Designed by Anton Schwarzkopf, the ride opened on May 21, 1978, and is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world.

The drop tower models had a large silo with a weight inside connected to a similar launch system.

[5] In 2008, Knott's opened Pony Express, a small "out and back" steel roller coaster with a flywheel launch system much like Montezooma's Revenge.

[citation needed] At launch, the clutch system engages the cable to the spinning flywheel, pulling the bob and train rapidly forwards.

[1] The train negotiates a 76-foot (23 m) diameter vertical loop before ascending the 148-foot (45 m) front spike, then descends backwards, going through the loop a second time, running at full speed backwards through the station, and ascending the 112-foot (34 m) rear spike.

[5] 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.