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History
Marriott’s Great America history
In 1976, the Marriott Corporation opened two Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA parks. The two parks represented the state of the art in theme park design and attractions at that time. First to open was Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA in Santa Clara, California. Shortly after the Santa Clara park began operations, Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA in Gurnee, Illinois celebrated its grand opening. A third park in the Washington, DC metropolitan area was also to have opened in 1976. Local opposition, however, at two proposed sites prevented the third park from becoming a reality.
Simultaneously building two major theme parks and opening them just over two months apart was an unprecedented achievement in the theme park industry. The Marriott’s Great America parks were designed and constructed with great dedication to authentic theming that was reflected in the rides, entertainment, food, merchandise, and more. The goal was to provide a top-quality theme park experience for families to enjoy together.
press information
View a selection of Marriott’s Great America press releases:
photo albums:
Rides
Marriott’s Great America rides
Amusement rides were the key ingredient for fun at Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA. In the rides section of GREATAMERICAparks.com our focus for now is on all the rides from the Marriott years.
Shows
Shows at Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA parks
Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA put a lot of emphasis on shows and performers. There were lavish musical shows, parades, marching bands, street performers, and even a circus. Here we will take a look back at the variety of shows and performers featured at Marriott’s GREAT AMERICA.
Visit the Circus Fantastic photo album.
Visit the Grand Music Hall photo album.
Visit the GREAT AMERICA band photo album.
Visit the Merry Mardi Gras Parade photo album.
Visit the Theatre Royale photo album.
More park memories
Food
Shops
Games
Video
Photo Albums
See photo albums of Great America submitted by site visitors here. If you’d like to submit photos for a Great America photo album, please send a message via the contact page.
Discussion Forums
The discussion forms have been set to read-only during site transition. All of the posts have been preserved for you to see.
Blog
IMAX Pictorium, Gurnee 1979 — 2018
This is the television commercial for the IMAX Pictorium at Marriott’s Great America. NOTE: The video is a bit unstable at the beginning of the commercial but it quickly stabilizes. This is the only copy that I have. Late in the day on April 25th, 2018 I got the news that the Pictorium at Six …
Tidal Wave at Twenty-Five, 2002 Documentary Video
The Tidal Wave roller coaster in Santa Clara, California reached its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2002. As part of the anniversary celebration, I created this documentary video on the history of the Tidal Wave. The premiere showing of this video was at the American Coaster Enthusiasts’ Coaster Con XXV in Southern California. It was also shown …
Continue reading “Tidal Wave at Twenty-Five, 2002 Documentary Video”
Merry Mardi Gras Parade, Spirit of America in Orleans Place
Santa Clara, September 1976: The Merry Mardi Gras Parade passes through Orleans Place. The parade’s floats each featured one of the park’s themed sections. Here we see the Spirit of America float, a riverboat-styled float that represented Orleans Place. The parade was a part of Marriott’s Great America Show Operations.