Dive Coaster Facts for Kids

Oblivion: The Black Hole was first built in 2015. You can find it at Gardaland in Italy.

A Dive Coaster is a special type of steel roller coaster. It's also called a "Vertical Drop Coaster". These exciting rides are built by a company called Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The very first one, named Oblivion, opened in 1998 at Alton Towers. The newest one, Emperor, opened in 2020 at SeaWorld San Diego.

How Dive Coasters Were Developed
Where to Find Dive Coasters
Cool Features of Dive Coasters
Images for kids
See also

How Dive Coasters Were Developed

The idea for the Dive Coaster started around 1994 or 1995. A theme park designer named John Wardley thought of it. He wanted it to be even better than his 1994 coaster, Nemesis. But the idea was too big for its time. So, Wardley waited until 1997 or 1998 to test his new ride.

The first Dive Coaster ever built was Oblivion at Alton Towers. It opened on March 14, 1998.

Just two years later, another Dive Coaster was built. This one was called Diving Machine G5. It opened in Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan. It was a mirror image of Oblivion.

In 2005, the third Dive Coaster was built. It was the first one in America. It was also the first one to be over 200 feet tall. And it was the first Dive Coaster with a unique layout. This ride, Sheikra, opened on May 21, 2005, at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

In 2007, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced Griffon. It officially opened on May 18, 2007. This was the first Dive Coaster to have floorless trains. This means riders' feet dangle freely. Later that year, SheiKra also got floorless trains.

In 2011, Heide Park in Germany opened Krake. It opened on April 16, 2011. Krake was the first Dive Coaster to have trains with only 6 seats across. This led to the name "Mini-Dive Coaster."

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

Where to Find Dive Coasters

Bolliger & Mabillard has built fourteen Dive Coasters. One more was planned to open in 2020. Here is a list of these roller coasters. They are listed in the order they opened.

Name	Park	Country	Opened	Status
Oblivion	Alton Towers	United Kingdom	March 14, 1998	Operating
Diving Machine G5	Janfusun Fancyworld	Taiwan	March 29, 2000	Operating
SheiKra	Busch Gardens Tampa Bay	United States	May 21, 2005	Operating
Griffon	Busch Gardens Williamsburg	United States	May 18, 2007	Operating
Dive Coaster	Chimelong Paradise	China	January 21, 2008	Operating
Diving Coaster	Happy Valley Shanghai	China	August 16, 2009	Operating
Krake	Heide Park	Germany	April 16, 2011	Operating
Oblivion: The Black Hole	Gardaland	Italy	March 28, 2015	Operating
Baron 1898	Efteling	Netherlands	June 30, 2015	Operating
Valravn	Cedar Point	United States	May 7, 2016	Operating
Draken	Gyeongju World	South Korea	May 1, 2018	Operating
Valkyria	Liseberg	Sweden	August 10, 2018	Operating
Western Regions Heaven	Happy Valley Chengdu	China	February 2, 2018	Operating
Yukon Striker	Canada's Wonderland	Canada	May 3, 2019	Operating
Emperor	SeaWorld San Diego	United States	2020	Under Construction

Cool Features of Dive Coasters

Dive Coasters often have special parts that make them unique:

Holding Brake: This brake holds the train right before the first (or second) big drop. It makes the drop feel even more thrilling! Oblivion at Alton Towers was the first to have this.
Immelmann Loop: This is a common loop that happens right after the first drop. It's a fun inversion where the train goes up, twists, and then goes down in the opposite direction. SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was the first to feature this.
Mid-course Brake Run: This is a section of brakes in the middle of the ride. It can slow the train down before the next part of the track. SheiKra also had this feature.
Splashdown: Some Dive Coasters end with a big splash! This can happen after a drop. SheiKra was the first to have a splashdown.
Second Vertical Drop: After the mid-course brake run, some Dive Coasters have another vertical drop. This drop doesn't have a holding brake. SheiKra was also known for this.