Bavarian Beetle

Opened: 1972

Closed: 1978

Location: Oktoberfest, current location of Festhaus

Manufacturer: S.D.C.

Model: Galaxi

Length: 800 ft

Height: 45 ft

Inversions: 0

Vehicles: 2 car per train with 2 rows per a car

Description: Bavarian Beetle was a compact steel roller coaster. The small cars whizzed around the track, through tight turns and sharp drops. The ride was lit with arched lighting above its track.

History: Bavarian Beetle first opened at Cincinnati’s Coney Island in 1970 as Galaxi. The ride was one of many relocated to Kings Island for its 1972 opening, where it was renamed Bavarian Beetle to fit the Oktoberfest area theme. The ride remained relatively unchanged during its existence, pardon the addition of new alpine theming on its station in 1976. The attraction was quietly removed from the park’s line-up mid-1978 and was replaced with Ferris Wheel that same summer. Bavarian Beetle was the center of a lawsuit in 1978 when a 91-year-old man filed a negligence suit against Kings Island after he broke his neck on the roller coaster. The man maintained that Kings Island should have warned him about the nature of the ride before he boarded. Bavarian Beetle was scrapped and was not relocated to another amusement park after it concluded its run at Kings Island.

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