The first ride you have on this is phenomanal. Perhaps the best ride experience you've ever had.

You start in the very well organised queues. Twisting and turning until you are getting closer to the ride. The "this ride is unsafe" TV's are perhaps the best bit of theming in all of Alton, and really scare/gear you up for the ride.
The speech say's "Are you ready, for Oblivion. Oblivion comenses in T minus 5 minutes. Remeber, sit back. hold tight!", and at this point you don't know whether to go ahead or turn back and run for your life. It is when you enter the cages you realise you have to ride Oblivion.

You board the wide crafts, and are still very unsure with the exit to the right. but you go ahead. The lift hill is probably the most agonising part of the ride. You know this is it, any time soon you'll be plunging into Oblivion. but it teases you, crawling as slow as it can to the 80 foot height. Turning slowly the term "Oh My God!" is the only think you can think. You are getting ever closer to the drop.

And then, it's hangs! You hold your breath and tense you muscles ready for the drop of your life, literally.It plunges. Your stomach turns to jelly as you under go the world's first vertical drop on a rollercoaster. It all goes black as you enter the tunnel, allowing you to get your breath back and scream at your amazing triumph. You suvived Oblivion. Next you take a victorious turn to gather your thought's and scream a happy scream.

And all this in the space of less than 1 minute!

Sigh's of relieve echo as your train hit's the brake run, and people chatter to their friends "OMG, that was incredable". Your shaken, but stirred at the same time.

At opening, everyone's went nut's for the ride and even today it is one of the most popular rides in the world. It definatley deserve's 10/10 and even with the making of "SheiKra", Oblivion remains one of the most groundbreaking ride's ever built.

Lauzi: Edited slightly for spelling and grammar. :)

The dark steel structure dominates the skyline, every minute or so a black and orange craft hangs 16 riders over a 60 metre drop before plunging them into oblivion. Riders will experience 4.5g, thats 1g more than the intense nemesis.

The queue line is very well thought out, psychologically that is. TV screens adorn it preparing you for your ride, scaring riders and hinting that you may not get off this ride. This can be very daunting for first time riders and makes them mentally want to just walk across the craft and out of the station, a very well thought out bit of themeing that adds alot of pressure to riders. Upon entering the station you will notice there is alot of room for loading and alot of cars coming in and out. The actual crafts are adorned with black and orange themeing to go with the whole ride theme. they contain two rows with 8 seats in each, it is suggested that thrill seekers try and go for the front row at the edge as this gives you the best view and being on the edge of the craft actually means you are not on the track! the orange harnesses are down and there is no going back, flashbacks of the video's now come to mind. You slowly leave the station and go up the painly slow, clunking lift hill. The seats are actually slightly tilted backwards, this combined with the steep lifthill makes it a very comfy ride to the top; being almost of on your back! Once you reach the top you make the slow turn round to the bit you have being dreading- the drop. The craft seems to slow as it creeps to the edge and of course, the breaks. 3 painful seconds you are held there, all to be heard is the bellowing sound of don't look down. you see the hole covered in mist as to add to the mystery, all that is going through your head is we can't fit through that hole? Suddenly, you plummet, within seconds you are in the tunnel, you're ears and face and pounding from the forces acting upon you. You exit the tunnel and go into a sharp left hand bend past enterprise before entering the break run, you feel exilerated yet excited that you survived oblivion.

If you are looking for heart pumping adrenaline, high g-forces and general excitement then you should definately try oblivion.



Lauzi: Slight s+g mistakes. Please try and use capital letters at the beginning of your sentences. :)

OBLIVION!

Restrictions: 1.4m

This Ride is an experience like no other in the world and was a huge installation to Alton Towers. The ride is the worlds first vertical drop roller coaster. When you arrive at the queue entrance, found at the bottom of X-Sector, you have two choices. Join the normal queue, or a single rider queue where you will get onto the ride quicker, but you will be made to sit on your own.

Once you have chosen your queue-line, you begin a steady climb in a circular motion passing many pieces of theming on your way. There are also some brilliant queue-line videos on your way to the ride. I highly recommend you watch them. They really provide the rider with the feel that they are going to die on the ride and enter oblivion and never come back! The actor used in the video is a classic Doctor who which has a real presence and helps the ride experience. The queue line spirals upwards and at one point you get to queue underneath, the station area providing great views of the inner workings of Oblivion. You prepare yourself for what appears like imminent death!

