Oblivion (roller coaster)
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| Oblivion | |
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| Location | Alton Towers |
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| Park section | X-Sector |
| Type | Steel |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | March 14, 1998 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | John Wardley |
| Model | Diving Machine |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 65 ft (20 m) |
| Drop | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Length | 1,222 ft (372 m) |
| Max speed | 68 mph (109 km/h) |
| Duration | 1:15 |
| Max vertical angle | 87.9° |
| Capacity | 1,900 riders per hour |
| Acceleration | no launch |
| Max g-force | 4.5 |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 6 in (140 cm) |
| Oblivion at RCDB Pictures of Oblivion at RCDB |
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Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in England. The ride opened as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster in 1998 amidst a large publicity campaign. It is celebrating its 10th birthday in 2008.[1]
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[edit] History
During 1997, Fantasy World (the area of Alton Towers that Oblivion was eventualy situated in) was closed off and all the old fantasy-themed rides were removed except the Black Hole. Surrounding the area were signs announcing the arrival of a world's first, codenamed "SW4". Over the year Alton Towers' secrecy and the ever-deepening hole being excavated only fuelled speculation and hype. The details about Oblivion were finally unveiled in March 1998.
The "SW4" codename stood for "Secret Weapon 4". SW3 being Nemesis, and SWs 1 & 2 being unbuilt roller coasters designed for the Nemesis site.
Oblivion opening was accompanied by a massive publicity drive, including appearances on Blue Peter, news channels and cereal boxes.
When Oblivion did open, it brought a totally new theme to the area. It was themed "futuristic" unlike the previous fair ground theme that Fantasy World had. This meant that a re-theme was needed and thus the area was re-named the X-sector. The only surviving ride from Fantasy World, the Black Hole roller coaster, was also changed: the large tent that it was situated in was re-painted to blue and silver instead of green and yellow stripes. To make the new X- Sector a major ride area, Alton Towers added two old rides from other parts of the park: Energizer and Enterprise (both from Festival Park, now Ug Land). Both rides were repainted to fit to the new theme like the Black Hole tent.
[edit] Statistics
- Construction started: Early 1997
- Designed by: John Wardley and Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH
- Manufacture: Bolliger and Mabillard
- Ride type: Dive Machine
- Constructed by: JJ Cavanagh Construction
- Ride opened: 14th March 1998
- Total cost: Approx £12million
- Length: Approx. 377metres
- Highest drop: Approx. 60metres (180ft)
- Hight Above Ground: Approx 20metres (60ft)
- Top speed: Approx.110kph
- Maximum Gs: 4.5Gs
- Number of trains: 7 (only 6 in use at any one time)
- Passengers per train: 16
- Max throughput per hour: 1900
- Ride duration: Approx. 75seconds
[edit] Ride experience
While riders queue they are shown numerous videos showing The Lord of Darkness (played by Renny Krupinski). He apparently lives in the underground tunnel and tells you that the ride is perfectly safe. One of the videos shows his alter ego, the Lord of Light, who is shown warning riders that they might die. Another video, shown at the cafe is a mock news flash detailing how a ride car has gone missing, this fuels the rumours that cars have fallen into the pit and have never been recovered. The Lord of Darkness leaves the last video with mocking, booming laughter, just as riders board the ride. These are all designed to build up fear and tension before the drop.
The roller coaster has a simple layout with a 180 ft drop at 87.9° degrees into a dark tunnel followed by a 180° banked turn back to the station. The open design cars accommodate sixteen passengers in two rows of eight. The back row is slightly raised to give passengers a clear view of the drop. As each car reaches the drop it is held by a drop chain (reverse of a lift chain) for several seconds before the clutch is released allowing the riders to drop into a pitch black tunnel.
Although regarded as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster, at its steepest Oblivion's drop has an angle of 87.9°. This is to keep the wheels in contact with the track for the duration of the drop. Bolliger and Mabillard's two more modern dive machines, SheiKra and Griffon at the Busch Gardens parks in the U.S., both have true 90° drops accomplished by the inclusion of spring-loaded wheel assemblies. They also both feature floorless cars.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Oblivion at the official Alton Towers website
- Oblivion at RCDB
- Oblivion on Alton Towers Net
- Oblivion data on Theme Park Junkies
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