Der Fender Bender/Autobahn 1973 - Current

Europa is home to three original park rides that were in operation on opening day, May 26, 1973, and Autobahn, or Der Fender Bender (DFB) as it was originally entitled, is one of those three. DFB/Autobahn is nothing really special, it's just your ordinary bumper cars ride, riders 48" or taller can ride either single or double, and drive their own electric car around the course in the ultimate game of road rage. The interesting story behind Autobahn/DFB isn't so much what it is, but more so how much it has changed. The first big change Autobahn experienced was its name change. Autobahn originally opened in 1973 as Der Fender Bender, and it stayed that way until 1997, when Cedar Fair, the new owners of the park at the time decided to change the ride's name to just Autobahn. No one really knows why the ride name was changed, but since both are thematically appropriate there has never been a large outcry over the name change. Still, many who worked at the park in the 70's and 80's still refer to the ride as DFB.

Also of interest, the two ends of the ride's course were enclosed in 2010 partially for Snoopy's Hot Summer Lights (one end was used for costuming). However, prior to 2010 both ends had already been closed off for maintenance for several years. Its worth noting that the ride originally operated with almost the full building's length as its overall course.

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