Moonsault Scramble

Moonsault Scramble was a shuttle roller coaster that operated from 1983 until 2000 at Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Moonsault Scramble was the tallest roller coaster in the world until 1996, when its record height was surpassed by another roller coaster at Fuji-Q Highland called Fujiyama, which reached 79 metres (259 ft) in height.[1] Moonsault Scramble was the first roller coaster to surpass 61 metres (200 ft) in height,[2] and it remains the third tallest shuttle roller coaster ever built, behind Superman: Escape from Krypton (Six Flags Magic Mountain), and Tower of Terror II (Dreamworld).[3] The coaster was removed from the park to make way for the construction of Dodonpa in 2001. The land where Moonsault Scramble once was is now occupied by Takabisha.

Moonsault Scramble
Fuji-Q Highland
Location	Fuji-Q Highland
Coordinates	35.487°N 138.780°E / 35.487; 138.780
Status	Removed
Opening date	June 24, 1983 (1983-06-24)
Closing date	2000 (2000)
General statistics
Type	Steel – Shuttle
Manufacturer	Sanoyas Hishino Meisho
Designer	Vekoma
Height	229.7 ft (70.0 m)
Length	1,509.2 ft (460.0 m)
Speed	55.9 mph (90.0 km/h)
Inversions	2
G-force	6.2
Trains	Single train with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Moonsault Scramble at RCDB Pictures of Moonsault Scramble at RCDB

Ride experience

Moonsault Scramble was known for producing extremely high g-forces on its riders. As of 1998, it was cited by some to exert up to 6.5 gs on its riders.[4] It was one of only three roller coasters outside the United States to exert such extreme forces on its riders (the others being Mindbender and Dreier Looping Coaster).[5] The pretzel knot element (compromising two inversions) that produced these high g-forces was the only such pretzel knot inversion ever implemented in a roller coaster until the opening of Banshee at Kings Island in 2014.[6] The pretzel knot element is different from the much more common pretzel loop element.

Height record

Considerable debate exists within the roller coaster enthusiast community whether the height record of Moonsault Scramble was, in fact, legitimate (and if it should, consequently, be given the hypercoaster designation). As shuttle roller coasters—by definition—do not make a complete circuit, the tallest points of these coasters typically have very few (if any) riders who experience these heights. For this reason, many roller coaster enthusiasts reserve height records for complete circuit roller coasters.[7] If these definitions are taken, the world's tallest roller coasters from 1983 until 1996 were Dragon Mountain, Magnum XL-200, Desperado, Pepsi Max Big One and finally Fujiyama.

Preceded by Montezooma's Revenge	World's Tallest Roller Coaster June 1983 – July 1996	Succeeded by Fujiyama

References

1. Russell, Alan; McWhirter, Norris D. (1987). Guinness Book of Records (1988 ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 0-85112-868-8.
2. "Roller Coaster Search Results". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
3. "Roller Coaster Search Results". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
4. "Moonsault Scramble - Fuji-Q Highland (Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
5. Cook, Nick (1998). Roller coasters, or, I had so much fun, I almost puked. Millbrook Press. p. 34. ISBN 1-57505-071-4. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
6. RCDB listing of roller coasters using a pretzel element
7. Chase, Nan K. (7 August 1994). "STEEP THRILLS; Fast, Fast, FAST Relief on the Roller Coasters of Ohio's Cedar Point". Washington Post.