Six Flags marks 50th anniversary with ribbon-cutting event

Fifty years ago, Great America’s opening day was reportedly a bit overcast, but Friday’s anniversary celebration featured a blazing sun and blue skies as the park marked a major milestone for the regional destination.

The 300-acre theme park is one of the oldest still standing in Illinois, and by far the largest in the state. Originally opened as Marriott’s Great America on May 29, 1976, the park has ridden a roller coaster of ups and downs in the industry and stands today as a flagship park for Six Flags.

John Krajnak, park president of Six Flags Great America, spoke during Friday’s ribbon-cutting event. He’s been working at the park for 32 years, starting in sales and working his way up the ladder over the decades.

Looking back was interesting for him, Krajnak said, because he started when the park was relatively young, and now he is celebrating its 50th.

“I look at the people that were here at the time, like they’ve been here a long, long time, and I guess I’m one of the old guys now at this point,” he said. “I’m just proud to represent and just carry on the legacy of those before me.”

While the park has some international draw, with its fair share of groundbreaking rides over the decades, the real lifeblood of a regional park is the repeat guests living in the region. Krajnak calls them the “core” of the theme park.

The 50th is both a time to look back — for the park and himself, Krajnak said — but also to look at what lies ahead.

“I’m thinking back on my own career, and thinking about the responsibility of carrying on the legacy, and what we are doing next,” he said. “Best job in the world.”

Friday’s event featured local officials, media, theme park fans and influencers, and a few faces from the park’s earliest days.

Bob Schafer was an opening manager in the park’s food department in 1976, covering the Carousel Plaza, Orleans Place, Yankee Harbor and Yukon Territory. He was carrying two Marriott company newsletters from the earliest years, which showed some of the park’s first days of operations.

Born in Chicago and raised in Mount Prospect, Schafer was working for Marriott in 1972 on the East Coast when he got a call from his mother.

“She said, ‘They’re opening up a theme park and Marriott’s going to run it. You got to come back,’” Schafer recalled. “And I did.”

Schafer is old enough to remember Riverview Park in Chicago, the famous amusement park that closed in 1967 and left a hole in the region’s theme park market for nearly a decade, prior to the building of Great America.

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The 77-year-old is still a thrill-seeker, and planned to hop on a few rides after Friday morning’s event. He was happy to be back at the park and reminisced a bit about his years in the industry.

“Making fun is serious business,” Schafer said, recalling the mantra of the park during his time. “I would have done this for nothing. Can you imagine getting up every day and making sure people have a good time? It was amazing.”

Fifty years is a long time. The trees are bigger, and the rides have changed, he said. But to Schafer, it is still the park he remembers, and he praised Six Flags for its care of the grounds and the park’s culture.

“You have to take care of the physical park,” he said. “Everybody is focused on the guest and making sure they have a good time.”

Opening as Marriott’s Great America in 1976, the park was the impetus for the surrounding community’s transformation, turning a village of less than 4,000 people into one that is home to more than 30,000.

The park has its place in the history books for theme park and coaster fans, with numerous record-breaking rides over the years.

Its sister park in Santa Clara, California, which also recently marked 50 years, is closing after the 2027 season. But Gurnee’s Great America, a reliably popular regional theme park, isn’t likely to face the same fate any time soon.

The Six Flags Great America 50th celebrations this summer include new nighttime events, such as a stage show and weekend drone shows, and new floats for the parade. Guests can tour the Legacy Museum, located in Emporium, featuring historic artifacts, archival photography, retired signage, memorabilia from park employees and fans and displays celebrating key moments from each decade.

The park is also selling nostalgic merchandise at the Emporium, and personalized bricks in the Anniversary Brick Program online, which will be installed along the Great America Legacy Path in Carousel Plaza, with designs including nods to favorite attractions, family traditions and personal milestones.

Celebrations also include the return of historic fan-favorites, including ice cream and other sweet treats.

Included in Friday’s event was the announcement that the park will be reintroducing the racing aspect of the American Eagle ride, returning the dual-track coaster to its original side-by-side operation for the first time in nearly a decade during the 50th anniversary celebration.