Rank the B&M Dive Machines

[DelPiero]

Something I have never figured out is why they don't all use a double loading system like Oblivion. It works so well on Oblivion, seems like they nailed it the first time, but all the others I've been on just load one car at a time. Saw is the only other ride I can think of that uses that system.

I haven't seen it in use for a couple of years now, even on busy days they don't run enough trains to warrant the 2nd loading platform.
It's quite clear that Merlin won't use double the staff on one ride for the sake of efficiency, have they ever?

 

[Howie]

1. Oblivion - perfect simplicity. It must be by far the deepest cut-and-cover tunnel ever dug for a roller coaster right?

I like people who like Oblivion.
As far as I'm concerned, people who don't like it don't 'get it', ya get me? And yeah, never thought about it but it must be the deepest trench ever dug for a coaster, can't think of anything that would come close.
As for the dual station thing, somebody (can't remember who, sorry) posted a trip report from Alton last week and noted that the dual loading system was actually being utilised fully, so boom to that. But yeah, Delly P's right, it's a rarity these days.

 

[Coaster Cinema]

1. SheiKra (Intense helix + Airtime = Winner)
2. Griffon - Busch Gardens Europe (Airtime hill at the end)
3. Oblivion - Alton Towers (Short 'n' sweet)

 

[Antinos]

Sheikra
Valravn
Griffon

Sheikra's high speed carousel turn after the immelmann gave it the edge over the other two. Those sustained forces showed that the ride type really can do something other than the drop and immelmann. I don't particularly remember Griffon a whole lot, but I don't recall it setting as much of an impression on me as Sheikra did.

I am also looking forward to seeing where Yukon Striker falls on this list since it's radically different from the three I've been on.

 

[Hyde]

Griffon
Valravn

Valravn was my first, and I absolutely loved it. Short and sweet, but the wow factor of that first drop is among the best for ride openers. Getting on Griffon this year though was phenomenal - I much prefer the splash down to Valravn's zero-g roll. I give both rides credit though, being situated perfectly into their respective park areas. Griffon though has virtually all of the French section seemingly built around it, which really gives it a cool build-up of anticipation when entering that neck of BGW.

 

[TPC]

1. Oblivion

I haven't ridden any more dives

 

[Kw6sTheater]

1. SheiKra. Even though Valravn's 270 roll is the best element I've ridden on a dive coaster, the two main drops on SheiKra both deliver great floater airtime that is not hindered by the vest restraints. Also I have a bit of sentimentality for it; when Busch Gardens Tampa was my homepark, I was always afraid of getting hit by the splashdown as a child.
2. Valravn. Even with great operations I still waited forty minutes for this coaster right when the park opened. I wasn't disappointed by this ride, because I'd heard lots of mediocre reviews of this coaster, but the 270 roll was absolutely incredible! The hangtime you get on it almost feels like what you would feel on a Eurofighter's heartline roll!

 

[Hixee]

Go-on then.

1. Valravn: A ride that's signature feature is a drop, and this one has the biggest drop. Incredible views over the park at the top, huge drop and a string of ginormous elements. Lovely stuff.

2. Baron 1898: Basically the opposite of the above. I love the theme and pre-show, the straight drop and the slightly snappier layout.

3. Oblivion: All about the drop, and I think it's brilliant for it.

4. Krake: I like the drop into the water splash, and the theming, but rest of it is pretty forgettable.

5. Girffon: See 1, just smaller.

6/7. Diving Coaster/SheiKra: See 3, just smaller.

 

[Hyde]

2. Valravn. Even with great operations I still waited forty minutes for this coaster right when the park opened.

Pro tip: Don't ride Valravn in the morning rush as it is in the front of the park - wait until mid-to-late day when the crowds move towards the back of the park.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

1. Valkyria - More fast paced, better layout.
2. Krake - Just like the overall aesthetics of it. Looks good, got good music, got an airtime hill.
3. Dive Coaster - Think what I enjoy most about these is the height and the sustain in the first drop of the big ones. This one had the added bonus of not stopping on the blocks and hauling into the second drop.
4. Draken - As below, but theming.
5. Diving Coaster - Same as Dive, but does stop on the blocks. On one train.
6. Oblivion: The Black Hole - Lacks the huge ass drop and isn't punchy enough for a small one.
7. Baron 1898 - Theme and stuff is better than the ride itself.
8. Western Regions Heaven - Just an inferior experience of the big ones, complete with 2nd half of boring corners.
9. Oblivion - I admire it, but just a bit over it now.

