Oblivion is the name of a roller coaster located at Alton Towers, England. Oblivion was the first Bolliger and Mabillard "Dive Machine" with construction starting in 1997 and opening in 1998. Oblivion was also featured in the PC game, RollerCoaster Tycoon.
The coaster has a simple layout with a 180 ft drop at 87.9° degrees into a dark tunnel followed by a 180° banked turn back to the station. The open design cars on the coaster are larger than typical, with each car accommodating up to sixteen passengers in two rows of eight. The back row is slightly raised to give passengers a clear view of the drop. As each car reaches the drop it is held by a brake for several seconds and passengers can see the words 'Don't look down' on the ground in front of the dark tunnel in order to add to the atmosphere of the impending drop.
Although regarded as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster, at its steepest Oblivion's drop has an angle of 87.9° due to B&M wanting the wheels to stay on the track as much as possible. The two more modern dive machines, SheiKra and Griffon at the Busch Gardens parks in the U.S., both have true 90° drops due to springs on the wheels making the trains capable of descending the drop at a completely vertical angle safely.