Great America has been great for our family with littles as you can also go to Gilroy gardens with the season pass. The water park at Gilroy gardens is more suitable for toddlers, but Great America also has a lot to offer. We went to tricks and treats and wish they had the map available online as we walked around the whole park to find where the trick or treating doors were located. Hope this map helps you. You're welcome!
_ P.
At around 7pm on September third 2023 a man named Andre by far had the best etiquette out of every staff there.
A G
Hot dog and chips are the only things allowed on the meal plan, even though other meals are cheaper, such as nachos or pretzel and cheese. It's annoying to have to ask at each separate place what is allowed in the meal plan. They should have a list!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 2
Ursula L.
BRING BACK THE HAUNT! Tricks and Treats sucks! So boring and not worth the money. I guess for small children it's entertaining and fun. Wish it was like it used to be, kid friendly during the day and the haunt at night.
James A.
Negative stars if possible. I haven't been here in 20 years and decided to take our son. Purchased the premium dining, only to find out none of the "premium " restaurants were open. The we were told it was another 20 bucks or so for the all day souvenir cup. So instead every 15 minutes we had to get another paper cup. Staff is rude and the teenage " supervisors " could care less. Save your money and go to six flags in Vallejo. I hope this place closes down soon.
Jessica H.
If you're looking for a place to have an amazing time with your family, California's Great America in Santa Clara is the place to be! My family and I recently visited to celebrate my son's 13th birthday and we had an absolute blast! From the thrilling roller coasters to the family-friendly rides, there was something for everyone. The park was clean and well-maintained, and the staff was friendly and helpful.We spent the entire day exploring the park, riding the rides, and indulging in some delicious theme park treats. And let me tell you, the kids were over the moon with excitement! We were having so much fun that we even created a YouTube video(youtu.be/Zls95E7U0jk) to commemorate our visit. If you want to see some serious excitement, check it out!Overall, I highly recommend California's Great America as a fun and exciting destination for families. You won't be disappointed!youtu.be/Zls95E7U0jk
Rita V.
We came here on a Saturday and it was nice to see that guests are allowed to wait inside the park before 10am. We all walked to boomerang Bay and there was already a line forming in front of the tide pool gate. This line probably had 100 people before 11am.Everyone was shocked to see the great america staff open up another gate (on the other side), which had no line. Everyone started leaving the line and running inside to grab a shady spot. It was such a chaotic scene of adults and kids all running. I was definitely concerned about the kids safety of getting trampled. This didn't feel right for all the families in front of the line, since that gate was still closed. It would have been better if the staff opened the gate that had a line of people first. My family ended up getting some benches in the back (in the sun), since I decided to walk to the tide pool area. Obviously all the runners saved all the shady spots. My family had a great time in the tide pool area. There was a lot of lifeguards to make sure everyone is safe. I noticed they all did a great job ensuring it was safe to go down the slide. It got very crowded by 2pm, so we left to go on the rides.In the Planet Snoopy area, most of the rides were closed, and this area was understaffed. We wanted to line up for the bumper cars, but the entrance had a rope to close off the existing line. We lined up for Snoopy space race, but then a staff roped off the entrance 10 minutes later. My daughter was only able to enjoy the carousel, Snoopy space buggies, and peanut 500. Each ride had a 20 to 30 minutes wait.My daughter wanted to play in the construction zone playground. The main structure with 2 open slides was closed, so she played with the dump truck structure with a slide. I was getting worried when I didn't see my daughter come out of the slide. When she finally came out, she told me that she hurt her toe. Apparently there are ropes or nets inside the dump truck, and she got stuck. When I checked her feet, it looked bloody since her toe got cut! I immediately told the staff, who called first aid.I really appreciate how fast the first aid staff appeared. He cleaned the wound and bandaged my daughters toe. He made sure my daughter was calm, too.We left great america after this incident. My daughter getting injured at the Snoopy playground ruined the rest of the day for us. She was no longer interested in staying or going on any rides.Overall, Great America is overpriced considering most things are closed.
Bill S.