 

[Alessio]

1. Yukon Striker - does something different and it has a great drop as well as solid inversions, the only downsides are the restraints and the part after the MCBR
2. Sheikra - Really enjoyed the two drops, restraints are a plus and the setting / Theming is nice
3. Valravn - The layout isn’t bad, the inversions are solid but the restraints hinder it from being higher
4. Baron 1898 - Theming is great, Drop is pretty good even though it isn’t as high as on other dive machines. Really enjoyed the Zero-G Roll as well, potential to be ranked a bit higher
5. Krake - The Location and Drop into the Kraken is Great, the rest of the layout is non existent
6. Oblivon - The Drop is very Good, especially diving into the huge tunnel. But there should be more elements after to rank it higher

Haven’t done Valkyria unfortunately because I visited Liseberg a couple of weeks before opening.

 

[Jamesss]

1. Oblivion (Alton Towers) - It's a shame it isn't a bit longer, but the drop is great and so iconic. The way they designed it so that the pull out of the drop comes after the dive into the hole is perfect. Somehow it still makes me a tad nervous every time.
2. Baron 1898 - Good theming and decent force. Easily my second favourite of the dive coasters.
3. Sheikra - Just OK for me. After Oblivion I feel like any dive coaster that doesn't go into a hole in the ground is a downgrade. Also the pacing is a bit off because of the MCBR.
4. Valkyria - Poor. The drop was very weak, lacking in force. And it has vest restraints. Definitely the weakest of the four dive coasters I have done.

 

[Zek_Teh_Kek]

1. Yukon Striker: I never got a ride in the front row, but I can still safely say that this is my favorite dive coaster. In the back row, the final inversion even had as much whip as an "old school" B&M! The first half HAULS through up until the MCBR. The drop isn't the best, but everything after is quite intense! The loop was probably my favorite part.

2. Griffon: A super fun ride, with a great drop and offers a super smooth ride. I rode it back in 2016, so my memory of this ride isn't the clearest.

3. Valravn: Honestly, the novelty of this ride is wearing off for me. At the beginning of the year, I rode it so often that it honestly doesn't do anything for me anymore. That roll is still fantastic though!

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Oblivion - The most forceful, the best trains with a great view over from all seats, the best restraints, and a 180ft drop

Valkyria - Nice drop, though still a little shorter than ideal at 154ft. Still provides just enough force, but would have benifited from a little more height. This has my favourite layout of the ones I’ve done. Let down a little by the restraints, although they don’t bother me as much as they bother others.

Baron 1898 - Nicely themed, especially love the lift hill. But the ride is just not as good as other DMs. Who’s idea was it to build a dive coaster with a dive that small? 123ft... In my opinion it’s simply too small for a dive machine, and the lack of force shows. The layout is not too bad, but DM’s are one trick ponies, and this one is not very good at that trick, needs more practice.

For the record, I would happily reride any of these, it’s not that I dislike any of them, I’m just comparing the ones I’ve ridden subjectively, and explaining my thoughts

 

[Kw6sTheater]

1. SheiKra. Even though Valravn's 270 roll is the best element I've ridden on a dive coaster, the two main drops on SheiKra both deliver great floater airtime that is not hindered by the vest restraints. Also I have a bit of sentimentality for it; when Busch Gardens Tampa was my homepark, I was always afraid of getting hit by the splashdown as a child.
2. Valravn. Even with great operations I still waited forty minutes for this coaster right when the park opened. I wasn't disappointed by this ride, because I'd heard lots of mediocre reviews of this coaster, but the 270 roll was absolutely incredible! The hangtime you get on it almost feels like what you would feel on a Eurofighter's heartline roll!

1. Griffon - To me, this coaster was quite similar to SheiKra but with a better setting, more interesting layout, and three great moments of sustained floater airtime (the two drops and the bunny hill at the end).
2. SheiKra
3. Valravn

 

[cookie]

Having only ridden two, Krake and Valkyria, I prefer the latter since it's longer and has more going on in general (never had a problem with the vest restraints, they're better than previous iterations) while Krake is the drop and the inversion and that's basically it, but I thoroughly enjoy both coasters.

 

[rctneil]

1. Oblivion - Alton Towers - The focus is on the drop into the whole. Simple but works
2. Diving Machine G5 - Janfusun Fancyworld - Mirror of Oblivion and works similar
3. Griffon - Busch Gardens Williamsburg - This just felt better than the other large dive coasters in someway. Also nicely landscaped.
4. Krake - Heide Park - Love the airtime hill and the Kraken theme
5. Baron 1898 - Efteling - Nice soundtrack and smooth
6. Dive Coaster - Chimelong Paradise
7. Diving Coaster - Happy Valley Shanghai
8. SheiKra - Busch Gardens Tampa
9. Valravn - Cedar Point - Nice ride and all but just overall a bit Meh

 

[MouseAT]

Huh, this thread just seems to keep rearing its head. I suppose having ridden Baron and Valkyria within the last year or so, it's time for me to add my thoughts.

