Will nobody else buy a B&M Dive Machine?

Well, I certainly enjoyed Oblivion and would love to see one in the US somewhere. I just can't think of any park that it would want one...

Come on, Buzzers, most of you have NOT ridden a B&M diver, so many of these comments are based on what you have seen or heard rather than riding it. I'll give BeyondOblivion the benefit of the doubt and say that I think the United States IS missing out on something good by not having a B&M Diver here. And yes, I realize that my opinion is also based on the reviews of others, and not actual riding.

I'd sure be there on opening day if one came to Southern Californa, and I'm sure all of you would too, if one opened up near you.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!
*** This post was edited by Soggy 7/31/2003 3:15:05 PM ***

And yet another twist...
We all know how the 'don't bash it till you ride it' crap is heavily pushed around here, YET most everyone (who hasn't ridden it) jumps at this ride saying it's a glorified freefall ride and such. Kind of ironic!

Anyway, I remember when there were rumors that a diver was going to be built at Astroworld and it would have loops, too. I wonder what crackhead thought up that BS... ;)

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It IS as bad as you think, and they ARE out to get you.

In my opinion, Oblivion is a pretty good ride, but unlike (e.g.) Dragster, where, despite the huge wait, you come off feeling satisfied, after a long Oblivion wait, you don't feel as if its been quite worth it. Its definitely a thrill- more so than most tower/drop rides, but in the end its not that much better, and although its a unique experience, its not worth as big a queue as Air or Nemesis, which are by far the better rides. That said, I think its still cool and if a park a little closer to my house announced they'd be getting one, I'd be happy.

There are rumors floating around that SFGAdv will be getting one for next season. I hope they get it :)

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Mike T.
This ride re-opens in 30 minutes

I won't be buying one soon, that's for sure.

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

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The Shy One said:
Anyway, I remember when there were rumors that a diver was going to be built at Astroworld and it would have loops, too

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This brings up an interesting note:

The more I've seen pictures of the various flats and such at the English parks like Alton and Blackpool, the more I see their design influence on the corresponding items in Sawyer's original RCT.

The thing I find intriguing is that in Sawyer's game, the Vertical coaster (B&M Dive Machine) has always had loops available. This is the only radical departure from any existing ride design that I can think of in the original RCT.

The questions I have are;
1. Did the original proposals for Oblivion include a loop somewhere?
2. Has B&M ever shown any proposal/computer graphics/mock-ups of a looping Dive Machine at one of the trade shows?

Later,
EV
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"Here's the thing about living in the past. If it was so good, then how come it didn't last? If it helps you, I'll put it in a phrase. Those were the times, but these are the days." - The Human League

Might make sense at Knotts---they have a space issue!

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Give me wood! :-)
328 and counting!

Morey's Piers, Wildwood, NJ.....

Indiana Beach, Montecello, IN.....

No park has a space issue.

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Ramming your face into the bottom of a swimming pool is not very fun.

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EchoVictor said:

The more I've seen pictures of the various flats and such at the English parks like Alton and Blackpool, the more I see their design influence on the corresponding items in Sawyer's original RCT.

The thing I find intriguing is that in Sawyer's game, the Vertical coaster (B&M Dive Machine) has always had loops available. This is the only radical departure from any existing ride design that I can think of in the original RCT.

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I noticed that also with RCT. And if you remember, the original RCT had loops for wooden coasters years before SOB was built.

As far as when the US will get a B&M diver... my crystal ball tells me in 2004 at Hersheypark.

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I tried writing my signiture here, but my pen wouldn't write on the screen.

on the topic of stand-ups, i always wondered why they never cloned the Georgia Scortcher. Its sweet lookin and compact. looks like it could fit in a lot of places.

Thats the good thing about Oblivion if you go before June or after August you will queue no more than 5 minutes for it with most of the time it being walk-on. In the summer months the queues rarely get to more than 45 minutes and the queue line moves very quickly. At 1800pph it really has great capacity. For a ride with such incredible through-put I don't think the $7,000,000 price tag is that bad and if parks don't like the big expensive then they simply don'y have to buy as many trains.

Hi all,

Aflack....Absolutely, I went in Oct and got about 20 consecutive walk-on rides in. And here's the thing: I never got tired of it. Because the ride is one short but intense buzz, there are no "flat spots" or poor elements.

I'm afriad Oblivion cost quite a bit more than you indicated, though. This was primarily because of the expense of the excavation work needed to accommodate the ride owing to Alton Towers zoning restrictions (same scenario with Nemesis) . Oh, that and the fact that the ride vehicles cost so much! I think you'll find the total cost of the ride was closer to 10 million UK pounds. I've no idea what that is in US dollars! :-) It was a VERY expensive installation, but would be considerably cheaper without the need to excavate a 100ft deep trench! Does anyone know how much G5 cost?

Regards

Yeah thats what I'm saying the actual ride was only £4,500,000, or thats what it says on rcdb. All the rest was spent on the tunnel and landscaping. I don't think £4,500,000 is to much money really for such a ride.

