I love a good opening day. I’ve been to a few now, and despite all of my worst fears, they’ve never been nearly as chaotic as I imagined. In fact, before March 16th 2024, I’d not actually been to an opening day where I’d ended up in an excessive queue line. But, of course, that all changed with Nemesis Reborn. We all knew that this would be a crazy day, and it certainly didn’t let us down!
Though online rumours of people camping out on the entrance plaza (ala The 1975) did not materialise, it’s safe to say that this was certainly the busiest I’ve ever seen Alton Towers at 07:45 in the morning! The queues at the main entrance stretched back along the Express car park, and at Galactica Gate, by 08:30, they were all the way at Extraordinary Golf. It was definitely opening day!
Without wanting to take too much of an aside here, my health for the past… well, almost a year now has not been great. I’m sure that no one is wondering, but just in case, this is the reason for the decrease in posts. I just haven’t had it in me! Most problematic, in this hobby, at least, has been pain in my legs. With legs that couldn’t bear excessive walking or standing, this was going to be a difficult day. Thankfully, I’d be entering through the Galactica Gate, which would transport me straight to Forbidden Valley! The walk to the entrance alone would have been a struggle otherwise! I was also armed with a collapsible stool. Meaning that, for the hour we queued at Galactica Gate, I was quite happily perched on my little chair, waiting for the madness to begin.
From the hotel entrance, entry was very well managed. Hotel guest wristbands (the first time I’d seen these issued with a stay) and tickets were checked well before reaching the gate. Guests were then separated into bags/no-bags to allow swift entry into the park! Not that it mattered for me. I had friends entering from the main gate, and when you’re getting in a massive queue, you want to be with your pals! So, I’d be waiting in Forbidden Valley whilst everyone else made a dash for the line. This actually turned out to be an enormous victory on my part, as whilst I waited, I went for a mooch in Bunker 94. When I entered, there were maybe 3 other people in the shop, and we all quietly browsed the brand new Nemesis Reborn (and Nemesis 1994) range. There was some really cool merch! So cool, in fact, that later in the day, Bunker 94 would post a 90-minute wait time and even have its own makeshift RAP line assembled. Certainly the first time I’d ever seen that for a shop!
Friends assembled, we made our way over to the viewing point near the zero-G roll, which would be our very first time seeing The Eye. By this point, the queue for the ride had filled the entire actual queue line and was stretching far out of Forbidden Valley. It was clear that we’d missed our chance to actually get in line unless we wanted one of the longest waits of the way, so we decided to hang around and watch the first rides of the day go by. And what a choice that was! When we arrived, The Eye was sleeping. Asleep, it still made for a magnificent centrepiece. Where the old eye had been vibrant and a little silly (and I loved it very much), this thing was intimidating. First of all, it’s enormous. Whilst the old eye had been a fun, beloved detail, this was the centrepiece. It’s what catches your eye as you pass the attraction. And those spikes! The huge domed eye was surrounded by vast, threatening spikes. But it was only going to get better. As the first train got ready to dispatch from the station, the eye woke up. But it wasn’t just the eye itself. The spikes woke up too! They move!!!! Not only that, but they move in time with the train! As the first train ascended the lift hill, the eye moved its menacing slit pupil to follow it, and continued to do so until it hit the zero-g over the station at which point the station released a cloud of smoke, Nemesis screamed, and spikes surrounding the eye all flung outwards in fury. And I cried. I cried because this is what I live for! Silly, unnecessary, excessive theming! This was all so extra. So much, so unnecessary but so glorious!
Receiving a message from some other friends that they were in the line way back by Pizza Pasta (for anyone who doesn’t know Alton Towers, that’s a long, long, way from Nemesis Reborn) we realised we wouldn’t be getting in line any time soon and perhaps, maybe, we should eat and drink something. I hadn’t had a single thing all morning to avoid having to bail from the line, but if we wouldn’t be riding until the afternoon, I’d definitely need something! So we made our way into Ground Command – Coffee Outpost, the former Coffee Lounge, where we’d heard there would be something a little special on sale…
The coffee shop was looking great with some fantastic new signage – ‘Strength in Coffee’ is a motto I can get behind! But by the counter, we found our mark! ‘Nemesis Nectar’, a limited edition re-packaging of Laugh and Scream Lager for the opening. I don’t even like beer, but you can bet I’ll be picking up a launch day drink regardless! (Mine is number 92) Also available were some themed Project D doughnuts, so obviously, I had to get the Phalanx one! At £7.50 I think this might be the most expensive doughnut I’ve ever bought, and honestly? It was not worth it at all. With no toppings bar fondant icing and no filling, this was dry, overly sweet, and stodgy. The regular Project D doughnuts topped with all sorts of chocolates and biscuits are far better (and cheaper!) The Alton Towers mark-up was very much real too, as I’ve had the Drayton Manor special editions before, which came in at under £5!
