Oblivion Review | The Ultimate One-Trick Pony | First Ever B&M Dive Coaster at Alton Towers 

Turn the trains backwards and rebrand it to Oblivious! That would reinvent the ride giving it a new 'worlds first' experience as it would be the first backwards dive coaster. 😊

Having been on some other dive coasters. What is fun about Oblivion is when you go into the underground tunnel; there is a noticeble change in air pressure and you can feel it against your head and ear drums.

There is a clone of Oblivion in Taiwan called Diving Machine G5 and it also had a tunnel but at the very bottom of the drop like Yukon Striker so you can actually see how massive the drop is because you see the entire thing, it actually looks bigger than Dr Diabolical or Emperor. That's how deep oblivions drop goes underground.

Hours spent in this queue + a adoration of this rides theme means that I can recite the entirety of the queue line video of oblivion from memory. The lord of darkness shouting that you have NO BOTTLE is etched into my mind.

The fact that this is better than most of the dive coasters I've ridden which speaks a lot to how good of a ride it is

The hang time was longer but reduced due to noise complaints. The iconic "Don't look down!" audio before the drop was removed for the same reason.

The music in Oblivion is still to this day a blast to hear during the queue.

It's a direct ancestor of the other dive coasters, but I think it needs to be looked at as a classic ride, somewhat like the original Arrow corkscrew style rides. It might only do one thing that new rides do way better, but it's a classic.

This ride always scared me as a little kid, even though I had rode the other rides at the park. I finally got the courage to ride it as a teenager, but people always seem to be more intimidated by this ride compared to the others in the park, the drop is short, but it just seems really scary to non-coaster riders!

I give Alton Towers so much credit for building new coasters-they have spent so much on R&D. I’ve been on lots of Dive Coasters and Baron is my favorite because of the theme.

I saw the documentary that was done with this ride, with that man preventing people from coming into the area on knowing what the ride is. And looking at how the built the tunnel for this ride was just nuts. It literally was insanely deep and the fact that all of that was dug out was crazy.

I’ve been on a good few dive coasters now and while oblivion is obviously the shortest, it has the best drop. I swear, each time I ride oblivion I get so so scared climbing up that lift hill - something I feel other dive coasters don’t manage to achieve. And the fact it goes underground is so cool and so unique.

The hold brake used to hold you for longer and random amounts. I think the hold time is now minimal to reduce wear, but that's a guess.

I'm lucky to live in a town 20mins away from towers and we go quite alot.. This is the only ride that really gets my heart pumping. It's a shame they got rid of the "dont look down" audio 😔

When I was a kid everyone said it was the scariest coaster in the world.

It s my number one in my Heart ! A lot of Coaster is more better but Oblivion is a unique expérience. The sound, the drop, the hole!!!! It s Amazing ❤

Ah man Oblivion! What can I say? I love the first drop.

Theming looks amazing!

Ridden a few dive coasters in the US but oblivion was the first, shortly after it opened, with the original theming and more videos in the queueline. It used to be so much more of a build up and still is the best dive coaster ive ridden. The drop into the tunnel is just perfect. Even Valravn i found to be a different ride, but not as harrowing as the tunnel experience!

My opinion is different, this WAS my first dive coaster. I love the theme and the drop is great . Although do understand why many prefer oblivions predecessors.

I enjoyed this a lot when I went in 2006, I see it as the test case for the Dive models for B&M, and look where we are today! Easily one of the best themed (though Baron 1898 takes that crown) compared to newer offerings these days.

