There would be a place for Great America even without a single roller coaster.

Great America is best known as a theme park for good reason. It boasts RailBlazer, Gold Striker, and Flight Deck, coasters that are highly regarded by enthusiasts nationwide, and a few more regional classics, like Demon, Patriot, and Grizzly. Drop Tower, Tiki Twirl, and Psycho Mouse are more rides that attract thrill seekers, but themed areas like Planet Snoopy ensure that even the youngest park visitors have a place to spend their day. Every new parent knows the draw of Great America, and every family knows that season passes with meal and drink add-ons are the highest value entertainment purchase in the country.

Great America has South Bay Shores, a water park with a wave pool, water slides, raft rides, and swim and soak experiences for all ages. This is in addition to Rip Roaring Rapids and White Water Falls, stand-alone rides that are guaranteed to cool off park goers even when the pools are closed. Families have been known to visit Great America for the water park alone, hitting the rides only after it closed for the day.

Great America is also home to the Redwood Amphitheater, an outdoor concert venue that holds 10,000 people. Back in the day, artists like Flo Rida, Charlie Puth, Oingo Boingo, Kenny Loggins, Gloria Estefan, Salt-N-Pepa, and Stevie Ray Vaughan were headline attractions that brought people to the park who had no intention of moving faster in their seats than a hard rock or R&B groove. The Amphitheater would be an ideal venue for more intimate performances to complement the larger national tours by the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé next door.

Many other attractions round out the showtime aspect of Great America. There are other live performances throughout the park, including the “It’s Christmas, Snoopy!” show that could easily stand on its own, although it along with some smaller stages have suffered from lack of performers and performances in recent years. Mass Effect is an enhanced digital 3D experience that holds up a decade after its opening and still compares well against similar rides at unnamed larger theme parks. 

What you may not know is that Great America provides the first job with promotional possibilities for thousands of high school and college students. Great America is likely the largest commercial employer of teenagers in the area. Every year Great America hires over a thousand seasonal ride operators, food-service workers, lifeguards, games attendants, and guest-services staff in positions specifically designed to accommodate students’ schedules. Many park goers today can tell you about their first jobs at Great America and their children’s experiences working the very same shops and restaurants. Of all of the things Great America offers, these jobs will be the hardest to replace, and the one thing everyone should be demanding, whether you have children or not.

People who tell me that Great America’s time has passed seem unaware that every day welcomes a new person who has never experienced Great America. Of all the things we are losing even as we bring in more and more residents – Santa Clara is one of the fastest growing cities in the Bay Area – a theme park is something that will never come again. I hear from some of the older crowd whose children have graduated and moved out of the area, “Come on, Kevin, when was the last time you went to Great America?”

Season opening day, and once or twice a week since then. What about you?

*Kevin Park is the District 4 representative on the Santa Clara City Council. However, this op-ed is entirely his opinion and is not intended to speak for the City or any other organization in any capacity. The views expressed here are his personal views. He is not affiliated with Great America in any way, although he is a season pass holder, with a meal and drink plan, of course.