Ok, time to bring this thread back to life but with all the chat about a possible retheme or update of X-Sector now looking possible in the coming years and the idea of a retrack of Oblivion which might see a extended layout which personally I don't see with the later however it did get me thinking in what they could do with a rework of Oblivion in the future to try and make it better and I might have an idea all regarding the hole.
Instead of changing the layout seeing that it would be impossible to do so, why not use it to its advantage and instead add one long black tube all the way from the exit to the hole right all the way along the break run thus given you the impression of the hole being far bigger and playing into its gimmick far greater? The more you think about it, the more it actually seems to make more sense in which the updated Oblivion theme can still play into that Lord of Darkness storyline but remade either with original said actor (sorry I forget his name) or someone new but still the same character along with the Lord of Light character who has a more larger role in this version of the story.
You remember how in one of the ride videos in which the Lord of Light warns the riders that some of the ride cars go missing? What if instead it is said that all the ride cars go missing and in the context of an off ride experience, he has a good point as with the other half of the ride being all totally covered up, you never see any ride car come out the other end or on the break run, all covered up remember, in which creates a far more frightening experience in which if you are watching your friends or family from off ride go down into the hole, you never actually see them come out the other end which all plays into this fact far greater and all in all makes the theme more darker than before.
Now if you remember that tree by the Enterprise site which has seen one end of the Oblivion cars not have any riders in fear of being hit by the tree, there is an added win-win believe it or not in which if you cover that section of track in that large tube it means you are not in a position to get hit by said tree and thus Oblivion can return to full capacity once again but also if they are to install a flat ride in that area, I'd do something a bit more and not cut down that tree but actually plant more trees around that area as not only does this look good in the eyes on the conservation minded people if the park wants to get with their good graces but it also would help add to being a natural barrier to hide that part of the ride that you don't even see the outline of the banked curved. Granted, it would take years for the planted trees to take affect but it would be worth it.
Anyway, regarding this large tube which it would have to be a wide thing regarding the ride cars but this would be a good thing as with the space it means you add effects inside to help make it feel like you are falling into some weird hellish dimension that Oblivion is taking you which all makes you more disoriented like make you feel like you are spinning. On the break run where you would be waiting, this is where the actually finale of the Oblivion story ends in which just as you feel have met your end going to Hell, bright white lights suddenly appear (a la when you hit the break run) in which added TV screens see's the Lord of Light make a return in which he explains that he has saved you from the edge of, ahem, Oblivion before then the Lord of Darkness, now unmasked with the jig being up and furious that you have escaped, rants of how that you've escaped but promises that you might have been a fluke this time but no second chances next time, almost like that footage at the end of the 1998 firework shows in which the Lord of Darkness returns in which can be a remake of that moment.
Reason why I'd do this as I never felt the ride had a true ending in a way in which IMO never felt like a pay off in which were you supposed to escape or did the Lord of Darkness wanted you to never return? I know the ride can be opened to speculation but it has always bothered me personally. So all in all, we turn Oblivion into more of a dark ride and thus turn the ride into far more of a fuller experience, as what many said should have been the case with Air had its original planned larger theming should have been in place to help make that ride more of an experience that a thrill, than it ever was and would more than make up for its short length in which you could argue should have been the case with that ride when it first opened to make up for not being long.
So in a nutshell, place half of Oblivion's track in a big long tube and suddenly you make the ride better without changing the layout.