Oblivion

The original, and as far as I'm concerned, still the best. It's simple, intense, delivers exactly what it sets out to do, and no more. That slow turn towards the drop (that no other dive machine duplicates), followed the airtime all the way down the drop, and the tunnel that looks way too small and is entered whilst still almost vertical makes for a ride experience unlike any of the other dive machines that have followed. Sure, more could have been done with the layout, but as we're finding out with the newer dive machines, more doesn't necessarily mean better.

Baron 1898

It's an attractive ride, and has a solid layout. It's not perfectly smooth all the way around (I seem to remember a bit of a jolt in one of the elements), but it's certainly good fun, and the drop is still solid, despite the smaller size. I'm not a fan of the throughput, though - the slow loading, dispatching and offloading annoys me a bit. The station is clearly designed for style over efficiency, when some minor design tweaks could have delivered the latter without compromising the former.

Griffon

A reasonable ride that never really felt like more than the sum of its parts. The front, outside seats are pretty cool, due to how wide the trains are and therefore how far out you are from the track, but otherwise the ride just like the embodiment of modern B&M blandness. Meh.

Valkyria

This is the really disappointing one. The ride layout after the drop is really good. It's really smooth and fun. On paper this should easily be the best of the lot.

What's the problem, then? The stupid vest restraints.

As far as I'm concerned, any dive machine with a poor drop completely fails as a coaster, regardless of what follows. Your mileage may vary, depending on your build, but for me, the vests just hold me down into the seat, and kill any sense of airtime whatsoever going down the drop. It's not the track profile that's the issue, as if hold the vest up against the bars that support the OTSR, there's actual airtime to be had. Given that B&M seem to be using the vests on all their new installations, that probably means that we've already seen the last of the decent dive machines, which is a shame. There's still potential in the ride type, but I now have zero interest in any new dive machines that are announced.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Griffon - I feel like this coaster deserves a lot more appreciation. It rides beautifully, the floating sensation down that massive drop is delightful as is the fabulous ejector you receive in the back row. It’s a wonderful coaster I could pretty much ride all day.

Sheikra - I agree this has a more notable setting than Griffon, and it also shares many of its positive qualities. However, it’s not as smooth as Griffon I don’t think, and the second half of the layout is weaker. Still, it’s a fantastic coaster because the drops <3.

Oblivion: The Black Hole - Hard to rank the three mainland Europe dive machines; they’re all so similar to me. I don’t find them as impactful as the Busch ones because they’re smaller, and only have the one “vertical” drop. I think this one has the slightly stronger forces of Krake combined with the added length of Baron, so it’s tentatively my no.1 in Europe.

Baron 1898 - Absolutely gorgeous coaster, with a cool zero g roll and a fun layout. Plus, I think it has my favourite “hole” because of the fab mist! I’m definitely thinking now whether this should be above OTBH but honestly it’s hard to say. Maybe out of all things, I’m most partial to the better airtime hill found on the above.

Krake - Short but very sweet. Has the best Immelmann out of all the Dive machines and also a great airtime hill. It may only have three elements but each one delivers. Like most of these, I could ride all day. I think maybe the coaster itself is a little more forceful than Baron but Baron’s amazing theming has to count for something.

Valravn - Urghhh, this one frustrates me. I ****ing hate those bloody vest restraints, more on this than any other coaster. What I love about Dive machines is having some breathing room with the standard B&M OTSRs so I can float out of my seat all the way down the drop. These restraints are tight and don’t allow that, which was very disappointing. Such a big drop shouldn’t feel so meh. The layout is probably the best one, so with the standard OTSRs it could’ve been my favourite, but alas, it was underwhelming.

Oblivion - Yeah, no, I’m not that impacted by this one anymore. In fact, I’m not sure I ever really was that much? This was my first dive machine, but after I rode Sheikra I instantly found that much better and more impactful. The hole is cool, but I’m over it now. The sensation of height doesn’t compete with the American ones, the holding brake delay is far too short nowadays, the theming is outdated, the lack of floorless carriages restricts freedom, so the drop isn’t actually that special. It’s a good fun ride, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that it is the pinnacle of all dive machines.

1. Draken - This is almost exactly the same as Griffon, but I felt the airtime moment before the splashdown was more punctuated here and you actually get a bit of a splash in the back row which I thought was cool. Still just an exhilarating ride. Also, loved the entrance theming <3
2. Griffon
3. Sheikra
4. Valkyria - Been over a year since I rode this now but I remember being pleasantly surprised. I dreaded the vest-restraints after Valravn, but here they were less of an issue for some reason, only detracting slightly from the main drop. The rest of the coaster feels much more flexible and free-flowing in layout than other dive coasters, which gives it a bit of an edge. Being at Liseberg it’s obviously a great night ride too.
5. Oblivion: The Black Hole
6. Baron 1898
7. Krake
8. Valravn
9. Oblivion