Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in England. The ride opened as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster in 1998 amidst a large publicity campaign.
The ride has a height restriction of 1.4 m.
During 1997, Fantasy World (the area of Alton Towers that Oblivion was eventually situated in) was closed off and all the old fantasy-themed rides were removed except the Black Hole. Surrounding the area were signs announcing ...
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Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in England. The ride opened as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster in 1998 amidst a large publicity campaign.
The ride has a height restriction of 1.4 m.
During 1997, Fantasy World (the area of Alton Towers that Oblivion was eventually situated in) was closed off and all the old fantasy-themed rides were removed except the Black Hole. Surrounding the area were signs announcing the arrival of a world's first, codenamed "SW4". Over the year Alton Towers' secrecy and the ever-deepening hole being excavated only fueled speculation and hype. The details about Oblivion were finally unveiled in March 1998.
The "SW4" codename stood for "Secret Weapon 4". SW3 was Nemesis, and SW 1 & 2 were unbuilt roller coasters originally intended for the Nemesis site.
Oblivion opening was accompanied by a massive publicity drive, including appearances on Blue Peter, news channels and cereal boxes.
When Oblivion did open, it brought a...
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