Dive Coaster

The **Dive Coaster** (also known as **"Vertical Drop Coaster"**), first built in 1997. It is a steel roller coaster type made by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The first drop coaster was made in 1998 at Alton Towers and is known as Oblivion, the latest Dive Coaster (at the time of writing this) is Emperor at SeaWorld San Diego in 2020.

## Development

Development on the coaster began in _1994/95_. When theme park designer **John Wardley** designs the idea of a Dive Coaster as to be a successor to his 1994 coaster Nemesis. He realised that the coaster was too ambitious for its time. So Wardley waited until the _1997/98_ to test out his new machine. The first design of the ride was **Oblivion** at Alton Towers, opened in 14 March 1998.

The coaster was only two years old when the next order for a dive coaster was made in the form of **Diving Machine G5** in Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan. Which was just a mirror image of **Oblivion**.

In 2005, saw the release of not only the third Dive Coaster to be built, but the first to be built in America, first to be built over 200 ft and the first ever custom-layout Dive Coaster. **Sheikra** was opened on May 21, 2005 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

In 2007, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced **Griffon** on August 23, 2006. But officially opened on May 18, 2007. It was the first dive coaster to have floorless trains. Although, the same year. Busch Gardens reopened with floorless trains on June 16, 2007.

In 2011, Heide Park (a German theme park in Soltau, Germany) released **Krake**, a dive coaster opening on April 16, 2011. This was the first dive coaster to feature 6 seated trains, which coined the phrase "Mini-Dive Coaster"

In 2019, **Yukon Striker** was released on May 3, 2019. It was the first dive coaster to include a Vertical Loop. It opened at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario.

## Installations

Bolliger & Mabillard has built fourteen Dive Coasters with one to be opened in 2020. The roller coasters are listed **in order of opening dates**.

|Name|Park|Country|Opened|Status||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Oblivion|Alton Towers|United Kingdom||Operating||
|Diving Machine G5|Janfusun Fancyworld|Taiwan||Operating||
|SheiKra|Busch Gardens Tampa Bay|United States||Operating||
|Griffon|Busch Gardens Williamsburg|United States||Operating||
|Dive Coaster|Chimelong Paradise|China||Operating||
|Diving Coaster|Happy Valley Shanghai|China||Operating||
|Krake|Heide Park|Germany||Operating||
|Oblivion: The Black Hole|Gardaland|Italy||Operating||
|Baron 1898|Efteling|Netherlands||Operating||
|Valravn|Cedar Point|United States||Operating||
|Draken|Gyeongju World|South Korea||Operating||
|Valkyria|Liseberg|Sweden||Operating||
|Western Regions Heaven|Happy Valley Chengdu|China||Operating||
|Yukon Striker|Canada's Wonderland|Canada||Operating||
|Emperor|SeaWorld San Diego|United States||Under Construction||

## Recurring elements

- Holding Brake: The holding brake is a machine placed at the end of the first (or second) drop. First found on Oblivion at Alton Towers
- Illellmann Loop: A common first element after the first drop. First found on Sheikra on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Mid-course Brake Run: Unknown when found on a course. Could happen after the first two inversions. First found on Sheikra on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Splashdown: Found either after the first drop or after a second vertical drop. First found on Sheikra on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Second Vertical Drop: Found after the mid-course brake run. A vertical drop without a holding brake. Sheikra on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay