I went to Paramount Great America in San Jose, Ca yesterday. The posted closing time at entrance was 9 pm. However, it decided to close an hour early later. I was about to march outside to complain about it. Well, I did not because PGA was passing out one compliment ticket for each guess!

Wondering if DL or KBF do the same.

They are losing so much money it isn't funny. We go every few weeks... you can't even spend money there, because most shops and food stands are closed or have nothing of value to sell.

It is still a decent park, and the coasters are good. Very diverse crowd, unpretentious, and usually well-behaved.

You might want to go tonight - they are having fireworks at 8:45.

Well, that explains it! I went while on vacation (was there on Aug 21). Needed a cup of coffee pretty much first thing. Well, first thing for me. I WAS on vacation. Anyway, the only place at the food court that had coffee on their menu - first place on the left - said they were out of regular and only had decaf. Ah, well, at least they weren't altogether closed as my blood sugar was getting pretty low; hence, the need to wash it down w/something.

There used to be a lovely coffee bar there in KidzVille, next to Wings Restaurant. They made espresso, capuccino, cafe mocha... they had nice pastries there, too. Gone. Closed this year. :::sigh:::

It is very rare for parks to close early without any type of announcement. I really don't what to make on PGA closing early, since I find Paramount Parks to be run fairly well. However, I will take this opportunity to say I think PGA is one of the worst parks out there, and SO NOT WORTH the $43 admission (or whatever it is now). I guess with a park this bad, not should be all that upset that it closed early. Chances are you completed the park long before that time, and are bored out of your skull.

The ONLY coaster worth going there for is Top Gun. Fast, Intense, and Scenic, albeit a very short ride. Steath is pretty good, although I found the ride to have too many flaws to be memorable as Top Gun.

But Demon is a half-baked version of what can be found at the other Great America in Chicago, Vortex is a horribly rough stand-up, Invertigo is a fun but typical off-the-shelf Vekoma coaster, and the Grizzly has been voted the worst wooden coaster in the world for the past six years.

The only time I visited a park that closed early was two years ago at Six Flags New England. Not only did the park close early ( 1 or 2 hours), but the crew for one of the rides just abandoned ship while we were waiting in line! No annoucement, no "closure" of ride as the restraints were left up, and the other side still remained open.

$43 gets you a season's pass at PGA. :) You can ALWAYS find a discount coupon to PGA.

If you have kids, and you live close by, the park is just fine for half-day or evening trips. Given that we do have kids and responsibilities here, we don't have the luxury of being able to travel to every coaster (yet!) so it is nice to have a few 'standard' off-the-shelf rides nearby. :) I have found it to be a fine place to sit and read on benches when I am not feeling up to the rides - many places aren't like that (DCA comes immediately to mind), but PGA has lots of little alcoves and and quiet spaces. But I am quite thankful that I can do the coasters and stairs again these days and enjoy the place with my family.

Top Gun is quite a nice ride, I agree! I just tried Invertigo for the first time the other night, and that was really fun. :D Grizzly won't win any awards, but it has it's air time and we like it well enough to do it every other time we visit. Vortex... well, we kind of like that one! Stealth is out, though - my husband and kids thought it was too rough, and if it is too rough for them then I really need to avoid it. Demon just hurts - you have to be 5'6" or shorter to be comfortable under those shoulder harnesses -- just painful. Fun ride, though.

If you have younger kids and are looking for more gentle rides and coasters, PGA is a fine park. They are really losing ground, though.