Six Flags Great America restores 3 kids' rides in Hometown Park area (with video)

GURNEE – When Six Flags Great America opened its doors on May 29, 1976, Hometown Park had three rides in it.

Children could take the reins of an old-fashioned carriage on Tot's Livery Surrey Carriages, hop on the Lady Bugs for a bumpy spin around some flowers or pilot their own World War I biplane replica on the Red Baron.

Today, those same three children's rides have been restored to the area, as the amusement park celebrates "40 Seasons of Thrills," said David Dahlman, Six Flags sponsorship coordinator.

The rides are reunited after being split up in 2001, when, Dahlman said, the area was vacated to make room for another attraction, sending Lady Bugs into the Bugs Bunny National Park area while Tot’s Livery and Red Baron went into storage.

“When we thought of ‘What is 40 seasons of thrills? What are we going to do?’ We thought, ‘Let’s bring back our Hometown Park area and add another kids’ area to the park,’” Dahlman said.

Riders for all the attractions in Hometown Park must be 54 inches tall or shorter.

Hometown Park is in the Hometown Square area near the Whizzer.