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Oblivion: General Discussion

rob666 said:
It was a major theme park back then!
And to be fair, the Ropers were not the only one to complain about the rides placement, and noise...and the Towers agreed the noise was not necessary, and clear noise pollution in a rural residential area, so they agreed to stop using the speakers unless needed.
Allegedly.
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I meant cause in 2004, the park was 'up and coming' to the point where most residents in the village probably lived there before the 80s when the park started up, but fast forward 20 years, there's probably many new residents who were well aware of the parks existence prior to moving in if that makes sense, so they'd almost expect noise
 
Somehow this is making me feel ancient. 🤣

Alton Towers had very much ‘up and come’ (oo-er) by 2004!

Tbf even if the noise order no longer holds, they need to foster good neighbourly relations, so bringing back the don’t look down audio wouldn’t be a good approach really.
 
Dhev123 said:
I meant cause in 2004, the park was 'up and coming' to the point where most residents in the village probably lived there before the 80s when the park started up, but fast forward 20 years, there's probably many new residents who were well aware of the parks existence prior to moving in if that makes sense, so they'd almost expect noise
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It has been a quiet rural village for rather a long time...in the doomsday book I think.
Many local families have lived close by for generations, in peace and quiet...it is that sort of place.
In comparison, it has been a theme park for twenty minutes.
And it is really easy to put the noisy stuff away from the edges...to keep things sweet with the locals.

Edit...and the park was more popular in the nineties than it is now...know your history my friend!
By 2004, the park was "over the hill", not "up and coming"...
...and...
My gran did the Towers in a charabanc in the thirties, and the park had been in full swing for a while then.
Never, ever wanted to go back...long queues all day.
Things don't change.
 
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Dhev123 said:
I meant cause in 2004, the park was 'up and coming' to the point where most residents in the village probably lived there before the 80s when the park started up, but fast forward 20 years, there's probably many new residents who were well aware of the parks existence prior to moving in if that makes sense, so they'd almost expect noise
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By 2004 the park had peaked and started the decline to the product we now see….. and think is world class.
 
Jb85 said:
By 2004 the park had peaked and started the decline to the product we now see….. and think is world class.
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To be honest here, I think the 2004 season wasn't helped by the management of the park at the time, with 2004 being a turbulent year for the park itself! I mean in some respects it was run better than modern Towers with more flat rides in the different areas of the park as well as having most people in the Midlands area visiting at least once.

But back on topic, I wouldn't be surprised if AT do decide to re-add the "Don't look down!" audio onto the ride if they ever did retrack the ride, as most people living in the local area by that point would be used to the theme park by now. Heck, the only real reason we lost as someone mentioned on here was due to the 'Roper court case' which forced AT to remove the speakers as it 'Made people scream louder'.
 
The conversations with gran...around the opening of the Corkscrew, with an offer of a trip in the late summer.
It was a cheap day out in the wholesale market veg truck, with a canvas roof and bench seats...crates of beer and sticky buns.
Set off at first light down the A6, thirty miles an hour all the way.
They had a big funfair behind the Towers, at least three brass bands, lots of museum stuff, lovely gardens and walks, sealions, a car show...modern and vintage, donkey and carriage rides...model train track, rowing boats, a circus big top...bonnet shows and everything...
"And every last item of food and drink was double what it should have been, the robbing bastards."
God bless gran.
How things change.
Getting on for a century ago.
It was a womans weekly (or similar) summer outing day, all in price apart from food and the fair, and they spent the whole day queueing for stuff.

,,,and of course, absolutely sod all to do with Oblivion.
Back on topic...oh looking down that bottomless pit when it was being built...
In the words of Mr Dury...
What a waste.
 
To try and bring this back on topic before the admins appear, I'll say this.

When Oblivion does reach the end of its service life, I wonder what would replace it? Maybe an Oblivion which has been extended ever so slightly? Maybe an Oblivion which (Like Nemesis Reborn) Is just the same ride with new track and paint?
 
