MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress, previously known as Montezooma’s Revenge, is a
shuttle roller coaster
A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards. These are sometimes referred to as boomerang roller c ...
located at
Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...
in
Buena Park, California
Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 mi ...
, United States. Designed by
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs ...
, the ride opened on May 21, 1978, and is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world.
It is also the oldest looping shuttle roller coaster still operating in its original location. The ride was closed in February 2022 for a major refurbishment and is scheduled to reopen in 2023.
History
Montezooma's Revenge was named after the bluegrass group, Montezuma's Revenge, a musical act that performed regularly in the wagon camp at Knott's Berry Farm. Based on the launch mechanism for aircraft carriers, the flywheel-launched shuttle loop is a successor of the drop-tower launch shuttle, and predates modern
LIM and hydraulic launch systems by over 15 years. The drop tower models had a large silo with a weight inside connected to a similar launch system. The weight would drop, thus pulling the cable and bob, launching the train. Drawbacks included no adjustments for inclement weather. Also, the drop-tower launch was nowhere as intense as the flywheel launch, taking almost two seconds longer to reach the same speed.
The nearby
Jaguar! roller coaster, which opened in 1995,
passes directly through the center of Montezooma's loop.
In 2002, Montezooma's Revenge was repainted in a teal and yellow color scheme.
In 2008, Knott's opened
Pony Express
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...
, a small "out and back" steel roller coaster with a flywheel launch system much like Montezooma's Revenge.
In 2017, Montezooma's Revenge was painted with orange track and dark green supports.
The ride closed for a major refurbishment throughout the 2022 season and is set to reopen in 2023. It was originally planned for the coaster to reopen with the overall revamping of the Mexican-themed Fiesta Village area,
but Montezooma's reopening was delayed due to construction.
Launch mechanism and safety features
The ride uses a
flywheel
A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, as ...
mechanism to accelerate the train to in 4.5 seconds. The train goes through a vertical loop, then ascends a spike and reverses direction. It passes through the station in reverse and ascends another spike behind the station. The flywheel, located outside the station and adjacent to the loop, is attached to a clutch and cable system, which in turn connects to a small four-wheeled catch car known as a "bob". On the front of the bob is a launch pin that seats in a socket in the back of the train. Once the bob is seated, the operators receive the ready light.
At launch, the clutch system engages the cable to the spinning flywheel, pulling the bob and train rapidly forwards. During the launch sequence, enough
kinetic energy
In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion.
It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acc ...
is removed from the flywheel to reduce its speed from approximately 1044 rpm to 872 rpm.
The train negotiates a diameter vertical loop before ascending the front spike, then descends backwards, going through the loop a second time, running at full speed backwards through the station, and ascending the rear spike. It is at this point where the best "airtime" on the ride is experienced. The train then returns to its starting position after being slowed by 66 sets of brakes, 33 in the station and 33 to the rear of the station.
Unlike traditional looping coasters that use over-the-shoulder restraints, MonteZOOMa originally only relied on a conventional lap bar restraint to secure riders.
Following
Cedar Fair
Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included- ...
's 1997 acquisition of Knott's Berry Farm,
fabric seat belts were added as a secondary restraint to complement the existing lap bar restraints.
[
]
Incidents
Justine Dedele Bolia, a 20-year-old female tourist from the Republic of Congo, died on September 1, 2001, one day after riding Montezooma's Revenge. Bolia suffered a ruptured middle cerebral artery and an autopsy revealed a pre-existing condition. The ride was closed for several days while an investigation was conducted. Though state investigators concluded that the ride did not contribute to her death, a wrongful death lawsuit was later filed by her family in 2002. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2006.
Awards and rankings
On June 20, 2019, Montezooma's Revenge was designated as a Roller Coaster Landmark by the American Coaster Enthusiasts, officially recognizing the ride as the last coaster of its kind in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and the longest standing in its original location. There is a plaque commemorating the achievement. Knott's tweeted their announcement of the award.
References
External links
Official ''Montezooma's Revenge'' page
{{KBF Coasters
Knott's Berry Farm
Roller coasters introduced in 1978
Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair
Roller coasters in California