Breakfast down (a giant doughnut and diet coke is a valid breakfast on a theme park day, right?) we couldn’t resist heading down to see The Eye close up! The ability to go down into the pit really lets you get right up and personal with the beast herself, and on opening day, the pit was also filled with actors! Protestors fighting for Nemesis’ rights filled the area, chanting and waving their placards! I really don’t know how they did this all day. Their voices must have been so sore. But these street teams are what Alton Towers is really excelling in right now, in my opinion. Last year, the introduction of year-round actors to Gloomy Wood was an incredible surprise. Everyone simply assumed that they would only be for opening weekend, but the park proved us wrong by going above and beyond, and this year, they’ve expanded on that! Actors are still in Gloomy Wood, but now they’re in Forbidden Valley, and in Mutiny Bay and even around Wicker Man. I’m obsessed!
Up close, The Eye looks every bit as impressive as from afar, in fact maybe more so. The scale is insane. Though I’d expected the projection-mapped eye to maybe look a little worse when right up next to it, the image still looked fantastic wherever we were. And the teeth! Every time they moved, I smiled. The slight jankiness to the movement was reminiscent of old classic dark ride effects and brought a slight B-movie quality to the whole affair that delights me! Honestly, what’s the point of an alien storyline if it’s not a little campy?
By now, we’d spent hours just taking in Forbidden Valley. But even then, the line was still posting an obscene 275-minute wait. Hopeful that we’d see some reduction in this, we made our way down to The Curse at Alton Manor to have a quick ride on last year’s stunning addition. Alas, the dark ride gods were not on our side as the ride went down just as we were going to join the line. We couldn’t help but notice on our way down that the Nemesis Reborn line had shortened. No longer did it reach Pizza Pasta, finishing instead next to the side exit for the Gloomy Wood toilets. Surely it couldn’t still be 275 minutes? Standing outside a broken-down ride, next to a toilet block and the end of the line, only one thing made sense. Let’s finally get in line for Nemesis Reborn!
And so we started The Great Wait. And we must have smelt bad or something because for a very long time, no one joined the line behind us. In fact, we made it all the way from Gloomy Wood to Forbidden Valley before anyone did – a rule of life is that you’ll always join a line at the wrong time! Having entered via Galactica Gate, this would be my first time actually seeing the entrance of Forbidden Valley, and oh my gosh, what a gateway! When we reached the archway, the sky was quite overcast, which meant the red lighting glittered and reflected off the tentacles spelling out ‘Forbidden Valley’ in a way that made them look alive! I was in awe!
As we moved into the land, I couldn’t help but notice that the old signpost for the land still featured the old Nemesis signage but wrapped in the new tentacles! This blend of the old and new made me strangely emotional. I wonder if it’s intentional or whether we’ll see that sign changed in the near future!
One thing I really enjoyed about this queue was the street team making an effort to entertain the whole line. As we queued through the Valley, we were interrogated, interviewed, and glared at by various Phalanx operatives, which really made this section of the queue feel like it went by in a flash.
Just over an hour into the wait, it was time to enter the actual queueline! Up until now, my little stool had been a saviour, but with the steep incline immediately on entering the main queue, this was going to be quite a struggle!
The new attraction entrance is emblematic of the entire transformation of Nemesis. Where the large (digging?) structure was red and rusted before, it’s now fresh, black, covered in vast red tentacles and new permanent lighting. If you want a sample of everything they’ve done to the beast, you can get a little smorgasbord here!
Inside, the queue line varied vastly in quality throughout. At times, there were stunning theming pieces, such as the massive gun that you encounter quite early in the queue. Though it may not move (that would have been incredible, wouldn’t it?), the gun creates a shooting sound effect that’s perfectly synchronised with the train passing in front of it!
About an hour later in the line sits a pre-show inside a shipping container. Here, a video plays on a small computer screen, giving backstory to what occurred at this Phalanx Facility! Track explodes from the middle of the container, making it appear that Nemesis herself attacked the lab inside. This was a welcome break from a traditional pre-show. Although the screen is small, this made it all feel far more authentic than standing directly in front of a screen and watching a clip! However, between such theming elements, there were also parts of the queue that were… well… completely unfinished. We passed mounds of dirt, piles of wood that had been tossed to one side, discarded trash, and workmen’s gloves left at the scene. I’m sure much of this queue will look better when the landscaping grows in, but for now, there is a lot that simply looks barren and forgotten!
One thing is certain, though: the new layout of the queue offers some stunning views of Nemesis Reborn. It felt so strange to be standing alongside the vertical loop. In fact, standing above it at the top of the pit made it feel weirdly small? I can almost understand why parts of the queue looked so forgotten. After all, why would you even look at them when you can turn around and look at this?!
