Oblivion

Are You Prepared for Oblivion?

It is easy now in 2023 to underestimate the importance and simplicity of Oblivion to Alton Towers, in the years that have followed the park has installed Air (now Galactica), Thirteen, The Smiler and Wicker Man. In a lot of ways you can compare Oblivion to the bond film You Only Live Twice. Whilst Nemesis was the first of the "Secret Weapon" roller coasters to be built, Oblivion perfected it, coming out at the right time and with every passing new "Secret Weapon" the park has used it as the template, rightly or wrongly, much like You Only Live Twice was not the first of the EON Bond films, but it is the one that nailed the formula and pretty much every Bond film since has followed the same pattern. 

 

But like those classic Bond films, just how does it hold up many years later? Not only is Alton Towers a different place to what it was in the 1990s but the industry has evolved too. Can Oblivion still compete?

As previously mentioned Oblivion was the sequel to Nemesis, but only by pure fluke, with the flying coaster concept reportedly the next one on the agenda it was only due to the technical restrictions at the time that Oblivion was built. The right time for the internet, whilst still in it's infancy it was enough to spread the message about the new World First Experience but not enough for the average person to find the plans online, something that the future Secret Weapons have done with varying levels of success but all with a gimmick to get that elusive "World First" credit for the marketing.

 

It is remarkable then, that even after 25 years of operation, Oblivion is still an imposing ride not just in X-Sector, (even if the 2013 installation, The Smiler, has lessened it's impact slightly) but the bottom end of the park. The trouble with prototypes though, you are always going to be stuck with an inferior product once the kinks have been worked out. Yes it is good initially, much like the 1990s digital cameras that could take up to a massive 10 photos at a quarter of a megapixel, but when you look back, it is then can you only start to either appreciate them for what they were (afterall if no-one had bought those initial digital cameras, we might not have camera phones today) or when you start to realise actually, they were a bit naff.

 

Right off the bat, as the "World's First Vertical Drop Roller Coaster" the drop isn't vertical with a couple of degrees difference, something by which time SheikRa opened in Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 2005 had solved and all future of this type of coaster now features a 90 degree vertical drop, including now several in Europe with one in Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden. Due to the constraints with the tree height and presumably the shorter planning they had the layout is short compared to the others, or the focus is entirely the drop and the rest of it is just a way to get into the station. Again the woes of a prototype, however, this is also Oblivion's strongpoint against the later versions.

Oblivion's focus is on the drop and nothing else, that's it's simplicity. In an age now where multilaunches, switchtracks, drop tracks seem to be the focus. Oblivion, at the end of a day is just a vertical drop and a very long tunnel and it doesn't try to be anything else from a ride point of view.

It is like any good show though and there is more to it than meets the eye. Whereas the later versions  focus on having a layout after the drop, Oblivion is a masterclass on tension building. The queueline is an example here, with no cattlegrid style queueline in sight, instead it is gradual rising circle, making you focus on that drop, going under the station twice, with the 1990s style of music playing through and the Lord of Darkness owning the TV screens when you pass through them, enough to build up the tension but not enough to become tiresome and irritating.

   

Once you've navigated the long queue, it is time to experience "Eternal Darkness, Welcome to Oblivion". For those who have ridden the later versions, it is now pretty much the standard affair (to Oblivion's credit, if it is not broke, why fix it) with a steep and slow lift hill to the turnaround. Where Oblivion is different though, it is not free coasting to the holding brake, but a controlled turn, building up the tension (and padding out the ride length) until you get to the holding brake. The view from up here is unexpected, able to see for quite a distance of the north Staffordshire countryside up to the Weaver Hills and the valley that is Dimmings Dale and beyond.

 

Despite not being vertical, it is not so much noticeable when you are on the holding brake. Roughly three seconds later it releases and you are entering freefall mode. The experience still holds up 25 years later and especially against the other versions, the couple of degrees its missing is noticeable and before you know it, you are entering the dark and usually damp tunnel. Unfortunately, the years have not been kind the the mist effect (presumably due to the hard water of the Midlands) and now you can see straight down into the tunnel, it is shame as it was a great effect in its heyday and added to the mystery of just how deep the tunnel is (answer: taller than the outside drop section!) and before you know it, you are emerging out of the tunnel into an overbanked turn, which feels like it should contain more laterals than it does, another drop (albeit a small one) before the final hill into the brake run (which again feels like it should have a pop of airtime but not really any of merit) and you can breathe again in what you've just accomplished and hopefully not having to wait that long to return to the station

 

Oblivion does still hold up because of the focus on the drop, it knows this. The ride is all about tension and release. Since it opened, I've had the chance to experience SheiKra, Valkyria & Krake and are they better rides? Overall yes, but whether it's nostalgia or whether it's because the focus is entirely different but Oblivion still reins supreme in pure tension building. It is Alton Towers' version of a drop tower pure and simple and that focus changes everything. But, how long are you willing to queue up for it? A drop tower has the advantage (despite the smaller throughput) that once you've dropped, it's only a quick gap before you are off on your way again, Oblivion, on the otherhand it can feel like you are longer on the brake run than what you are from the lift hill to the brake run, exacerbated even more if only one loading station is working.

The Good:

• Usually good throughputs
• The drop holds up surprising well for a 25 year old trick
• Nothing quite like it in the UK
• Good psychological themeing
  

The Bad: 

• Nothing of note after the drop
• Can be slow getting back into the station from the brake run
• Painfully short 

The Ugly: 

• The mist effect has well since past its best
• The track turning a grey colour
• Indoor queue areas are riddled with graffiti
  

The Verdict:
  
3/5

More of my Oblivion photos can be seen here: