Awesome Oblivion video

http://www.heligenius.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Oblivion_0001.wmv 2.6Mb, 40 sec. Sorry about the swear word in the beginning. The person who filmed this & posted on his site is not an enthusiast at all. Believe it or not, this is a video from the thrill-seeking GP's POV! I love the "WHUMPF!" it makes as it plunges underground.

Before you can ask why more Dive Machines haven't been built, it has been asked several times. It all boils down to the park's choice & selection, maybe with some input from the GP via polls & feedback.

IMO there is a huge potential here. Imagine a Giga DM, all above ground or half/half. Then throw in a Megalooper layout. As the trains are massive, it would have to be spread out, like on Stand-Ups. Mantis' layout is a good example.

*Wishful thinking* Perhaps in the future when Earth's population exceeds 10 billion, parks will need huge capacity rides. This is where the DM comes in, except with 16 rows of 8 - 128 people per train! It would be gargantuan, over 500ft tall, Hypercoaster layouts & more. Sure, there is the $$$, but who knows what the future will bring?

*** This post was edited by Taipan 8/11/2003 12:06:30 AM ***

I love the 'whumpf' as it enters the tunnel. Not sure what makes it, but it does make a loud clack just as the train starts coming out of the drop (entering the tunnel) - if you stand behind the track under the drop, it's very loud.

Diving Machines are fun, but not as awesome as they look.
The drop doesn't offer much more than a good freefall and to be a good coaster it's way too short.

It is fun, but not thrilling like you all expect it is.

For capacity, a Tiltcoaster is better. A vertical drop too, but possible with long trains.
------------------
Roarrrr...

The noise? How about the fact that a train with a large surface area (8 seats wide, with the seats well above the floor) is entering a tunnel just wide enough to fit the train safely at a reasonably high speed. That air has gotta go somewhere - fast! Hence the wonderful "whumpf" - effectively a shockwave...

Robster,

Standing behind the hole, it isn't the air making the 'whumpf' - I guess it could be the air causing something to move and then THAT goes 'whumpf', but it certainly isn't air itself. It is more a quick 'bang-bang' which echos through the tunnel.

Belgian,

I was going to type something like that in my original response. As you say, they're better (or worse) than freefalls, and I don't think it looks quite as intimidating as you can only see half the drop (most of which is the pull-out, anyway).

It seems a nonsence that a park without the problems of Alton Towers would spend so much on the ride, as well as the extensive ground work etc., on a ride that is only slightly better than some of the less exciting freefalls.

For example, I prefer Detonator at Thorpe Park over Oblivion. I suspect Detonator didn't even cost Thorpe £1m.

MS

Oblivion is good, but not great. The main problem with it is that if you've waited in line about an hour (which it usually is) you come off the ride feeling dissatisfied. The drop is thrilling, but not really really good, and then, well... thats it. And thats the problem with it... its not thrilling enough for its reputation, cost or its lines. Whereas, for e.g. TTD is about the same ride length/time, but it is just soooo thrilling and totally incomparable to anything else, so you come off it feeling satisfied, despite a long line. So Oblivion just isn't satisfying enough... and so I'll take Air or Nemesis any day!

the wumph is the air in the tunnel being pushed away by the train, which is travelling at over 80 miles per hour. if you've ever been to alton towers when u stand by the exit of black hole you hear it twice, when it comes out and when the ride drops

Decimator, Oblivion's top speed is 68.

---

Marcus Sheen said:
It seems a nonsence that a park without the problems of Alton Towers would spend so much on the ride, as well as the extensive ground work etc., on a ride that is only slightly better than some of the less exciting freefalls.

---

My theory is that Oblivion is the first coaster with a drop that's just about vertical. At one time, Corkscrew at Cedar Point was the first coaster with three inversions, and I'm sure it gathered quite the crowd. Is it thrilling by today's standards? Not necessarily. However, coaster attributes and elements have to start somewhere. Oblivion has already been outdone several times over with drops of 90 degrees, and now even 95, but I suspect that the ride experience remains unique in the fact that it's the only coaster to hold you over the edge at a 45 degree angle for a few seconds and then drop you nearly vertically into a narrow mist-filled tunnel. And like I said, it had to start somewhere. Seems to me it still draws guests quite effectively.

------------------
-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
------------------