I could talk about this ride for hours. I think a lot of the impact the ride once had is gone - it was built for, and is therefore a product of, the late 90's/early 2000's, and due to various factors (notorious Towers' lack of upkeep of non-saftey critical things e.g the misters which once totally obscured the tunnel, edits of the queue line videos and dispatch audio since the Smiler incident, and indeed the addition of the Smiler to the area inducing a clash - the previous occupant of the Smiler's site was a much better fit to Oblivion's theme) a lot of what made the original ride so impactful has faded away. Some of it is still there - the super bassy vaguely dubstep soundtrack and slightly menacing aura, where 'everything is perfectly safe' but everything you see, hear, feel leading you to believe that's not entirely true, the awesome visual impact of the shuttles going underground while vertical etc. But without that original full package, the immersion is gone, and the experience as a whole truly suffers because of it. There used to be a fake news report video playing in the nearby cafe reporting that some of the shuttles went missing and people were investigating it. I think that video sort of sums up what the ride was meant to be, it was supposed to make you question what was really heppening, and wonder why the hell everything felt so sinsister and mysterious. It drew you in with mystery and ambiguity, and then left you with even more questions once you'd actually ridden it. I think the dive coaster is a great model and that Towers built the first one is a reminder of the innovation the place once prided itself on. Bigger and arguably better versions have been built, and it is often pointed out that Oblivion is just a big drop and that's it. Indeed, that is by far the number one criticism of the ride. But, I would say that the ride being all about that one thing is intentional. If there were more to it, it would be a different ride, and it wouldn't fit in with the ethos of the theme. The ride is exactly what it was meant to be - a big drop, into the ground, that takes your breath away and leads into the unknown. That's it. It's sinister, imposing, and intimidating because there's all this fuss, this huge structure, massive themed area, all the ancillary components, just to support this single drop, which leads one to believe that the drop must be something worth being terrified of. Why else would they go through all this effort? Why are all these people queueing for an hour for a 10 second drop into the ground? Having said all this (and despite my obvious love for the ride), I find it difficult to disagree with your assessment. Riding Oblivion as it exists today is a vastly different experience. Without all the features that existed to help the ride be what it was supposed to be, it exists merely as a short rollercoaster with a big drop, and there's nothing special about a rollercoaster with a big drop. I don't even think it would be possible to bring back what used to make it so special. It's a shame, but all good things must end I suppose.

I think Oblivion's drop takes your breath away the most out of any dive coasters that i've been on. The bigger trains on SheiKra made is quite slow to drop and speed up, but i think Oblivion is close to the feels of Iron Gwazi which is epic

I went on nemesis in 1998 when I was 13 and thought that was scary enough. Oblivion was new that year and my sister went on it. I thought she was so brave! I went on oblivion the next year and that is what set me off with rollercoasters! Getting over the oblivion hurdle set me up for islands of adventure when I visited in 2001 and the other Florida parks. Ever since I’ve been obsessed with coasters. For me oblivion will always have a special place in my memory.

ive never been on it but this has always seemed to me like the ideal for a dive coaster. it's a theming experience more than a ride. and the holding brake only makes sense if theres actually something scary happening below, not just more track like almost all the other dives have

Oooh I love Oblivion, it’s my second favourite in the park behind the Smiler.

I would say it is probably almost better to consider Oblivion as B&M's take on a drop tower rather than a true roller coaster.

I still remerber seeing this on RCT as kid and not knowing it was a real park lol

Oblivion is the only dive coaster I've done,and it was back in 2010. I loved it at the time.

Been enjoying the UK ride/theme park reviews (the only rides I've ever done, my first trip to Cedar Point this year!), you'll have to come back for Hyperia when it opens!

Still one of the best first drops I've experienced! Yeah it's a one trick pony but it does it so well 🤩

The other dive machines I've done are SheiKra, Valkyria and Baron but for some unexplained reason I always feel more weightlessness sensation on Oblivion. One trick pony but the best drop for me.

