Nemesis
Nemesis has now closed to be retracked to extend the coaster's life and take it into its fourth decade. The original ride closed on 6th November 2022 and it will be back with a vengeance as Nemesis Reborn, opening on 16th March 2024, in time for its 30th anniversary.
Opened in 1994 amidst a barrage of publicity, Nemesis was described as "the world's most intense ride experience", a title which it boasted throughout its life, echoed by its consistent success in roller coaster polls worldwide.
Code named Secret Weapon 3 (after the plans for Secret Weapon 1 and 2 were discarded as impractical and not thrilling enough), Nemesis was the first coaster of its kind in Europe, with its innovative ride system allowing riders to hurtle around the track while dangling underneath it, through intense drops, turns and inversions. Though this type of rollercoaster is common today, it was only the third of its kind in the world when Nemesis was built.
Located in Forbidden Valley, alongside Thunder Looper and The New Beast, Nemesis certainly made its impact on the landscape: the ride roars around a colossal pit, which was blasted into the ground specially for the ride. It's unique setting not only allowed such an intense ride to comply with local planning restrictions, but also made for a spectacular and imposing ride area, with waterfalls cascading into its depths.
As a result, Nemesis was an instant hit with Alton Towers visitors, who rushed from all corners of the world and queued for hours in order to experience the ride, intrigued by mysterious advertisements and encouraged to attend by the ride's "legend" of an angered alien, narrated by Tom Baker. Throughout its time, Nemesis was a firm favourite among visitors and enthusiasts from around the world, and it's easy to see why; the ride consistently offered the same thrilling experience from the day it opened to the day it closed.
To prove its popularity, Nemesis was crowned "King of the Coasters" in August 2011, following an eight-week public poll in the park - and online - to find out which of the park's roller coasters (between Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Th13teen and Rita) was the true guest favourite. Nemesis emerged victorious with 41% of the votes, while Oblivion came second with a mere 21%. A true testament that Nemesis is not just an enthusiast favourite, but captures the hearts and pulse rates of many of its riders.
But all good things must come to an end, and as the ride reached it's 30th anniversary, it became clear that the coaster was reaching the end of its working life and would need significant work in order to remain operational. For most coasters this would mark the end of the road and a replacement ride would be on the cards, but in case any more proof was needed of the ride's popularity, this would not be the fate for Nemesis.
Faced with the prospect of having to remove the most popular and iconic ride in the park, Merlin instead took the almost unprecedented decision to replace almost the entire ride with a like for like new version of the ride. The original Nemesis took its final ride on 6th November 2022, during a special Nemesis Closing event. Over the following year the entire original track, except the lift hill, brake run and station, was removed from the pit and painstaking replaced to bring the ride roaring back to life.
Whilst the new version of Nemesis is almost an exact replica of the original, some of the theming and technology received an upgrade as part of the development, giving the alien a striking new look and bringing the ride into the new century and letting it run for at least another 30 years.
The ride will reopen as Nemesis Reborn on 16th March 2024.
If you'd like to see the original Nemesis being removed and replaced, check out our Nemesis Reborn Construction Archive.
