Oblivion (roller coaster)
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| Oblivion | |
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| Location | Alton Towers |
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| Park Section | X-Sector |
| Type | Steel |
| Status | Open |
| Opened | March 14, 1998 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Dive Machine |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 65 feet (19.8 m) |
| Drop | 180 feet (54.9 m) |
| Length | 1,222 feet (372.5 m) |
| Max speed | 68 mile per hour (109.4 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 1:15 |
| Max Vertical Angle | 87.9 degrees |
| Capacity | 1,900 riders per hour |
| Max G force | 4.5 |
| Oblivion at Theme Park Junkies | |
| Oblivion at RCDB | |
| Pictures of Oblivion at RCDB | |
Oblivion is the name of a roller coaster located at Alton Towers, England. Oblivion was the first Bolliger and Mabillard "Dive Machine" with construction starting in 1997 and opening in 1998. Oblivion was also featured in the PC game, RollerCoaster Tycoon.
The coaster has a simple layout with a 180 ft drop at 87.9° degrees into a dark tunnel followed by a 180° banked turn back to the station. The open design cars on the coaster are larger than typical, with each car accommodating up to sixteen passengers in two rows of eight. The back row is slightly raised to give passengers a clear view of the drop. As each car reaches the drop it is held by a brake for several seconds and passengers can see the words 'Don't look down' on the ground in front of the dark tunnel in order to add to the atmosphere of the impending drop.
Although regarded as the worlds first vertical drop roller coaster, at its steepest Oblivion's drop has an angle of 87.9° due to B&M wanting the wheels to stay on the track as much as possible. The two more modern dive machines, SheiKra and Griffon at the Busch Gardens parks in the U.S., both have true 90° drops due to springs on the wheels making the trains capable of descending the drop at a completely vertical angle safely.
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[edit] Fantasy Land
Oblivion is located in the X Sector area of the park, an area that was once known as Fantasy Land. Its only rides were the Pirate Ship and Cine 2000. Before the theme park became established the park's entrance and car parks were located here. In 1984 the Black Hole was installed in Fantasy World, replacing the model dinosaurs, which were moved to the Log Flume site. Turbo Star and Gravitron were installed in the area in the 1980s but were later removed. Only the rides Oblivion, Enterprise and Submission are currently in the X-Sector area.
[edit] Secret Weapon 4
When the park opened in 1997, visitors found Fantasy Land closed off and all the rides removed. Surrounding the area were signs announcing the arrival of a worlds first, codenamed 'Secret Weapon 4'. Over the year Alton Towers' secrecy and the ever-deepening hole being excavated only fuelled speculation and hype. Alton Towers finally unveiled Oblivion in March 1998.
[edit] The opening of Oblivion
Oblivion opened accompanied by a massive publicity drive, including appearances on Blue Peter, the news and cereal boxes. The ride was well received partly due to the unique way it uses psychological terror for what is a short ride.
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[edit] External links
- Oblivion at RCDB
- Oblivion video at Alton Towers
- Oblivion at Alton Towers Almanac
- Oblivion at Towers Nerd
- Oblivion at Towers Times
- Oblivion Factfile
- Oblivion at the Alton Towers website
- Oblivion at CoasterForce
| Roller coasters at Alton Towers |
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Air - Beastie - Black Hole - Corkscrew - Nemesis - Oblivion - Rita: Queen of Speed - Runaway Mine Train - Spinball Whizzer |