Aflack: Yeah, drop in the ocean mate....I'll take 3! ;-) Seriously though, I agree: that's not much to pay for a ride of that calibre that has such a good capacity and, I believe, reliablility record.

Regards

It's a great ride, it's just a shame the park is going down the pan. You have Thorpe Park and Chessington who both seem to be thriving, but with people and atmosphere and then you have Alton Towers once the jewel in the English theme park crown, that although I know it's not looks like it's falling apart. I would quite happily sacrifice any rides for next season if they would just go around and spruce up the existing rides. Nemesis looks a state, the alien is falling apart, it looks tatty is covered in cig butts and the queue lines have grass going through them. The ride is insane and it's getting more insame. I heard that whilst every other big park invites B&M back to service there rides (Hulk, Dragons etc.etc.) Tussauds won't fork out the money and prefer to do it themselves. The train hurtles around the track and is quite litterally pulling itself apart the whole loop has had to be replaced over the years as have various other sections of the track. If it carries on speeding up the way it has it will have to be trimmed especially in the rain.

Also for a park that gets 2.5 million visitors a year it has incredibly few number of rides meaning huge queues in the summer. I queued 3.5 hours for air, 2.5 hours for Nemesis and 2 hours for the rapids.

Oblivion is no-longer black but grey, it also does suffer a lot of breakdowns, teh Black hole fails it's safetly tests every year before they weld a new bit onto it so it just about passes and there's more mold growing on it's roof than down at my local woods. Theres even a broken lightbulb in one of the eyes on Hex in the main room that has been broken for 2 years.

It's unbelievable that Thrope and Alton are run by the same firm but under different management teams. Alton Towers management want to take a trip down the M1 to see how it's done.

Oh well rant over!

Aflack. I'd have to agree with your sentiments. I thought it was just me that thought Nemesis was getting even more insane...particularly that helix that leads down into the Zero G roll over the station.....free facelift anyone!?!? :-) Still a 1st class inverted coaster though!

My concern is that the Tussauds group may be giving up on developing Alton Towers further, owing to the infastructure problems and harsh zoning restrictions. What happened with the new proposed wooden coaster is a good example.....and as for that water park hotel...looks like it's a bit of a non-event. Even if that is the case, its no excuse to let the other rides deteriorate...particularly the Big three: Nemesis, Oblivion and Air. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Thorpe park starting to take over as the premier thrill ride park in the UK.

Other rides in need of maintenence/ reprofiling/ removing

Log Flume: it's falling apart and is very poorly patched up.

Blade. Really crap swinging ship ride; doesn't go nearly high enough.

River Rapids: waterfall section apart, it's really starting to show its age and is a rather mediocre example of the genre- should be a lot wetter and more turbulant.

Runaway Mine train: Dive into the tunnel apart, this is a very half-hearted attempt at what can be a very entaining ride for a whole family and a great ride for coaster novices to cut their teeth on.

Submission- Yawn!

Black Hole: I have a soft spot for this one, but it badly needs reprofiling; the first turns and the final brake run can be painful!!

Corkscrew: This one had it's day 15 years ago. It should have gone, rather than the Thunderlooper.

Regards.

I was on Oblivion last year - got several rides in, with minimal waits on a busy day (excellent capacity). Short? Yes. One trick? Sure, much like Hypersonic, TTD, Montezooma's Revenge are all "one-trickers" (and also short) - but I love them just the same. Thrilling? You bet. I've been on all sorts of free falls, but this, in my opinion, is a significantly different experience. I'm also a sucker for the "drops" on coasters, and Oblivion has one of the best, period.

Would I want to wait hours for this one-minute ride? No, but I don't want to wait hours for ANY ride. I'd love one closer to home. I always thought BGW would be a natural fit, what with their terrain and all, you could just build into the side of a hill (or the bank of their river, a la Big Bad Wolf). Save a few bucks there ...
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Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.

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Jeffrey R Smith said:
Might make sense at Knotts---they have a space issue!

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And they also have a rocket coaster that does the same trick- but far better.

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The Trip: CP, SFWoA, PKI, KW, HW, IB, SFGAm, MiA and LeSourdsville too.
8 Days- 10 parks. May 2003

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spewey said:
I was on Oblivion last year - got several rides in, with minimal waits on a busy day (excellent capacity). Short? Yes. One trick? Sure, much like Hypersonic, TTD, Montezooma's Revenge are all "one-trickers" (and also short) - but I love them just the same. Thrilling? You bet. I've been on all sorts of free falls, but this, in my opinion, is a significantly different experience. I'm also a sucker for the "drops" on coasters, and Oblivion has one of the best, period.

Would I want to wait hours for this one-minute ride? No, but I don't want to wait hours for ANY ride. I'd love one closer to home. I always thought BGW would be a natural fit, what with their terrain and all, you could just build into the side of a hill (or the bank of their river, a la Big Bad Wolf). Save a few bucks there ...
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Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.

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i heard a rumor that BGW might be getting a dive machine, no one will ever know, i guess we will have to wait