California's Great America
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California's Great America - by Oleg Alexandrov (CC BY-SA 4.0) #3





Description
California's Great America is an amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. It features over 40 rides and attractions for various age levels. The most famous ride is a wooden rollercoaster called 'Gold Striker'. Other notable ones include Flight deck (inverted), RailBlazer (90 deg. drop and 3 inversions) and a Drop Tower.
Access & Transport
The park is just to the northeast of San Jose and its airport, next to the 49ers stadium. From San Francisco by car, take the US 101 south to Great America Parkway exit (45 mi/72km); from San Jose US 101 north to Great America Parkway exit and from Oakland, I-880 south to 237, then west to Great America Parkway exit (45mi/72km). Parking cost $25/day when purchased online It is a 5mins walk to the light rail 'Great America' station (Orange and Green lines).
Instructions & Recommendations
Opening hours change every month so please check the website: https://www.cagreatamerica.com/calendar-and-hours
Environmental & Social
The park had pledged to use 100% of its energy requirements from renewables but we could not find any data published by the Cedar Fair group. By default, we rate theme parks as wasteful but creating jobs locally.
Conclusion
Great America has some thrilling rides but the experience is likely to be negatively impacted by the long waiting time and expensive add-ons besides the standard ticket price, which makes the value of a day there debatable.
Key positive
Many adrenaline inducing rides
Easy to get to
Key negative
Expensive (ticket + food + parking)
Long waiting lines during holiday periods
Suitability
All ages welcome but best for families - age and height restrictions apply. Visitors with disabilities will not be able to enjoy all the rides.
About this Rating
TYPE
Desktop
RESEARCHED IN
August 2024
PROVIDER
Koreval
av. transport time:0h 30m
est. visit time:5h
Start of Season 1:Jun, 01
MONDAY10:00 - 20:00
TUESDAY10:00 - 20:00
WEDNESDAY10:00 - 20:00
THURSDAY10:00 - 20:00
FRIDAY10:00 - 22:00
SATURDAY10:00 - 22:00
SUNDAY10:00 - 22:00
Start of Season 2:Aug, 13
MONDAY -
TUESDAY -
WEDNESDAY -
THURSDAY -
FRIDAY16:00 - 22:00
SATURDAY12:00 - 22:00
SUNDAY -