The tension builds in the queue line when you are able to watch the other riders fall into the abyss. Once you have followed the queue line for long enough you cross over a caged bridge to the station area, which kind of represents you leaving the normal world behind. Also in this area there is a woman’s voice the continuously says ‘Embarkation waits in T-Minus 5 minutes. Are you prepared for OBLIVION?!’

You now enter the Station area and you operative will advise you into which loading bay to enter. Now you get to witness the other riders entering the station. There is no turning back now. You are at the point of no return. The queue line gate opens and then you slowly lower yourself into the seat, which appears to hug around your body. However don’t let this fool you. You are not completely safe!

Once in The station area, you are loaded into your cars with 8 seats and 2 rows. The back row is raised to provide a good view of the ride, but the front row is the best! Whilst sitting in your car, in the station there are more televisions in front of you playing a video. I recommend you watch those also. You sit and peer up the very steep lift hill watching others rise to the to the top of the hill. Once you have left the station you begin a near 45 degrees climb in the lift hill to 120 ft up in the air where you turn the 50 degrees corner very slowly. You heart begins to race. It’s a long way down. The air becomes silent and still. Your fellow riders along with you are petrified. You then see the track disappear in front of you. This is the point where you realise your about to face oblivion. You are held over the drop for 3.2 seconds. The first on-ride photo takes your photo at this point whilst you’re being held. You assume what appears to be your own personal brace position. You see the words on the floor down below ‘Don’t Look Down’. Adrenaline rushes around your body. Your muscles clench. Then there is the release you scream, fear overwhelms you. Will you survive? Rush into eternal darkness. You pull some amazing g’s you whoosh into the mist-covered hole. The car begins to level out. What is this? You see light appear more and more. For a second you feel like you have died. You’re on the other side. You’ve entered somewhere you’ve never been before. A place unreal, and like no other. You rush back into the light. Back into the real world. But for those intimate few seconds you were somewhere else. You entered oblivion and survived!

You pass the second on ride photograph. Round a steep, well-banked 160 degrees corner into the brake run where you sit and wait until you enter the station. And you just faced OBLIVION! Your heart race begins to steady back to normal. Your leave the ride attempting to remain standing. You walk down the exit pass amazed and in awe at what you just conqured. You go to peer at the fear in your face on the on ride foto and then enjoy the rest of your day at Alton Towers!

You just made a great memory!

By Titler

The way this ride scares you is unbelievable. Even if there are no people in the Q you will be walking around the ride in line hearing the riders plunge into the hole below them. As you enter the station you realise what you've let yourself in for and begin to get butterflies in your stomach! When you are in the car for a brief second there is comfort in the safe feeling restraints but as you pull out of the station onto the steep lift hill that feeling dissapears. The corner at the top is horrificly slow and makes the fear grow in the pit of your stomach. Then the car is pulled over the edge and remains there for a few seconds while people at the bottom stare in amazment. After what seems like the longest few seconds of your life the car plunges vertically into total darkness. The drop is probably the most intense moment you can have at Alton Towers and the banked turn at the other end of the tunnel is nothing in comparison.

A great ride - if you are brave enough!

Edited slightly for spelling and puncuation. Phil

Oblivion - 1998 (World First)

1998, when i was 6 or 7 (depends what month Oblivion was opened), i remember being in the room and the news was on. Then a report came on about a new ride at Alton Towers. It caught my attention. This ride, this coaster, a world first, a 90 degree plunge in to the Earth! At that age, i was not as obsessed or into Alton Towers as i am now and i said, "I want to ride that one day!" And that day came 7 years later on October 27th 2005.

Just stepped off my first time on Rita and then it was time for my first ride ever on the 180ft, 90 degree angle plunge into Oblivion. So we take a short walk over to X-Sector, and Oblivion is seen as you start to face X-Sector. I'de been to Alton Towers a few times before but didn't go on it :(. You can hear the sound of screamers from over 150 metres away and it does intimidate you. The look of the drop makes me want to back away. Before i know it, i am standing infront of the entrance.

The entrance queue is terrificly laid out and themed but is a rather long walk uphill :(. You go through small rooms which have a futuristic/armaggedon theme to it. Then you walk under the station whilst in the queue line and there are TVs with a man on who's objective is to intimidate you and it does work quite well. But what is more intimidating is the fact that the trains are above your head! So you make it to the station and before there's a queue bit where you feel caged in :lol:. A woman is speaking saying something involving, T minus 5 minutes. You are in the queue to the car and are ready to take your seats. The car have 2 rows of 8 therefore a capacity of 16 per car. There are usually more than 5 cars out per day which means queue's move quickly.

