All the rides were removed at the bottom of Fantasy World (now the X-sector) during the period between the closure of the 1996 and the beginning of the 1997 season, the only ride left was the Black Hole and a large fence was put up around the site where the new X-Sector was to be erected. Much secrecy surrounded the new 'sw4' (Secret Weapon 4, the ride's codename) project and all that could be seen from the perimeter of the site was a huge hole getting bigger and bigger, a sign was put up saying 'WORLD FIRST RIDE OPENS MARCH 1998 '.

It was finally revealed that the ride, Oblivion was to be the world's first vertical rollercoaster, the B&M dive Machine. Another addition to the increasing list of Alton Towers Rollercoaster's. Oblivion promised to be the biggest adrenaline rush the theme park industry had ever seen.

As you enter the mighty X-Sector, straight away your attention is drawn to Oblivion's figure, high up in the sky. When you see a car being held over the drop, the screams tell you what's up next. The ride itself is very short in comparison to other coasters such as Nemesis and AIR, but Oblivion is something special. The shuttles consist of 2 rows of 8 seats, the back row is slightly higher than the first to make sure everyone gets the same view when being 'dangled over the top' so there is no hiding!

The first and probably the longest part of the ride is the hill lift which takes you up over 50m up into the sky, the track then levels off and this is when you really get to know how high you actually are. You carry on the journey around the turn and then are slowly tilted over the 150ft vertical drop, these are the longest few seconds of your life. The loudspeaker blares out "DON'T.......LOOK.......D..O..W...N", but its too late and by the time he has finished the word 'down' the car has gone over the top.. Once down underground the ride starts to level off and then sharply comes back up, a quick (nearly 90 degrees) bank curve to the left and into the brake run.

By the time the car re-enters the station there is two types of emotional within the carriage, there is those smiling shouting 'bring on another go!' and 'can we go round again and then there is the silent ones with green faces who puke as soon as they get out of the car! After you have regained your senses and get your breath back, you realize that you have just been on the biggest adrenaline rush of your life !

Oblivion Pictures