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 History

 

Marriott's Great America logo Six Flags Great America logo

History of Great America

The 300-acre theme park was designed for Marriott Corporation by the world famous motion picture set designer and architect, Randall Duell, of Santa Monica, California.

Marriott's Great America held its Grand Opening on May 29, 1976.

In May of 1984, the Park was purchased by Six Flags Corporation and become the seventh park in the Six Flags Family of regional theme parks.

In 1991, Time Warner Enterprises facilitated the recapitalization of Six Flags Corporation and gained controlling interest in the corporation.

Time Warner and its partners sold the Six Flags chain of theme parks in February 1998 to Premier Parks, an Oklahoma City based amusement park operator, for $1.9 billion. Premier has since changed its name to Six Flags Inc.

Rides

Ameri-Go-Round (1976 - 2003)

Barney Oldfield (1976) - Renamed to Great America Raceway

Bottom's Up (1976-1983)

Cajun Cliffhanger (1976) - Closed 2000 because of an accident.

Columbia Carousel (1976)

Déjà Vu (2001 -2007)

Fiddler's Fling (1976)

Golf Coaster (1976-1976)

Goliath (2014)

Great America Raceway (1976 - 2010)

Great America Scenic Railway (1976)

Hometown Fun Machine (1976)

Lobster (1976) - Renamed to East River Crawler

Logger's Run (1976)

The Orbit (1976)

Rue Le Dodge (1976)

Traffique Jam (1976 - 1983)

Triple Play (1976)

Turn of the Century (May 29, 1976) - Re-themed to the Demon in 1980

Yankee Clipper (1976) - once re-named  to  "Ice Mountain Splash" then back to Yankee Clipper

Whirligig (1976)

Willard's Whizzer (1976) renamed to the Whizzer possibly in 1984 when Six Flags bought the park.

Big Top (1977) Renamed to Ricochet

Davie Jones Dinghies (1977-1982)

Hay Baler (1977)

Sky Trek Tower (1977)

Southern Cross (1977 - 1982)

Tidal Wave (1978) - Closed in 1991 to make Room for Batman the Ride.
Operated at Six Flags Over Georgia from 1995 - 2001
Moved to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in 2003

Sky Whirl (1979) - Closed 2000 to make room for DejaVu

The American Eagle (May 23, 1981)

The Edge (1984) - Closed because of an accident on May 28, 1984.

Roaring Rapids (1984)

Z-Force (1985) - Closed 1987

Operated from 1988 - 1990 at Six Flags Over Georgia as "Z-Force"
Moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1992 and is renamed "Flashback"

Splashwater Falls (1986) - Closed  2007

Power Dive (1987)

Shockwave (1988) - Closed around August 3, 2002

Rolling Thunder (1989) - Closed 1994

Operated at Six Flags Great Adventure as "Sarajevo Bobsled"
Operated at The Great Escape as "Alpine Bobsled"

Iron Wolf (April 28,1990)

Condor (1991)

Batman the Ride (May 9,1992)

Space Shuttle America (1994 - 2007)

Viper (1995)

Chubasco (1996)

Ricochet (1996)

River Rocker (1996)

Trailblazer (1996 -2006)

Giant Drop (1997)

Daredevil Dive (1997)

Spacely's Sprocket Rocket (1998)

Raging Bull (May 1, 1999)

Déjà Vu (October 7, 2001 - 2007)

Vertical Velocity (May 18,2001)

Superman - Ultimate Flight (May 3, 2003)

Big Easy Balloons (2004)

The Jester's Wild Ride (2004)

King Chaos (June 21, 2004)

Ragin'  Cajun (2004 - 2013)

The Revolution (2004)

The Dark Knight (2007)

Buccaneer Battle (2009)

Little Dipper (2010)

X-Flight (2012)

Rides Still Operating are denoted in BOLD print 

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