The gates open and the ride ops are kind enough to take your bag to the compartments near the exit provided :D. You pull your restraint down and buckle up. Shortly after, you are deployed. The chain hill is probably a minute long but can be fun as you are nearly on your backs facing the sky. You reach the top, and then you become scared. Round a small corner to the drop. You think you are just going to drop, but your not! You are stuck at the top for 3 or 4 seconds facing the big smoke filled hole. You are extremely scared here and then, ahh! You are released plunging towards the ground at 70mph in 3 seconds, through the smoke filled hole into the ground! Some people cling on for their lives, others raise their hands in the air! The drop is just fantastic, your stomach goes which forces you to scream whilst the adrenaline rushes through. Reaching the bottom at 70mph with the negative Gs on you!

You level off which pulls some fantasticly strong Gs on you which hit the 4.5 mark. You go shuttling through the ground whilst feeling dazzled. Up on a terrificly fun banked turn before going onto a small drop and rise up on the brake run. You are left dazzled and wondering where you are. Within 7 or so seconds you've experienced a 180ft vertical drop into the ground where you loose you stomach and then experience 4.5Gs and 70mph. It all happens so quick but you are just speechless. It takes a while for you to actually reach the station platform the get off but it is fun watching the other cars take the plunge. When you get off you walk next to chain hill and straight into an Oblivion shop which does try to get you to buy things.

So, need i say the good points? A terrific short ride with extreme thrills! I don't think there are any bad points but a small bother:
You have to wait a while to get off.

Oblivion is one of, if not the, most scariest, most intimidating ride in the UK in my opinion.

9/10.

EXCELLENT review dan, thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Keep them coming. Phil

Its almost like a tradition to revisit Alton Towers every year now, however last year when Rita was launched and the year before I'd not long got a new job, moved house, generally really busy etc. So never ended up going - 'gutted' is the word! But today after two years me and my cousin decided on the spare of the moment decision to revisit Alton Towers - perfect activity for an easter bank holiday. Upon entering the park and after a quick jimmy riddle we headed straight for Rita, then for the thrills down in forbidden valley and then to X-sector. It was a typical April day - cold, bitter, windy and plenty of rain with little mixed sunshine. So as you can imagine the park wasn't as full as it probably would of been had it been a nice hot summers day. The rain spoilt the day to a certain degree, so to make up for it a revisit in Augest is in order...

Anyway moving around the park we got on all the 'big' coasters very quick. All the memories of the scariness, and shear thrill of riding all the coasters came flooding back as I neard them. And then the new thrill of Rita - which really is amazing. So queing up for Oblivion I tried to remember 'the feeling' just like I did for all the other coasters.

Hearing that woman "Oblivion launches in T mius 5 minutes" (or something like that), the flashing lights, the space themeing, the noise. All the memories came back. I thought I was prepared for the coaster as I knew what was to come and knew what to expect. But when the 'train' came to a hault on that dirty vertical drop - I can't ever remember feeling that frightened & thrilled at the same time. And before I knew it I was screaming like a little girl and laughing at the same time as we thunded down to Oblivion in that steamy black hole - and so on. As I got off the coaster I needed to go on again - I love the shear thrill that Oblivion delivers. Unlike the other coasters the feeling that Oblivion gives 'you' is unexplainable. You really do have to ride the coaster to get the thundering feeling in the bottem of your heart. For me, no other coaster at Alton Towers gives me that same thundering feeling. For some reason I wasn't as prepared for Oblivion as I was with the others coasters. It sort of shocked me. The second time I went on (the same day) it was like I was riding it for the first time all over again. Oblivion truly is an amazing coaster - it deserves and easy 10 or 11/10.

OBLIVION

I first got to ride Oblivion during the year it opened. At the time I was a differnt person in my opinion. I wasn't a big fan of heights and in the past I have had the common dream where you fall from a get distance, and you wake up just as you hit the ground. With these things in mind, I didn't want to go on a ride where you drop into a hole from a great height, but I got forced on.

I was freak out point in the queue. I could feel my heart beat go nuts, and I remember the television messages in the queue. That invented coloured man who was really panicy didn't help me too much. I did laugh a bit because I knew it was a joke, but still. that heart beat was still going nuts.

I finally got onto the ride. Still wasn't happy about being on the thing, but that was going to change in a few minutes.