We enjoyed ourselves at the park. It's got a decent variety of rides. Something for every family member. We went for the New Orleans festival and enjoyed trying the different foods. We felt our visit from SoCal fell short on employee training. Our first experience was trying to get info on how to buy the drink cup wristbands. This lets you get a paper cup every 15 minutes for soda. Better than a plastic cup because we don't need more junk at home and don't want to worry about our cups all day. Two different employees at places that served soda had no clue how we would purchase it. We had to do a Google search and find out answer on Reddit. Second was we got the Carnival bundle that includes 3 tasting of the New Orleans festival. Upon asking an employee at one of the vendor stations how we go about it they scanned our passes "just to see" and ended up using one of our choices because they scanned it and "could not void it". Another was when ordering one of the dishes the vendor didn't know they were offering it. We visited last year and it was pretty smooth and easy. This year was a mess. One more note, the Starbucks was the biggest line of the day. If they had 2 more employees they'd had made twice as much money that day. People were walking away because of the long line. The employees were working hard, just not enough of them. We don't know if we will make the trip next year.
Stacie R.
I do not understand how people can be so critical of Great America. I came here with my husband and two kids the other day. I hadn't been there since about 2012 and so many changes have happened. Overall, the obvious thing is how CLEAN this place is. The upkeep is incredible. Especially considering they're planning to close it in 10 years. They are adding new rides (gold strike is great!), repaving the paths, new paint jobs, keeping the landscaping looking perfect. I was in shock. I was honestly expecting it to be run down and looking pretty dumpy since it's on its way out, but my experience was the exact opposite. We have been to Raging Waters, Discovery Kingdom, Pixieland in Concord, and then much bigger theme parks like Disneyland/world, Universal Studios Hollywood/Florida. And honestly, the only ones were in better shape than Great America were the Disneys and Universals. Discovery Kingdom is garbage compared to Great America. Not to be harsh, but, honestly, there is clearly a lot of attention being kept to keeping Great America, well, great, and I was so happy to see this. GA is such an integral part of my childhood and I want to be able to share that with my kids for years to come and I am happy to say that I think that's more than possible considering the state the park is in right now! I am excited to come back and maybe even get a season pass once my daughter grows a couple more inches (currently she's a couple inches too short to go on the big roller coasters, and she's super bummed about that). I was a little sad about some of the name and color changes, like the Vortex, just because I'm nostalgic and love things the way they were (I understand why they had to change Top Gun since it's no longer owned by Paramount). But at the same time I appreciate they're trying to keep themes up and also shows they are repainting and staying on top of upkeep, so I can't complain too much! I am also impressed with the Waterpark area. They have a very decent amount of rides (they're all pretty short but still cool) and they even have the best equipment where the staff doesn't have to drag the rafts to the water, there's automated ramps that do it for them (we were at Raging Waters and you feel bad for the workers having to drag people around). The lazy river was cool and very clean. It's kinda cool how they only let people go around once so you can always find a raft available, but it is also a little bit of a bummer if you want to keep going! We also stopped to eat some chicken tenders and fries and the food was pretty good! Not terrible prices either. We will be returning for sure, and look forward to experiencing all the rides another time!
I remember coming here all the time in elementary school and junior high, but because all the hype died down, the lines for rides were much shorter. I came here on Sunday and expected there to be many more people but there weren't! The longest line was Psycho Mouse and we only waited 20 minutes. Surprisingly, we walked onto rides like Demon and Flight Deck, which I remember waiting in hour-long lines years ago. Despite the short lines, the food here is expensive and the kids are very loud LOL. It is an amusement park though and I still had a great time!!
Tina L.
Grew up in the Bay but what the park needs to crack down on is adult supervision and not just drop off or send them with a 21 year old that's just getting them in and leaving them.My son's friend got into flight deck and you know how they got those shelves to leave your personal items in. His friend's Fanny pack just got snatched up! We come here to enjoy and have fun but not dread over our personal items getting stolen from getting in a ride. How those ten fingers so quick to grab that right after the ride??? It's serious I feel so bad for him and it's such a good day today. No one gonna turn that in now!Other than that, lines are extremely long and this won't be here forever. Just a few more years. Hope they'll have more security around even during the rides getting on and off. TGIF
Kaley H.
