Six Flags Great America Closure: What’s Real in 2025

Parks confirmed closing: 2 (Six Flags America, California’s Great America) ·
Six Flags America final day: Early November 2025 ·
California’s Great America closure deadline: End of 2027 ·
Six Flags Great America (Gurnee) status: Remains open, no announced closure ·
Total Six Flags parks in North America: 27 (as of 2025)

Six key facts about the park that started all the confusion.

Is Six Flags Great America Closing?

Which park is actually closing?

• Six Flags America (Maryland) – closing November 2025 (People)
• California’s Great America (Santa Clara) – closing by end of 2027 (People)
• Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL) – no closure announced (Six Flags official site)

The name similarity between Six Flags Great America and California’s Great America is a major source of confusion, as People magazine (popular news outlet) noted in its coverage of the Santa Clara park’s closure. Many readers mistakenly assume the Illinois park is affected.

What is the status of Six Flags Great America in Gurnee?

The Six Flags Great America official homepage (tier1 source) explicitly positions the park around the nation’s 250th anniversary, which conflicts with any claim that it was closing in 2025. A Facebook post reportedly claimed a closure on October 25, 2025, but that claim contradicts the park’s live hours and ride-closure page.

The implication: if you’re a fan of the Gurnee park, your season passes are still good for 2026 and beyond.

Why Are They Shutting Down Great America?

What is the lease expiration reason?

• California’s Great America’s lease with the city of Santa Clara expires June 30, 2028 (People). The land is slated for redevelopment.

The People report citing city officials explains that the lease was not renewed because the city wants to turn the 112-acre site into a mixed-use community with housing and retail.

How does the Cedar Fair merger affect closures?

• The 2024 merger with Cedar Fair allowed Six Flags to reassess its portfolio. Entertainment Weekly reported in November 2025 that the company has a priority to close or sell underperforming parks (Entertainment Weekly).

Six Flags America’s closure was driven by financial struggles and a lawsuit, according to People magazine (popular news outlet). The park and its water park Hurricane Harbor in Bowie, Maryland closed after 50 years.

What this means: the merger gave the company cover to shed parks that weren’t meeting revenue targets.

What Will Replace Great America?

Is there a redevelopment plan for Santa Clara?

• The 112-acre site will be redeveloped into a mixed-use community with housing, retail, and offices (People).

City officials have confirmed plans for a transit-oriented development that will include parks and public spaces. No amusement park will remain.

What will happen to the Maryland site?

• No official replacement plan for the Six Flags America site in Largo, Maryland, as of early 2026 (People).

The catch: while Santa Clara has a clear timeline, the Maryland site’s future is still uncertain, leaving the local community in limbo.

Is Six Flags Closing Permanently?

Which other parks are at risk?

• No official announcements for Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Magic Mountain, or Six Flags St. Louis. But Entertainment Weekly (entertainment and culture news) reported that the company wants to close or sell more parks.

Is Six Flags Great Adventure closing?

As of early 2026, no closure announcement has been made for Great Adventure in New Jersey. The Entertainment Weekly report about a priority to close or sell more parks didn’t name specific locations, so no park is off the table, but none has been confirmed.

Is Six Flags Magic Mountain closing permanently?

Same situation: no announcement. Six Flags Magic Mountain in California remains open. The Disney Food Blog (theme park news outlet) summarized that four theme parks in total closed in 2025, but Magic Mountain wasn’t among them.

Why this matters: for investors and frequent visitors, the closure of two parks doesn’t signal the end of the chain, but it does show a new willingness to shrink the portfolio.

How Many People Have Passed Away at Six Flags?

What are the most notable incidents?

• According to The Doan Law Firm (personal injury firm), ride-related fatalities at Six Flags parks are extremely rare relative to attendance, with only a handful of incidents since the 1990s.

The firm’s 2025 data shows that while any tragedy is serious, the numbers are low given that Six Flags parks host tens of millions of visitors each year.

How does Six Flags compare to industry safety standards?

• The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA, global trade association) reports that the chance of a fatal ride accident is 1 in 750 million rides. Six Flags has not been an outlier in industry safety records.

The reality: while any death is tragic, the data shows that visiting a Six Flags park is statistically very safe.

Timeline: Six Flags Park Closures and Key Events

• 1976 – Six Flags Great America opens as Marriott’s Great America (Six Flags official site)
• 1984 – Six Flags acquires the park (Six Flags official site)
• 2024 – Six Flags merges with Cedar Fair
• June 2025 – Six Flags America closure announced for November 2025 (People)
• July 2025 – California’s Great America closure confirmed by end of 2027 (People)
• November 2025 – Six Flags America closes permanently (People)
• End of 2027 – California’s Great America closes (People)

The timeline underscores that only two parks have definitive closure dates, while the rest remain in operation.

Clarity: What’s Confirmed vs. Unclear

This summary reinforces that the information is largely confirmed for the two closing parks, with other parks remaining uncertain.

Quotes from the News

“Six Flags has a priority to close or sell more parks after the closure of Six Flags America.”

— Six Flags corporate statement, via Entertainment Weekly (entertainment and culture news)

“The lease on the Santa Clara property expires June 30, 2028, and the city plans to redevelop the land.”

— People magazine (popular news outlet), citing Santa Clara city officials

“Six Flags America in Maryland has closed after 50 years, marking the end of an era.”

— People magazine (popular news outlet)

For fans of Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, the immediate future is stable — but the company’s stated priority to close more parks means no regional park is truly safe. If you want to keep riding, the best strategy is to visit while you can, because the portfolio is shrinking.

Frequently asked questions