The first ramp took forever to get the top! When you finaly get there, you have a few seconds to enjoy the view, then you are left hanging on the edge of the coaster, leading into a narrow black hole. In the time it took me to slowly read the words "Don't Look Down". Drop!

I didn't like the fall, but after you go straight down you then go straight up at high speeds! So Oblivion put me though fear, suspence and then happiness. And as a parting gift, the waterjet myst at the edge of the hole and high speed left me with a funky hair-do.

Now I've grown up, and a little more used to heights, I would love to ride it again! A fun ride, though scary and slightly nerve racking. Be sure to have long-ish hair and do nothing to it apart from shower to ensure it gives you a bit of make over!

Well. what to put about Oblivion? I queued for about 35 minutes for this ride. When I saw this ride in the park I thought 'okay, this is cool, I can handle it' but after watching some seriously freaky videos in the queues, I was beginning to get nervous. You could see so many people zoom into the black hole and to everyone else it wasn't a very big deal, but I was shaking and felt faint. I'd never felt so terrified in my life. I am a roller coaster sort of person and when on The Hulk and The Kraken in Florida (2 very big roller coasters) just after my 8th birthday, so I thought I'd find this ride a piece of cake, but I took that back the second the restraints came down. I was nearly in tears as I was so scared. All I could think about was that black hole. THat black hole I'd fly into. But. as I climbed the hill, I thought to myself 'come on Katie, yes, you're about to take a vertical drop into a black hole but you shouldn't be scared of it, you should be happy!' So I smiled :D I just screamed 'bring it on' until I was out of breath. And then we finished climbing the hill and I was hanging face down into that hole. I stopped cheering and screamed. I felt so scared and worried. And then it happened. I went into that hole. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I loved it :!: :!: :!:

Good points
* Scary videos that make queue times more enjoyable
* Good location
* A very well presented and advertised ride

Bad points
* My arms were cramped
* I was nearly in tears!

As soon as you sit down and the carriage slowly drags you up the steep hill you feel very tense and scared. Then the carriage tips slowly out and you dangle nearly 200ft over a huge, dark under-ground pit. You realise you would rather have gone to UG land than daring to enter the X sector! You are sat there facing out over the pit for 3 seconds but while you are on it, it feels like an eternity!
Suddenly you zoom down so fast that you cant breathe.
It is so fast and definately a ride I would go on again.
Top Tip - never ride Oblivion on a windy or rainy day. Trust me! :shock:

This ride terrified my friend to death. The 'this is not safe thing' terrified her the most a she was afraid of riding before and she was MORE afraid of riding when she saw that. We loved it though. A 10/10 experience and we went on a good day for 1/2 hour queues. Not a bad queue time.

The experience is just "OH CRAP HELP!" and whoosh!

Just an add on to my previous bit:
My friend actually had to help me out of the seat on Oblivian because I couldn't get out! Lol! My hair was a mess and we could just see this car infront of us going up.

Lauzi: Edited slightly for s+g :)

Wow, I remember going on this for the first time, pretty scary!
An unique experience, Also love the theme, With videos that tell you that you might die it really adds to the adrenaline!
The first time I went on it I remember going up the steep hill, and thinking, Oh my god, Why did I do this? Even my uncle who is older than me got pretty scared!
Anyway, Great ride! Never get bored of it! Pretty funny to ride in the rain as well! 9/10

Very well done by B+M, I have to say. Oblivion happened to be the very first coaster I rode and boy, it was fantastic!

When in the queue line for Oblivion, you really start to panic. There are TV monitors that tell you you could die on the ride.

As you are climbing up the lift hill painfully slow, you are scared s**tless. It is the worst (and best!) feeling ever. Every time I ride it, I always have a feeling that I want to get off asap!

You then turn a corner and the trains dangle in the air. What a sensation! You feel a rush of adrenaline across your head before you hurtle down into the dark hole in the ground. Out of the other side, you ride an overbanked turn and then hit the breaks.

It's annoying for me, because I always feel it gets underrated. In bush gardens they installed Sheikra, and now Griffon, which is longer than Oblivion and contains water features and inversions. But - Alton Towers did the best job in my opinion. It's brilliant how it goes underground - and for that, I would ride it anyday over the other two in bush gardens.

FANTASTIC!

Lauzi: Edited for s+g.