Because oblivion is my fav and only dive coaster ive been on it still packs a punch and is my second fav behind the smiler but just go on it at night at scarefest and it is amazing so cold in the tunnel

then short hold is cause of nimbys, there used to be on ride audio as you were held too

It's more of a drop tower than a roller coaster, but that one element is the scariest single element in the UK (at least until Hyperia opens)

I'd imagine someday that just like Nemesis Reborn, this could be re-imagined, too, have the drop right out of the station, and have the whole layout underground, sure it would be near impossible to do, but if they can redo Nemmy, then they could do this as well. They could bring back the audio and longer hold if they enclosed the top of the drop, somehow, if they can't redesign the whole ride.

Love Oblivion its my 4th favourite in the park very fun ride and has the best floater airtime on park with the main drop and small hill into the break run. It is actually my 2nd favourite Dive Coaster with Griffon only one ahead, I cannot dislike Oblivion.

The hold had audio but noise issues with locals stopped the long hold and audio. (Don't look down) At the time it was also in the section with black hole rollercoaster. Another coaster not mentioned.

In regards to the hold duration, i've seen it and ridden it with longer holds. like 3-4 seconds at times. I think it's due to how fast they can get trains dispatched and throughput. I've also had rides with a barely 1 second hold cos the line was super long

I think something like this really depends on expectations. If you remove everything you know about dive coasters and just approach this as a ride. Maybe even an exalted flat ride. You'd probably say it was really cool. I mean, it's essentially a variant of a drop tower but it turns you forward in a tunnel instead of slowing you down at the end of the fall. That's pretty cool, right? But once you think of it as being a coaster, and especially if you've ridden other dive coasters then you're expectations shift and it is underwhelming.

It used to hold you for a while while the guy whispered "don't look down" but it was removed after neighbours complained about the screaming and it was felt that the hold made people scream louder. Was way better back then.

This coaster is an example of a "obsolete coaster" the layout is comically short, the one thing it has they don't even utilize correctly. It stops for like a second. It should sit for 10 seconds to give the rode more length. They should have taken the track from the nemisis rebuild and use it to expand the layout since it's the same track just flipped upside down.

I remember well my first ride on this. I’ve never screamed louder since. It used to hang you up there for a longer, I’m sure.

It was the first of its kind hence why it probably wasn't as ambitious in scale and complexity. Still a solid ride and even today that drop still gets me.

I just think of this the park’s drop tower. Once I started doing that and not really trying to compare it to normal dive coasters I started enjoying it a lot more.

My home park!

My first time on this we were stuck at the edge for about 10 minutes and staff came up with the harnesss on 😂 ended up moving shortly after thankfully 😅

Last video, I complained about the low ranking of efteling. Ill be visiting EP and phantasialand in the next few months, I did visit EP before, which I do have a preference over efteling, but ill see if phantasialand beats EP.

Oblivion's my 4th favourite at Alton Towers, behind Th13teen, Wickerman and Galactica. (I used to like The Smiler but Gerstlauer OSTRs dig into my shoulders now that I've grown taller. (They don't dig into my shoulders all the time, only during the airtime.))

This was my first thrill coaster. I rode It when I was 12

Oblivion is my 3rd favouite coaster

Oblivion in 1998 was like nothing else on earth. Not just the ride itself, but the hype, the mystery and the overall visuals. That is what makes it unlike any of the others.

I'll tell you what, Cedar Point should've made Valravn go through 2 underground tunnels, giving them each a Mausoleum design look to each of them

Alton Towers has inspired so many rides around the world, not just the dive coaster. It’s cost them an absolute fortune to do the world firsts which has both benefited them and hindered them. Still, it’s amazing how much of an impact Alton Towers and John Wardley have had on the rest of the theme park world. Oblivion stands as an invention, rather than a world class coaster.. and for this reason it will always have a place in our hearts

Yeah it's a shame about the hold. It used to hold you at the top and it would say via speakers 'don't look down'. After the early 2000s lawsuit, this is no longer the case. It was all to reduce noise from the park as the hold and audio elevated screaming apparently! I encourage you to scream louder before the drop on future rides - stick it to the party poopers😂!

2:34 And also Black Hole.

