Yes it would make sense however I can't see them wanting to loose the profits on the lockers. Also oblivion never seems to have an entrance host at the queue entrance, unlike most the coasters, so they would have to employ someone to do it to make sure no ones bringing bags in the queue line.
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Skyscraper
TS Member
That's a good point actually, it hadn't crossed my mind.
Lockers it would have to be then, unless the queue was extended to nearer the exit. Isn't the arcade still empty? Could use part of it for a baggage hold.
Plastic Person
TS Member
Oblivion's queue is long and hilly enough. For the sake of our own feet, it doesn't need extending.
jon81uk
TS Member
There used to be lockers in this building https://goo.gl/maps/LAg5yvckgYUM7acs8That's a good point actually, it hadn't crossed my mind.
Lockers it would have to be then, unless the queue was extended to nearer the exit. Isn't the arcade still empty? Could use part of it for a baggage hold.
I think they were removed as guests had issues and the money made from the lockers was probably less than the cost of the staff to resolve problems.
Skyscraper
TS Member
Ahh I think I remember those being there actually. Didn't know the'd been removed though.
jon81uk
TS Member
Maybe they have come back again?
Or they were added after the Google Streetview was taken?
I am now really unsure if they are there or not.
Has anyone been recently and seen the lockers?
geo4chg
TS Member
I always thought that was the old shelter for Fastrack ticket machines, back when it was free and you would go and collect a ticket with the time allocation on it - didn't realise it used to be lockers.
jon81uk
TS Member
It was that too. That shelter held the free Fasttrack in the early 2000s and then lockers in the 2010s.
Rick
TS Member
There isn't much 'slamming' now, I am not sure why that would be the case in reverse? Of all the things coasters are doing now, that strike me as too much of a problem, but I am not an engineer.
My favourite part of the Intamin Reverse Freefalls was coming back down the tower.
Where were the lockers in 1998? They were in that general area, same shelter? Removed for the Fastrack perhaps? They were mandatory for about a week.
tayspru
TS Member
Well currently the seat “scoops” underneath you in the direction of travel as the drop levels, so the first contact is your thighs then bum then your back into the seat, distributing the impact and allowing the body to naturally brace. Whereas travelling backwards your first point of contact would be your entire bodyweight onto your back with little time to brace for that.
Rick
TS Member
Yeah I follow, but that doesn't seem vastly different than all manner of other rides that have been reversing in recent times.
tayspru
TS Member
I imagine the scale to be a problem, it wasn’t designed to run backward to account for the forces either. The closest experiences are the Intamin Freefalls which have massive pullouts, and things like Time Traveller which are much less forceful drops.
Plastic Person
TS Member
For reference, you can find an approximation of how Oblivion backwards might look in the video below. I think it would be doable, but backwards Gs are really quite intense business, as Revolution has been ably proving for the last forty or so years.
Plastic Person
TS Member
I do think Oblivion needs a refresh either way, but it's a one-trick pony as it is. It's obviously still a popular ride, but feels somewhat second tier within Alton's current lineup, which is a mad thing to imagine for anyone who was present to witness its impact in the late nineties. Also speaks volumes for the strength of Alton's coaster collection.
Rick
TS Member
I think that's pretty fair, but it does feel like less impressive impressive coasters win out over Oblivion because of its short ride time.
geo4chg
TS Member
I don't agree with this. The Smiler has diminished the impact of Oblivion on X-Sector as it used to be the only focal point, but the Oblivion drop is still, I think, the single biggest thrill in the whole park - Nemesis is undoubtedly the better overall ride but nothing else at ATR quite matches the feel of the Oblivion drop. I think what a lot of people get wrong about Oblivion is actually thinking of it as a rollercoaster and therefore feeling there needs to be more to the layout than there is - I prefer to think of it as a far superior version of essentially a drop tower. The ride is still hugely popular, and is still the ride that people think looks too intense and people get "scared" of before they ride.
I just think Oblivion needs a bit of TLC to get it back to its best as the area looks a bit tired and old-fashioned.
Quetzal
TS Member
Oblivion is a one trick pony, but that is a trick is does extremely well. It is universally understood/feared, and has an incredibly strong brand identity due to the fact it does one thing, and it does it phenomenally. It really is rollercoaster theatre at its finest. I went to the park with a friend for their first visit recently. I have never seen them afraid of a ride, until we were suspended above the drop. It's easily the scariest ride at Alton Towers - turning it backwards to make the scariest ride scarier wouldn't make a single difference to the overall offering at the park.
There was talk back when Smiler opened that Oblivion backwards was something being considered as part of the X-Sector upgrade. It didn't happen then when there were budgets to be spent in the area, why should it happen now when there are other areas of the park which are clearly in dire need of investment? It doesn't make sense as an investment. If the rest of the park were really up to snuff and Oblivion was struggling to pull a queue I could see it being an option.
The queue line needs a spruce up but one would hope that that would fall under standard annual maintenance (especially seeing that the standards for that seem to have been raised this year since the buyout?)
There was talk back when Smiler opened that Oblivion backwards was something being considered as part of the X-Sector upgrade. It didn't happen then when there were budgets to be spent in the area, why should it happen now when there are other areas of the park which are clearly in dire need of investment? It doesn't make sense as an investment. If the rest of the park were really up to snuff and Oblivion was struggling to pull a queue I could see it being an option.
The queue line needs a spruce up but one would hope that that would fall under standard annual maintenance (especially seeing that the standards for that seem to have been raised this year since the buyout?)
I agree whenever you talk to anyone who isn't an enthusiast they would say that oblivion is the scariest ride there. The long queue with the industrial buildings and the music really does build the tension. Its a great trick and has to be one of the best drops on any rollercoaster ever.
I sort of agree, I don't think it'll happen anytime soon however they probably will do it at some point due to it being so cheap and easily marketable. Oblivion already has a well established brand most people around the UK know of it as a rollercoaster and they now it drops you vertically. It would be so easy for them to do it however I don't think they should do it yet. There are far more important things that need sorting around the park before they do oblivion backwards. I think we can be confident that it must have been discussed and I'm sure its on the back burner but one day oblivion really could have a refurbishment and backwards riding.