After 3 hours, we were on the final approach to the station. My legs somehow, miraculously, had just about held out (though I was doing a lot of stretches by this point!) Though it had been a long, arduous wait, the joy of an opening day was how many friends we’d seen along the way. As the queue snaked through cattle pens and around the valley, I’d found myself waving at friends through every turn. Not to mention scouring each and every train that passed by and waving at any friends on board! In the following days, I saw many people online talk about why would you queue for hours when the ride would be on a 5-minute wait on the following weekdays (which it was)? Well, that’s why. The atmosphere was electric. It was long. It was a struggle, but I spent it with great people interacting with many more along the way – and even more online! And that’s what this is all about, right?
But we’d made it! We made it to the station! And I’m so sorry I didn’t take any photos of the station because holy hell! (Thankfully, my fabulous teammates at TowersTimes were more on the ball than me, so you can see the station here!) Of all the changes, the station might just be my favourite. (Except the loss of the front-row queue, that’s a definite shame) But the lighting? The theming? The dispatch effects? The smells? As we walked in, the station smelt spooky. I thought it was perhaps the rotten flesh smell, but Aroma Prime have since announced that they created a custom smell just for Nemesis Reborn, so it’s a unique rotting-flesh-esque aroma! Either way, the smell hits you like a fist. This is no subtle stench! But there’s not much time to process it, as there’s so much to see! Thick, glowing veins course along the ceiling, with each row’s number upon it, shaped from the blood of the monster! Fronds of fabric dangle above, like torn pieces of flesh, and the sound of Nemesis’ heart pounds in the background. As each train dispatches, light flows down each of the veins, chasing the train from the station. What. An. Upgrade. My only complaint was that we didn’t have enough time to take it all in, as you spend such a small amount of time actually inside the station! (Surely a good thing, but I’m trying to appreciate some theming here!)
And there we were. 3 hours and 15 minutes later, we sat down on the second row of Nemesis Reborn and enjoyed our first ride on the new incarnation of the UK’s most iconic roller coaster. It was fantastic. Maybe it was just because it had been a while, but I’d forgotten how forceful this layout was. This thing packed a punch, with the helix into the zero-g roll, particularly offering some incredible intensity. The only negative I have to mention is something that’s been discussed plenty since the ride’s reopening…. it’s the rattle. Now, I know for many people the original Nemesis was a little head-bangy towards the end of its life. I don’t know if I always got lucky with my seating, but this really wasn’t a problem for me. On closing day, Nemesis was smooth as far as I was concerned. Smoother than Nemesis Reborn on opening day… Whilst it wasn’t enough to hurt me, for almost the entire layout, my seat was vibrating, and on the final turnaround, we really did shake. Questioning B&M feels like something you Do Not Do as an enthusiast, but after the bounciness of Mandrill Mayhem it’s beginning to make me wonder whether B&M are quite as solid and smooth as they’ve always been… Let’s hope that Nemesis Reborn gets smoother over time.
Escaping the queue, we’d spend the rest of the afternoon bringing our bodies back to life with some food and drink – and finally getting that Curse at Alton Manor ride in – before making our way back to Nemesis Reborn. The park was open until 8pm for opening day, allowing a very rare early season night ride!
Alas, this did not go to plan. The weather had taken a turn during the day, and the queue for the night ride was in relentless rain. The announcements played out, notifying guests that their ride may be uncomfortable due to the weather, but we weren’t phased. We’re British roller coaster enthusiasts. Roller coasters in the rain are par for the course! But then the ride went down. After 75 minutes of queueing, a train began to ascend the lift hill very slowly, and then it stopped. One hour later, we were still in the queue, and the train had not moved, except for its riders who had begun their evacuation. Soaked and frozen to the core, this was when a member of staff entered the queue line to tell us to leave. Walking directly up to each of us, we were told that the ride would not be reopening and that we had to leave. Gutted. I tried not to be too disappointed. These things happen after all, and it’s a new coaster. I’d had my one ride and certainly seen the ride area plenty at night as I’d been stood in the queue. And I would have been chill about it if no one had ridden after this. But they did. Some guests had not left the queue line when this member of staff had asked, and when the ride re-opened (20 minutes after park close, and about 10 minutes after we were asked to leave), they were allowed to ride. I still don’t know exactly what happened with this, except that it left a very bitter taste on an otherwise fantastic day.
Alton Towers have done an incredible job with Nemesis Reborn. From the day Nemesis closed, the park made it clear that we were in for a wild ride, delivering theatrics on a scale I’d never seen in a British theme park, and they did not let up. Through a glorious marketing campaign, they kept us hooked throughout 2023, and finally we are able to experience the end product. A themed attraction on a magnificent scale, and a glorious roller coaster to boot. Nemesis really has been reborn, and here’s to the next 30 years!
Speak again soon,
Claire
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coasterclaire.co.uk 