Amazing video! You guys should do a video on its predecessor Oblivion: The Black Hole at Gardaland

It did used to have a more suspenseful wait on the drop. I heard there were noise complaints about the screaming though from local residents.

I had this thats it feeling on Fenix at Toverland.

The hold at the top of the drop was much longer in the past but had to be shortened to stop guest screaming after nearby residents sued the park for not controlling noise adequately!!

Having ridden several dive machines. I think Oblivion has the best drop because of the hole. And Baron, Black Hole and Krake are above my opinions of sheikra because of the drops having themeing or tunnels.

There are too many roller coasters in the UK that are only 30 seconds long. Nemesis, Oblivion, Nemesis Inferno, Stealth, Saw, Swarm, GalacticAir, Rita...if you're only going to have one lift hill/launch then you've got to do more than 15-30 seconds of twirls after riders have queued for an hour and a half. Then riders usually sit in the break run for 20 secs. Space Mountain in Disneyland Paris does something clever in that they have two tracks in the station to speed up throughput. Before trains go into the break run, could the track have a set of points to make two break runs, which trains then transfer out of and onto a parallel section of track that is then itself barrel rolled to create some inversions before returning riders to a double station? Extra riding fun, minimal cost, higher throughput so shorter queues. Winner.

They used to hold it for longer and it said "don't look down" at the top. This got removed due to a lawsuit filed against the park because this "increased noise" meaning it now has to hold you for less time :)

Even longer dives are one trick ponies in my opinion as the forces just suck on a train that large with B&M's play it safe design... wish they designed more like their suspended coasters.

With Nemesis getting a re-track I wonder if a track extension to Oblivion would ever be possible, it has the momentum… and they have space behind the overbank / where enterprise used to be, to be creative.

Oblivion used to a have a much longer hold at the top but the park had to stop that because of complaints. To this day, it's my favourite dive (including Valkyria, although I haven't ridden Skeikra). The harnesses give exceptional stomach dropping floater airtime and having the floor on the train drop with you feels completely unnatural. Unlike the other dives, anticipation is carefully built into the ride. The queue line videos and pit provide an ominous atmosphere. The lift hill and turn before the drop become part of the ride experience itself and were intentionally designed to move the car as slowly as possible. I compare oblivion to a drop tower; it is a masterpiece in anticipation and suspense, combined with a satisfying drop. I would much rather ride what is in essence a top 3 drop tower than any other dive I've ridden. I find these all have lacklustre layouts and forgettable first drops.

I always treat this ride more like a drop tower than a coaster

The definition of a 1 trick pony. For many people, this ride may be a 1 and done but it looks like a good ride to marathon because its so short.

Call me strange but I think I'd rather ride this than the Smiler, which for me also only has one or two fun elements (the airtime hills). Oblivion was a bit more impressive when it first opened - there wasn't really anything like it, and they had a bit more theatre (don't look down!). Now the theming's barely there and they don't even hold you over the drop any more.

I can't dislike any of the coasters at Alton Towers as it was the park that got me into big thrill rides so none of them can be negative for me as such all the rides a number 0. Nemesis, The Smiler and Wickerman are my favourites in the park

I completely agree. Dive coasters are really one trick ponies. Side note, would it be too much to see a dive coaster with a dive loop instead of an immelmenn?

I actually prefer Oblivion to Shekra fro example. Short but it delivers a lot!

I view it as a drop tower. They just go up slowly and drop you back down 🤷 like a smaller falcons fury 😆

unlike your experience, Oblivion was my first dive coaster, and ive always found oblivion interesting because not only is it the first, its also a prototype, which is the part that interests me, its short, very short, but for my technical brain it was worth the 1 hour wait

personally, it makes you focus on the drop if there was anything extra you wouldn't just focus on the drop

I can understand why you have this opinion. For me, it is my second favourite ride in the park behind nemesis. I would rather ride a short, smooth ride that is done incredibly well than a long, rough ride that has 14 inversions where at least half of them are not memorable. I have done shiekra and prefer it by a mile, although oblivion has the better first drop.

