether the Pavilion lot is open. Patricia Drive and the library drop-off avoid the construction zone either way.

The Other Big Site the City Is Planning

While Great America's land sits with a private owner, Santa Clara is pushing a different site forward. The city has issued a request for proposals for 4.83 city-owned acres at 900 and 1000 Lafayette St. The project it wants includes at least 300 homes, 25% of them affordable for low-income households, plus a food hall, a plaza, retail, cultural space and a theater. Development teams had to attend a conference on Nov. 18 at the American Legion, 958 Homestead Road. ABC7 reported that choosing a developer could take about nine months and that construction is still years away.

The timing lines up. The city should be near the end of picking a downtown developer around the time Great America's farewell season wraps up.

Before March Comes

The farewell season brings more than single-day tickets. Six Flags says group outings, corporate events and student and youth group visits will continue through 2027. The Mercury News reported that employers can still book company picnics there in the final year. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the rides will run in 2027, subject to normal maintenance, weather and other operating conditions, and that the South Bay Shores water park will keep its usual seasonal schedule. That makes South Bay Shores' summer 2027 season its last summer before the Labor Day close. If you're planning a school group, team outing or family reunion there, you'll be booking for a season that is shorter than usual.

When a 112-acre site near your home is about to change hands, it's reasonable to wonder what that means for your own property. If you own in Santa Clara and want to understand where you stand before the next chapter for the Great America land takes shape, Anita Salas can walk you through your numbers. Request your free Net‑Proceeds & Capital‑Gains consultation.