Great America has always been a good spot to hang out with friends and family. The food is amazing, the rides are fun, and the people that work there are nice(some not so much). I enjoy being there and I'm sad that it will be closing in a couple of years. However, Great America's chaperone law is ridiculous because it undermines personal freedom and autonomy. Imposing an arbitrary age limit on visitors and requiring them to be accompanied by an adult restricts individuals from enjoying the park at their own pace. Furthermore, it perpetuates the notions that young people are incapable of responsible behavior and disregards the fact that many teenagers are capable of making sensible decisions and ensuring their own safety. I understand that some of the minors are immature and aren't mindful of their surroundings. I also know that most of them cause fights and unnecessary outbreaks. But I believe that the chaperone law isn't going to help the situation therefore, make it worse.
Demetria W.
Since my family always goes to Southern California theme parks, we decided to try something new and head north to California's Great Adventure. It was about a mile from our hotel. I wish I had researched before we drove because parking was $30. A rideshare to and from was way cheaper. We visited on a weekday, and either they didn't have the staff or they didn't anticipate many people because there was 1 gate open to enter. We could ride a few rides, which was fun; however, many of their rides were closed, which was a bummer. Thankfully lines weren't too long this day. It was a very clean facility, and the bathrooms were as well. I wonder if we didn't know where the other bathrooms were, but there seemed only to be one. Food options are available, from park foods like churros and funnel cakes to Panda Express and Starbucks. Quite pricey, but it is a theme park. All the staff we encountered were kind, courteous, and enthusiastic. The theme of the park is Peanuts and is displayed throughout the park. Super cute with common sayings and pictures, photo ops, and around the park. Their Peanuts show was appealing and engaging. Little kids were dancing along. My family said we should return another day, hoping more rides would open. It's small so you can hit all the rides in one visit. We will remember to rideshare if it's more feasible.
Ying Xin F.
Thrill rides, live entertainment and yummy food at California's Great America! The new Peanuts Celebration welcomes fans of all ages to join Snoopy and friends, for memorable, family-friendly fun in April. Check out new menu items, like the Andy dog, a bacon wrapped hotdog topped with jalapeños and cheese. Even though it was day 1 of the Peanuts celebration on Saturday, the park wasn't overly crowded. Wait times for rides were around 20min. It was a bummer that Gold striker is closed for spring and Railblazer broke down when we were in the queue for 20min. Other than that, the promo of $30 per ticket that weekend worked great for us who just wanted to experience a fun weekend at the park.
They were busy the long was long.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Great America has been great for our family with littles as you can also go to Gilroy gardens with the season pass. The water park at Gilroy gardens is more suitable for toddlers, but Great America also has a lot to offer. We went to tricks and treats and wish they had the map available online as we walked around the whole park to find where the trick or treating doors were located. Hope this map helps you. You're welcome!
At around 7pm on September third 2023 a man named Andre by far had the best etiquette out of every staff there.
Hot dog and chips are the only things allowed on the meal plan, even though other meals are cheaper, such as nachos or pretzel and cheese. It's annoying to have to ask at each separate place what is allowed in the meal plan. They should have a list!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 2
BRING BACK THE HAUNT! Tricks and Treats sucks! So boring and not worth the money. I guess for small children it's entertaining and fun. Wish it was like it used to be, kid friendly during the day and the haunt at night.
Negative stars if possible. I haven't been here in 20 years and decided to take our son. Purchased the premium dining, only to find out none of the "premium " restaurants were open. The we were told it was another 20 bucks or so for the all day souvenir cup. So instead every 15 minutes we had to get another paper cup. Staff is rude and the teenage " supervisors " could care less. Save your money and go to six flags in Vallejo. I hope this place closes down soon.