Are you objectively right with everything you just said? probably yes. Do I still love Oblivion for being one of Alton's legendary big 7? absolutely yes! Having said that the ride is in dire need of a refresh, I believe the last bit of TLC it received was it was painted slightly darker grey when The Smiler opened.

When you said every Dive Coaster since Oblivion got another element like an Immelman after it's first drop, you forgot Diving Machine G5 (at Janfusun Fancyworld) in Taiwan which opened in 2000. It is a mirror image clone of Oblivion. Regarding the length, when I first saw it in the Alton Towers scenario of RCT I thought "what point does this ride have?" and maybe I even tore it down since I thought of it being so pointless 😅 Unfortunately Oblivion was closed for the day when I was at Alton Towers for my first and only time since.

It's amazing how quickly you can go from finding this ride absolutely terrifying to agreeing with the enthusiasts that it's really not that great.

Great review, however I think it’s too harsh; now this might be my personal bias for this, I do have a soft spot for Oblivion, as it was the first ever attraction that I did at Alton Towers, but here goes: the whole purpose of this ride isn’t to be an airtime filled, over the top rollercoaster. It’s purpose is the drop, not to be a lengthy experience, but to freak riders out whilst looking/riding it - it was the ORIGINAL dive coaster, at the time it would have been insane! No criticism here, just my thoughts. Great review 😃

Is it possible that you can do a review on The Curse At Alton Manor?

I think it'd be interesting if Oblivion was retrofitted with floorless trains, like what happened with SheiKra.

Dig another drop right after the first drop so get a second drop in the dark.

It's funny oblivion would easily be one of the tallest roller coasters in the UK if it was built at ground level oblivion can also vary on how long it holds you for i believe i counted 3 seconds last time i rode but it was a while ago

Tbf call it a one trick pony but what do you ride a dive for? Right the drop and oblivion has the best dive coaster drop in the world

Valravn gets put on ice lol 😂 not even mentioned 😭

G5 is also one element, but better view!!

The holding brake is like totally random, one train it will hardly stop, the next it will hold for like 5 seconds, god knows why 😆

Interesting you say it's not rough - my one ride was extremely rattly.

Well since Oblivion became a huge success B&M has built 15 other Dive Coasters all over the world. So i was wondering could Oblivion become a national historic landmark from American Coaster Enthusiasts because it is the world's first Dive Coaster?

Being The World's First Dive Coaster, It's Still Not A Bad Ride

I hugely disagree with this opinion. Oblivion is the best ride in the park. And easily the best dive coaster I’ve been on which have more elements! The whole point of oblivion is the point of no return. The queue line, the music, the anticipation, the SLOW, noisy lift hill and the short silent turnaround before the drop and then the drop itself. Every other element after the drop is just filler, the adrenaline surge of the drop is far higher than what you’ll get from any other moment on other dive coasters. The whole point of a dive coaster is the DIVE, which is what oblivion does better than any other ride of its type due to the terrain & theming.

Now you gotta review the other oblivion

I'm kinda surprised Alton Towers never added floorless seats to Oblivion later on. They would've been able to market it as a much scarier experience.

It's bizarre how forceful the drop is. Not been on any other coaster with a drop that forceful. I've been on a few dive coasters now but none of them come close to that drop.

It is a good drop though

And I always thought Baron was short.....

I always find it difficult to see those rides as a real roller coaster, even with a complete circuit like Oblivion.

I think you cant compare oblivion to any other coaster. It is, in my opinion, one of the best drops in the world. Comparing it to other dive coasters is really unfair to oblivion haha

4/10. For a worlds first, and 120ft goes underground, which you can't see, it's one of the worlds best dive coasters. Yes, other dive coasters have more elements, but with it literally going into Oblivion, i find its better than others.