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Oblivion: General Discussion

QTXAdsy said:
Going to sound controversial but after seeing the pictures of the ride in its opening year, I'm surprised looking back on it of how bare it looked theming wise. Yes, some might like the 1960's brutalist concrete style but compared to even Nemesis just from a years back, it is something of downgrade.
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The way Nemesis looked at opening was a product of the fact that it was in the pit and the pit created a certain aesthetic. Bar the waterfalls, it was a lot of rock ... with Oblivion the landscape had to be created.

Both areas have grown in massively since then.
 
From one of my preferred, it's become my least favourite thrill ride at AT.

I think getting old (I'm now 51!) does that to you.

Still have to go on every visit, mind :smile:
 
Trooper Looper said:
Well, the pictures are before and after. On the left it was boarded up and the ceiling was rotting, on the right, after, it's been cleared and the ceiling has been repaired and has new panels.
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Not entirely clear from the images but I see it now.

Looks a bodge. But at least something has been done. The whole ride appears to be rotting more than it was last summer when I visited. That's saying lot as it was in piss poor condition then
 
Spark said:
Anyone remember when the rumour of trains going backwards appeared? lol
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That would be fantastic. Or even if the back row alone were facing backward ( I know it's not possible with the current design of the shuttles, or maybe even not in terms of human anatomy and the physics of it (especially as the drop levels out)). It would make the parks most intimidating ride even more so.
 
I’m reality we love our blivvy, but how much life does oblivion really have left in it now it’s 25 years old?

I cannot see AT/Merlin paying out for a retrack like Nemesis. Unlike Nemesis which people love for its overall ride experience, Oblivion is just the drop. After 25/30 years the worlds first has now become standard across the world losing its impact.

Oblivions site is quite large and would definitely be up for debate as a potential site for future development considering AT are lacking development sites outside of the already established ride areas.

I cannot really see Oblivion existing after its 30th birthday tbh
 
I wonder if Oblivion will even have aged as quickly as Nemesis. I’m not sure it’ll even necessarily need a retrack like Nemesis is having, as it only has the one area of force (which is likely lower in terms of stress than parts of Nemesis like the helix) and it hasn’t got dodgy supports in a subsiding pit like Nemesis has (I believe Nemesis has had a few problematic supports over the years, and I seem to remember hearing that supports were replaced on it even before the current retrack project due to subsidence).

Even if it does need a retrack in 5 years or so, though, I think it could well happen. It would be a cheaper retrack project than Nemesis, as there’s vastly less track to replace, and I also feel like it’s in a similar category to Nemesis in that it would be difficult to remove/replace with a new ride. Yes, its area isn’t that small, but that area contains many public pathways and food/drink outlets as well as the former sites of Submission and Enterprise. The actual area taken up by Oblivion on its own is pretty small. Not to mention that the huge tunnel would likely be difficult and/or costly to repurpose or excavate around for any ride other than Oblivion.

Also, it’s worth noting that Oblivion has been one of the park’s most controversial rides in terms of noise, most notably being one of the foremost bones of contention in the Ropers’ protracted court battle with Alton Towers. With that in mind, would the council let them replace Oblivion with something of equal scale even if they wanted to?
 
Matt N said:
I wonder if Oblivion will even have aged as quickly as Nemesis. I’m not sure it’ll even necessarily need a retrack like Nemesis is having, as it only has the one area of force (which is likely lower in terms of stress than parts of Nemesis like the helix) and it hasn’t got dodgy supports in a subsiding pit like Nemesis has (I believe Nemesis has had a few problematic supports over the years, and I seem to remember hearing that supports were replaced on it even before the current retrack project due to subsidence).

Even if it does need a retrack in 5 years or so, though, I think it could well happen. It would be a cheaper retrack project than Nemesis, as there’s vastly less track to replace, and I also feel like it’s in a similar category to Nemesis in that it would be difficult to remove/replace with a new ride. Yes, its area isn’t that small, but that area contains many public pathways and food/drink outlets as well as the former sites of Submission and Enterprise. The actual area taken up by Oblivion on its own is pretty small. Not to mention that the huge tunnel would likely be difficult and/or costly to repurpose or excavate around for any ride other than Oblivion.

Also, it’s worth noting that Oblivion has been one of the park’s most controversial rides in terms of noise, most notably being one of the foremost bones of contention in the Ropers’ protracted court battle with Alton Towers. With that in mind, would the council let them replace Oblivion with something of equal scale even if they wanted to?
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I don’t think Oblivion will need a retrack particularly. It might need new shuttles at some point though.
 
Well for the first time ever on Oblivion I've noticed that it rattles a heck of a lot at the bottom of the tunnel. Never noticed that before this season
 
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