Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Hi guys. I’ve noticed we don’t have a discussion thread for Alton Towers’ 1998 B&M Dive Coaster; Oblivion! So I’ll get the ball rolling by simply asking; what are everyone’s thoughts on Oblivion? Do you like the ride?
Personally, I absolutely love Oblivion; it’s one of my top coasters on park (2nd behind only Wicker Man for me), my favourite B&M on park, and still sits in my UK top 5 and overall top 10! I absolutely love the huge sustained airtime you get over the drop, and the raw sense of speed you get flying through that tunnel is absolutely unrivalled! There’s even a little bonus pop of airtime going into the brakes!
I’m also going to be controversial here, and say that I’m increasingly starting to think that Oblivion might be my favourite Dive Coaster ahead of SheiKra. Admittedly, it’s been nearly 5 years since my one and only ride on SheiKra, so this might change if I were ever to reride it, but despite me thinking I liked SheiKra way more than Oblivion at the time, I’m increasingly starting to come around to Oblivion’s way of doing things. As much as I did love SheiKra, I absolutely love Oblivion’s conciseness; it doesn’t mess around! That tunnel also provides a huge sense of speed!
The other thing I was wondering is; am I the only one who still finds Oblivion extremely smooth, especially given the ride’s age? I still find it very smooth myself, but I was watching an Alton Towers vlog yesterday where the presenter said it was “as rough as a badger’s [bottom]” (paraphrased as we’re not in the Tavern) and that the ride was “like riding on sandpaper”; they even suggested that the ride needed retracking if the park wanted to keep it.
I’ll admit that’s the first time I’ve ever really thought about retracking Oblivion. I’ve thought a lot about the possibility of retracking Nemesis, but never about retracking Oblivion. Surely retracking Oblivion would cost almost as much as the initial outlay cost of building the ride, as in spite of Oblivion having very little to retrack, wouldn’t they have to completely uproot and re-excavate the tunnel to remove the old track and install the new track?
But what are your thoughts on Oblivion? What do you think the ride’s future holds?
Personally, I absolutely love Oblivion; it’s one of my top coasters on park (2nd behind only Wicker Man for me), my favourite B&M on park, and still sits in my UK top 5 and overall top 10! I absolutely love the huge sustained airtime you get over the drop, and the raw sense of speed you get flying through that tunnel is absolutely unrivalled! There’s even a little bonus pop of airtime going into the brakes!
I’m also going to be controversial here, and say that I’m increasingly starting to think that Oblivion might be my favourite Dive Coaster ahead of SheiKra. Admittedly, it’s been nearly 5 years since my one and only ride on SheiKra, so this might change if I were ever to reride it, but despite me thinking I liked SheiKra way more than Oblivion at the time, I’m increasingly starting to come around to Oblivion’s way of doing things. As much as I did love SheiKra, I absolutely love Oblivion’s conciseness; it doesn’t mess around! That tunnel also provides a huge sense of speed!
The other thing I was wondering is; am I the only one who still finds Oblivion extremely smooth, especially given the ride’s age? I still find it very smooth myself, but I was watching an Alton Towers vlog yesterday where the presenter said it was “as rough as a badger’s [bottom]” (paraphrased as we’re not in the Tavern) and that the ride was “like riding on sandpaper”; they even suggested that the ride needed retracking if the park wanted to keep it.
I’ll admit that’s the first time I’ve ever really thought about retracking Oblivion. I’ve thought a lot about the possibility of retracking Nemesis, but never about retracking Oblivion. Surely retracking Oblivion would cost almost as much as the initial outlay cost of building the ride, as in spite of Oblivion having very little to retrack, wouldn’t they have to completely uproot and re-excavate the tunnel to remove the old track and install the new track?
But what are your thoughts on Oblivion? What do you think the ride’s future holds?