Montezooma's Revenge, Shuttle roller coaster in Buena Park, California, USA

Montezooma's Revenge is a steel shuttle coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, designed by Werner Stengel and built by Schwarzkopf. Its flywheel launch, housed beside the loop, accelerates the train to 55 mph (89 km/h) in 4.5 seconds. The train runs through a 76-foot (23 m) vertical loop, up a 148-foot (45 m) front tower, backwards through the station and up a 112-foot (34 m) rear tower. The photograph shows the yellow A-frame tower, the dark track with a teal rail, and an orange lower track section where the train waits.

Designed by Werner Stengel and built by Schwarzkopf Industries, the ride opened on May 21, 1978. Before its 2022 closure it was one of eight flywheel-launched units worldwide and the oldest looping shuttle coaster still operating in its original location. It closed in early 2022 for refurbishment by Dutch manufacturer Kumbak, and after repeated delays reopened as MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress on August 6, 2026.

The ride is named after Montezuma's Revenge, a bluegrass group that played regularly at the wagon camp in Knott's Berry Farm. The 2022 refurbishment added a treasure-hunting backstory: before launch, strobe lights flash, a face at the front of the station lights up red, and one of four voice lines plays over rising fog.

The train seats 28 riders in seven two-row cars, and the ride cycle runs forward through the loop, up the 148-foot front tower, backward through the station to the 112-foot rear tower, then back to the platform. The launch reaches 55 mph in 4.5 seconds, so secure loose items before boarding. The flywheel sits outside the station beside the loop.

The 7.6-tonne flywheel sits outside the station beside the loop, linked by a clutch and cable to a four-wheeled catch car called a "bob" whose launch pin seats in the train's rear socket. A launch drains it from about 1,044 to 872 rpm. The original loop, signage and trains went to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives.