Oblivion - General Discussion

[Kaycee]

[quote=""kingda dude""]I know they sometimes don't hold you up there in summer but I have never known it to be much longer than three seconds, ever.[/quote]

They never control the time you're held up there. As long as the drop conveyor is working as normal, you should be held up there about 3 seconds regardless of the time of year.

[Hark]

I still don't understand why 1 shuttle never holds for more than a second at most? Is it a problem with the ratchet on the train not linking with the drop conveyor?

[Dylan]

^ I noticed that last time I was there. It really took me by surprise!
Hopefully will get a few rides in tomorrow if its not too busy and SRQ is short.
Yay.

[Justin]

Oblivion
Oblivion beckons you to face your fears, and as you’re held, overhanging the edge of the world’s first vertical drop rollercoaster, you get a moment to savour what is to come. Prepare yourself - the drop into Oblivion is imminent.

With the closed season upon us, how would you review Oblivion at the Alton Towers Resort?
[youtube]2jyuqJHXB8M[/youtube]

[TheDuke]

Those videos are great marketing, really enjoy them wish I had some google cardboard or something.

It would be great if we see oblivion get an extension to it after the drop like majority of new drop coasters however its very unlikely due to cost and space available.

[Dom]

I have a soft spot for Oblivion. It may only be simplistic for a coaster by my god does it pack a punch. I always go out of my way to ride it more than once too. I think it’s perfect the way it is. It’s focus is the drop, nothing else and I think that works wonderfully. It’s so simple, yet so effective.

[Liam.W]

I'm like Dom. I have a soft spot for Oblivion. I absolutely love the drop and the simplicity of it! It's the only drop that still gets me every time.

[Nickolai]

I also love the drop on Oblivion and I find the pop of airtime before hitting the brakes very satisfying!  Its joint second with Nemesis in terms of Big Six rankings in my opinion. Having said that, it is the roughest B&M coaster I have done. It isn't terribly rough but there is a fair share of judder at the bottom of the drop.

[Azi889]

I like oblivion. Although sometimes I feel the que to ride time is a little long for how long you are on the ride. I’ll nevee forget when it opened and the terror of going on it for the first time.

It’s definitley a classic now and think it will be around for a long time to come. I do hope so anyway

It fits in perfectly with the x sector theming I just wish it was a little longer but understand with the space and height requirements why it is how it is. All round great ride though!

[Tom170499]

I also love the drop on Oblivion and I find the pop of airtime before hitting the brakes very satisfying!  Its joint second with Nemesis in terms of Big Six rankings in my opinion. Having said that, it is the roughest B&M coaster I have done. It isn't terribly rough but there is a fair share of judder at the bottom of the drop.

You haven’t ridden Draggon Khan at PortAventura then...

[Nickolai]

No I have not :lol

[Tom170499]

No I have not :lol

That is a very rough B&M, the roughest I have ridden. 
Oblivion is, in my opinion, a very smooth ride and like others have said, the simplicity of the ride is what makes it. Oblivion is the only ride that makes me feel like I did when I first rode it. I always get nervous on the turnaround to the drop and I absolutly love the theme and feel of the ride. 

[Justin]

I consider Oblivion to be a classic and iconic ride of Alton Towers. It is one of the few rides to put me on edge when I'm either riding for the first time in the season or after a couple of months. Clicking up the lift hill provides some of the best views of the Staffordshire countryside and the park itself, although the drop still offers a punch every single time. I honestly don't think I can go down it quietly as 'Wheeeehhhhheeeeyyyyyyy' usually leaves my mouth as I plunge into the ground! It is a very smooth ride, apart from a little bit of juddering on the brake run which is to be expected. It is a workhorse and I can see Alton Towers keeping it for many years to come, especially when similar dive coasters are still being installed. 

Although Oblivion has a very 90s theme, it works so well! I wouldn't want anyone to change it too much, although I believe some the theming could be renewed, fixed or built upon. My only niggle is that X-Sell is still closed, therefore giving off the wrong impression when you exit the ride!

[vikkimoo]

Brilliant but terrifying! This is the one that for me needs the most psyching up before I go on it - really not a fan of heights but make myself do it every trip.

Convinced my mum to go on it once and at the top she goes "oooh it's a lovely view" - I looked at her and her eyes were jammed shut!!!

[Justin]

Isn't it amazing that the most basic of coasters can create so much tension! 

[Robert.W]

Hmm... I must admit that I was quite sceptical about this ride before I rode it for the first time earlier this year. The short ride time was what put me off, and I finally only agreed to ride because I wanted to look down :P (as ironic as that sounds :lol). Personally for me, I didn't quite feel the tension of the ride, but I was really quite surprised at how fast the drop felt combined with how long you were in the tunnel, which to me, made the ride seem longer, which was a good thing.

I haven't been on it since. Especially when the parks busy, such a short ride for me just dosen't seem worth the inevitably long queue and even when we had Fastracks at Scarefest, just because of the amount of other rides we wanted to do, Oblivion just wasn't a priority.

I'd kinda like to see in the future, that they keep the hole but put an entire new dive coaster in it, with even just a short extension of the ride after coming out of the tunnel, just to make the experience a bit longer. And they have to keep it as Oblivion!

[DeadJack5]

Oblivion is the ride that I was intrigued and interested in before I went on my first roller coasted. The theming, the area music, the videos my sister use to tell me about whilst she queued. It was always so intimidating and scary.

It still holds up as a scary ride to this day for me. It's always so daunting queuing up and climbing the lift Hill. The ride itself is good for what it is, it creates the tension and is executed well with the drop into the ground and exiting out the other side.

However, as others have said, it does look a bit dated with the theming in the queue line and the tvs. I would like the ride to see some TLC in the coming years, even if it's updated tvs, cleaner/new theming objects in the queue just to make it a bit more polished. Don't change the theme, the theme works well and if just tidied up a bit, it will have a massive impact in my opinion.

[Morgan]

I'd be lying if i said I don't get nervous on this ride! Like a lot of rides at the park, it needs a refresh- a simple repaint and a new audio system in the queue could easily fix this. I don't ride it as much as I'd like because the hill is horrible to walk up, and the operations are really slow nowadays.

[TheBeornen]

I think Oblivion is one of the only rides of the big 6 to not get TLC when they probably need it? Oblivion's last paint job was when the Smiler was introduced to fit with the re-theme of X-Sector. Hopefully it gets a mini Hex update with improved speakers and TV screens because the videos are great at building tension on the ride and a bit of a re-paint and refurbish of the queue, sticking true to the original design but just update some things.

[Dan]

I love Oblivion. Despite being a one trick pony, it does the trick brilliantly. I’ll never forget the first time I walked into X-Sector and saw the drop, the mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement completely took over. It was only a few years ago that I stopped getting nervous before riding, there’s just something about it that creates tension like no other coaster I’ve ridden.

It’s also a coaster that I can ride over and over and over again, I never get bored of plummeting down that drop!