EarthlyKnight27 said:
To try and bring this back on topic before the admins appear, I'll say this.

When Oblivion does reach the end of its service life, I wonder what would replace it? Maybe an Oblivion which has been extended ever so slightly? Maybe an Oblivion which (Like Nemesis Reborn) Is just the same ride with new track and paint?
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You know what would be evil? Extending the tunnel but keeping the original exit hatch and final brake run to make it look as if the trains actually just disappear.

Excuse me? What did you just say?
Out of the what?
What the hell is a budget?
 
The_bup said:
You know what would be evil? Extending the tunnel but keeping the original exit hatch and final brake run to make it look as if the trains actually just disappear.
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ooh that would be really good, but I think oblivion is very close to the park boundaries so I don't know if they could, I have thought it would be good if they built some building or cover round the turn arround to hide the train, but I currently don't have any Ideas on how you would make that look good.

if it gets retracked, I think they will turn it floorless, as someone mentions in another thread it would be unique in the uk (there are no floorless trains that aren't an invert/flying/specialist) and it has been done before, it would also give enough of a change to be marketable as a new experience.
 
The_bup said:
You know what would be evil? Extending the tunnel but keeping the original exit hatch and final brake run to make it look as if the trains actually just disappear.

Excuse me? What did you just say?
Out of the what?
What the hell is a budget?
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Like the train appearing out of a hole in ground in the field across the road instead you mean? No one would expect that.
 
The_bup said:
You know what would be evil? Extending the tunnel but keeping the original exit hatch and final brake run to make it look as if the trains actually just disappear.

Excuse me? What did you just say?
Out of the what?
What the hell is a budget?
Click to expand...
Did mention a while back of enclosing the section exiting the whole and the whole brake run to make Oblivion more of a dark ride with many more efforts of making it feel you are going straight to hell and from the outside with you unable to see the trains exiting from the hole it adds to the scare factor of not knowing where the trains are going.

The idea does have potential as part of a revamped Oblivion theme when you think about it.
 
Matt.GC said:
Like the train appearing out of a hole in ground in the field across the road instead you mean? No one would expect that.
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Yeah, but the old exit hatch and track is kept to make people think that the train is just disappearing.

I don’t know, I’m just thinking on the spot here
 
I have no idea how Alton could make that work without it being absolutely hideous I'm not gonna lie.

Unless it has a hideous hole that's covered by a backdrop of some kind? Or a playhouse type thing for the kiddies that covers the old enterprise site (sorta like temple of mayhem in chessington but x-sector themed?)

The brake run can be a simple tube but the banked turn would either have to be a square block covering it (hence the play area idea) or a tube that covers it sorta like the track of a bobsled coaster, which would have to be quite wide to accommodate the wide shuttles.

Alternatively, could just do an elevated seating and food area above the tunnel:tearsofjoy:
 
I don't think that much needs changing with Oblivion. I think that, in a future refurb/retrack, the theming of Oblivion should be enhanced, but the layout should stay the same.
 
Probably along with Nemesis (and maybe Smiler) the most iconic ride at the park. It needs cosmetic work (station, queueline) rather than a change of the actual ride. To enthusiasts, it can be boring due to its drop and nothing else, but the more casual fans, and kids remain mesmerised and intimidated just by watching it, let alone riding it.
 
Mick said:
Probably along with Nemesis (and maybe Smiler) the most iconic ride at the park. It needs cosmetic work (station, queueline) rather than a change of the actual ride. To enthusiasts, it can be boring due to its drop and nothing else, but the more casual fans, and kids remain mesmerised and intimidated just by watching it, let alone riding it.
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It still proves to be the most terrifying ride I have ever been on, and also my favourite! Hope to see it getting more TLC as it has had over this closed season with the tunnel being painted, smoke machines being repaired and also the don't look down artwork on the floor has been repainted. one thing they desperately need to do when refurbishing is get a HD remaster of that queue video, it looks awful on an LCD screen lol.
 
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