If you're looking for a place to have an amazing time with your family, California's Great America in Santa Clara is the place to be! My family and I recently visited to celebrate my son's 13th birthday and we had an absolute blast! From the thrilling roller coasters to the family-friendly rides, there was something for everyone. The park was clean and well-maintained, and the staff was friendly and helpful.We spent the entire day exploring the park, riding the rides, and indulging in some delicious theme park treats. And let me tell you, the kids were over the moon with excitement! We were having so much fun that we even created a YouTube video(youtu.be/Zls95E7U0jk) to commemorate our visit. If you want to see some serious excitement, check it out!Overall, I highly recommend California's Great America as a fun and exciting destination for families. You won't be disappointed!youtu.be/Zls95E7U0jk
We came here on a Saturday and it was nice to see that guests are allowed to wait inside the park before 10am. We all walked to boomerang Bay and there was already a line forming in front of the tide pool gate. This line probably had 100 people before 11am.Everyone was shocked to see the great america staff open up another gate (on the other side), which had no line. Everyone started leaving the line and running inside to grab a shady spot. It was such a chaotic scene of adults and kids all running. I was definitely concerned about the kids safety of getting trampled. This didn't feel right for all the families in front of the line, since that gate was still closed. It would have been better if the staff opened the gate that had a line of people first. My family ended up getting some benches in the back (in the sun), since I decided to walk to the tide pool area. Obviously all the runners saved all the shady spots. My family had a great time in the tide pool area. There was a lot of lifeguards to make sure everyone is safe. I noticed they all did a great job ensuring it was safe to go down the slide. It got very crowded by 2pm, so we left to go on the rides.In the Planet Snoopy area, most of the rides were closed, and this area was understaffed. We wanted to line up for the bumper cars, but the entrance had a rope to close off the existing line. We lined up for Snoopy space race, but then a staff roped off the entrance 10 minutes later. My daughter was only able to enjoy the carousel, Snoopy space buggies, and peanut 500. Each ride had a 20 to 30 minutes wait.My daughter wanted to play in the construction zone playground. The main structure with 2 open slides was closed, so she played with the dump truck structure with a slide. I was getting worried when I didn't see my daughter come out of the slide. When she finally came out, she told me that she hurt her toe. Apparently there are ropes or nets inside the dump truck, and she got stuck. When I checked her feet, it looked bloody since her toe got cut! I immediately told the staff, who called first aid.I really appreciate how fast the first aid staff appeared. He cleaned the wound and bandaged my daughters toe. He made sure my daughter was calm, too.We left great america after this incident. My daughter getting injured at the Snoopy playground ruined the rest of the day for us. She was no longer interested in staying or going on any rides.Overall, Great America is overpriced considering most things are closed.
We enjoyed ourselves at the park. It's got a decent variety of rides. Something for every family member. We went for the New Orleans festival and enjoyed trying the different foods. We felt our visit from SoCal fell short on employee training. Our first experience was trying to get info on how to buy the drink cup wristbands. This lets you get a paper cup every 15 minutes for soda. Better than a plastic cup because we don't need more junk at home and don't want to worry about our cups all day. Two different employees at places that served soda had no clue how we would purchase it. We had to do a Google search and find out answer on Reddit. Second was we got the Carnival bundle that includes 3 tasting of the New Orleans festival. Upon asking an employee at one of the vendor stations how we go about it they scanned our passes "just to see" and ended up using one of our choices because they scanned it and "could not void it". Another was when ordering one of the dishes the vendor didn't know they were offering it. We visited last year and it was pretty smooth and easy. This year was a mess. One more note, the Starbucks was the biggest line of the day. If they had 2 more employees they'd had made twice as much money that day. People were walking away because of the long line. The employees were working hard, just not enough of them. We don't know if we will make the trip next year.
I do not understand how people can be so critical of Great America. I came here with my husband and two kids the other day. I hadn't been there since about 2012 and so many changes have happened. Overall, the obvious thing is how CLEAN this place is. The upkeep is incredible. Especially considering they're planning to close it in 10 years. They are adding new rides (gold strike is great!), repaving the paths, new paint jobs, keeping the landscaping looking perfect. I was in shock. I was honestly expecting it to be run down and looking pretty dumpy since it's on its way out, but my experience was the exact opposite. We have been to Raging Waters, Discovery Kingdom, Pixieland in Concord, and then much bigger theme parks like Disneyland/world, Universal Studios Hollywood/Florida. And honestly, the only ones were in better shape than Great America were the Disneys and Universals. Discovery Kingdom is garbage compared to Great America. Not to be harsh, but, honestly, there is clearly a lot of attention being kept to keeping Great America, well, great, and I was so happy to see this. GA is such an integral part of my childhood and I want to be able to share that with my kids for years to come and I am happy to say that I think that's more than possible considering the state the park is in right now! I am excited to come back and maybe even get a season pass once my daughter grows a couple more inches (currently she's a couple inches too short to go on the big roller coasters, and she's super bummed about that). I was a little sad about some of the name and color changes, like the Vortex, just because I'm nostalgic and love things the way they were (I understand why they had to change Top Gun since it's no longer owned by Paramount). But at the same time I appreciate they're trying to keep themes up and also shows they are repainting and staying on top of upkeep, so I can't complain too much! I am also impressed with the Waterpark area. They have a very decent amount of rides (they're all pretty short but still cool) and they even have the best equipment where the staff doesn't have to drag the rafts to the water, there's automated ramps that do it for them (we were at Raging Waters and you feel bad for the workers having to drag people around). The lazy river was cool and very clean. It's kinda cool how they only let people go around once so you can always find a raft available, but it is also a little bit of a bummer if you want to keep going! We also stopped to eat some chicken tenders and fries and the food was pretty good! Not terrible prices either. We will be returning for sure, and look forward to experiencing all the rides another time!