Oblivion is fantastic! As you walk into X-Sector, you can see it on the left of you. You walk further into X-Sector and don't know whether to carry on into the queline or not. You ignore your gut feeling and carry on. The queline really scares you with the videos trying to put you off and you seem to walk round forever. Finally you reach the ride, (you probably won't have to que long) and walk into the cages. You train stops and you walk along the very wide crafts. As you sit down you realise that the seats are suprisingly tilted back and very comfertable, although you probably won't have time to enjoy this. You pull down you OHR and fassen your seatbelt. Thats it, you can't get off now as much as you won't to! You start to climb the huge lift hill nearly lying on your back and eventually reach the top. At this point all you can think is oh my god, you travel slowly round the bend and hang over the drop for a unbearable 3 seconds. As you travel down the drop the force is fantastic, you go underground in nearly complete darkness then come out at the other end of X-Sector, take a banked turn and then finally hit the brakes. You have just experienced your first ride on Oblivion........And you still want more!

Ok so Oblivion is by far the scariest ride I've been on, so far. Approaching X sector you hear the screams as riders plummet into a underground hole. Getting nearer you know you HAVE to ride it, sometimes without even wanting to.

The queue line is intimidating in a way. Telling riders they may not survive, and all that. It really scares you even more into riding this.

Getting nearer to the station, you hear 'T minus 5 minutes... ' and then you enter the station. An operator allows you to embark and you sit in surprisingly comfortable seats. You're strapped in and you're off. No turning back. The part of knowing you cannot turn back scared the **** out of me and i have to admit, i cried whilst climbing the lift hill! LOL well I have reasons.

Turning round and then coming face to face with the huge drop below is shocking. The longest 4 seconds of your life are at the top of the drop, and then it plunges into blackness and before you know it you're turning back into the station.

I survived Oblivion...

I think Oblivion is really good for Alton Towers as it's a vertical drop rollercoaster. You don't know till you get to the top how high you are, I was screaming down the bottom. It is quite intense, even though it's short, it's more of the experience dropping down a vertical drop that scares alot of people.

Lauzi: Edited for s+g :)

Oblivion.

Now, don't get me wrong, Oblivion is an amazing rollercoaster. The themeing is just brilliant, with the queue line videos and all. Really gets your adrenaline pumping. Very intimadating, hence why I had to be pushed just that little bit into the queue line on my first ride. The life hill just seems to go on forever, and then the turn to get you to the plunge.

Then it hits you. You are about to fall 180ft, vertically, into a hole in the ground. Before you can think about it, you are down. Then back up again without having the time to acknowledge what has just happened.

All in all an amazing ride.

However, yesterday was my first ever ride on Nemesis. Now I went on Nemesis at about 9:45, and didn't want to go on Oblivion the rest of the day. This is because, although they ar etwo completely different rides, a ride on Oblivion wouldn't even touch what I have just felt on Nemesis.

I still love Oblivion, but it's not a patch on Nemesis!

Get ready to survive Oblivion!
____________________________________________________________________
Review:

Well, IMO Oblivion is the best coaster in the park. The queue line videos just get you hyped up sooo much, and when you see a shuttle dropping every minute, that scares you even more. I find it so intimmidating how the flashing lights and music etc get really get your adrenaline going. The Themeing is absolutely fab, but the extreme terror starts when you board the shuttle. When you climb the lift hill, you are almost virtical and all you want to do is get off. Once at the top off the lift hill, you get stunning views across the complex, but this doesn't calm you down. After stirring at the ground for 3 or so seconds, you plummet towards the earth virtically into a black, mist fillled hole, leaving all the inner of your body behind. You feel like you are about to die, and it is even worse free handed, but you get a sense of relaxation when you exit the hole, ready to go into the brake run. You have just experienced the ride of your life, and you can now go and get your on ride photo (Or the YourDay DVD) before going to do it all over again!

____________________________________________________________________
Pros:

Great themeing, Fantastic atmosphere, great ride overall, etc.

____________________________________________________________________
Cons:

Could be a bit longer.

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Tips:

Go anytime in the day, but try early in the day, and later on. Also try to enjoy yourself and don't cry or anything, and dont wait over 30mins, because the queue will shorten later on in the day.

____________________________________________________________________
Rating:

9.999/10

Oblivion is brilliant the way they build it up before is amazing you get in the queue line and think this looks like nothing but when your sitting in the car you get really nervous then it goes up really really slowly and you think omg I’m actually her on oblivion what am I doing??? And when it hangs you, you never know when its going to drop then you feel your stomach lurch and get left behind as you hurtle towards a black hole its stupidly brilliant!!!

edited for S&G