Long before Great America became several theme parks, it started with a company most people still associate with hotels. In the 1970s, Marriott decided to enter the theme park business, likely after seeing the success of Disney’s parks. The company planned a chain of big, clean, family-friendly parks filled with rides, shows, food, music, costumed characters, and patriotic nostalgia. The first two parks opened in 1976, right as the country was celebrating the Bicentennial. Only two Great America parks were ever built, one in Santa Clara, California, and one in Gurnee, Illinois. Both opened in 1976, changed owners over the years, and are still open today.
Other Six Flags parks, including Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia, and Six Flags Magic Mountain, have their own separate histories and were not part of Marriott’s original Great America plan.