Restaurantji Recommends
I remember coming here all the time in elementary school and junior high, but because all the hype died down, the lines for rides were much shorter. I came here on Sunday and expected there to be many more people but there weren't! The longest line was Psycho Mouse and we only waited 20 minutes. Surprisingly, we walked onto rides like Demon and Flight Deck, which I remember waiting in hour-long lines years ago. Despite the short lines, the food here is expensive and the kids are very loud LOL. It is an amusement park though and I still had a great time!!
Grew up in the Bay but what the park needs to crack down on is adult supervision and not just drop off or send them with a 21 year old that's just getting them in and leaving them.My son's friend got into flight deck and you know how they got those shelves to leave your personal items in. His friend's Fanny pack just got snatched up! We come here to enjoy and have fun but not dread over our personal items getting stolen from getting in a ride. How those ten fingers so quick to grab that right after the ride??? It's serious I feel so bad for him and it's such a good day today. No one gonna turn that in now!Other than that, lines are extremely long and this won't be here forever. Just a few more years. Hope they'll have more security around even during the rides getting on and off. TGIF
Great America has always been a good spot to hang out with friends and family. The food is amazing, the rides are fun, and the people that work there are nice(some not so much). I enjoy being there and I'm sad that it will be closing in a couple of years. However, Great America's chaperone law is ridiculous because it undermines personal freedom and autonomy. Imposing an arbitrary age limit on visitors and requiring them to be accompanied by an adult restricts individuals from enjoying the park at their own pace. Furthermore, it perpetuates the notions that young people are incapable of responsible behavior and disregards the fact that many teenagers are capable of making sensible decisions and ensuring their own safety. I understand that some of the minors are immature and aren't mindful of their surroundings. I also know that most of them cause fights and unnecessary outbreaks. But I believe that the chaperone law isn't going to help the situation therefore, make it worse.
Since my family always goes to Southern California theme parks, we decided to try something new and head north to California's Great Adventure. It was about a mile from our hotel. I wish I had researched before we drove because parking was $30. A rideshare to and from was way cheaper. We visited on a weekday, and either they didn't have the staff or they didn't anticipate many people because there was 1 gate open to enter. We could ride a few rides, which was fun; however, many of their rides were closed, which was a bummer. Thankfully lines weren't too long this day. It was a very clean facility, and the bathrooms were as well. I wonder if we didn't know where the other bathrooms were, but there seemed only to be one. Food options are available, from park foods like churros and funnel cakes to Panda Express and Starbucks. Quite pricey, but it is a theme park. All the staff we encountered were kind, courteous, and enthusiastic. The theme of the park is Peanuts and is displayed throughout the park. Super cute with common sayings and pictures, photo ops, and around the park. Their Peanuts show was appealing and engaging. Little kids were dancing along. My family said we should return another day, hoping more rides would open. It's small so you can hit all the rides in one visit. We will remember to rideshare if it's more feasible.
Thrill rides, live entertainment and yummy food at California's Great America! The new Peanuts Celebration welcomes fans of all ages to join Snoopy and friends, for memorable, family-friendly fun in April. Check out new menu items, like the Andy dog, a bacon wrapped hotdog topped with jalapeños and cheese. Even though it was day 1 of the Peanuts celebration on Saturday, the park wasn't overly crowded. Wait times for rides were around 20min. It was a bummer that Gold striker is closed for spring and Railblazer broke down when we were in the queue for 20min. Other than that, the promo of $30 per ticket that weekend worked great for us who just wanted to experience a fun weekend at the park.