The Nemesis creature's eggs have been discovered, and the Phalanx are inviting visitors into their high security compound to safely view the underground nest...
The Nemesis creature's eggs have been discovered, and the Phalanx are inviting visitors into their high security compound to safely view the underground nest...
| Theme Park | Alton Towers |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Forbidden Valley |
| Type | Drop Tower |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 24 March 2012 SBNO: August 2015 to May 2023 27 May 2023 (reopened) |
| Manufacturer | ABC Rides |
| Drop | 20 ft |
| Capacity | 40 guests per ride |
Nemesis Sub-Terra ride entrance
Hidden within the catacombs beneath Forbidden Valley, a nest filled with eggs has been discovered. Believed to belong to the Nemesis creature which was unearthed and restrained at Alton Towers back in 1994, The Phalanx organisation have been charged with dealing with the nest. After building a compound over the nest site, they are now offering visitors the chance to view the secured eggs in complete safety. And so goes the back story to Nemesis Sub-Terra...
The area around Sub-Terra has been themed to look like a military style compound, with Phalanx operatives patrolling around and barking orders at guests. Upon entering the building, guests are instructed to watch a preshow video which explains some of the backstory, emphasising that the eggs have been made safe for public display. They then move into one of two (fake) lifts that carry them deep underground into the catacombs beneath Forbidden Valley.
A tank, known as The Stag, parked outside the Nemesis Sub-Terra compound
Exiting the lifts, guests enter the main ride chamber which features one of the eggs displayed in the centre of the room. They are instructed to take a seat on one of the ten-seater benches surrounding the egg on four sides. Once they are all seated, costumed ride ops pull down a single lapbar which sits across the whole row. Once everyone is secured, video screens give more details on the alien egg, but then suddenly increased levels of activity are detected, the video cuts out and the room is plunged into darkness.
The egg on display
With sirens going off, the lights come on again and guests see the egg has hatched. Not that they get much time to view it, as their seats suddenly drop twenty feet to another level of the catacombs, revealing a chamber full of eggs that have not been made safe. Various effects including strobe lights, water sprays, air squirts, leg ticklers and back pokers are triggered. Then, again in darkness, the ride cars are raised slowly back to the main exhibition chamber. A 30 second countdown is displayed: with lap bars released, guests have only a few seconds to evacuate the facility.
Bellowing Phalanx Operatives usher the hapless visitors back into the lifts to return them to the surface. However, as the lift begins to "rise", banging noises are heard and the lift begins to shake. The roof and walls start to cave in as the newly hatched alien creature attempts to attack. As the lift doors open, guests are accosted by a gas-mask wearing Phalanx operative and directed into a strobe maze, which at times has been filled with bloodied Phalanx personnel who would chase them out back into the daylight, although sometimes the corridor is empty creating a very anti-climatic ending to the experience.
The Phalanx are a moody bunch
The ride originally opened in 2012, eighteen years after the original Nemesis rollercoaster. Alton Towers' aim was to use the successful Nemesis legend to create a second ride experience. It was badly needed: the park hadn't managed to open any new attraction the previous year. Rumours had it that they were to introduce a Shrek attraction in the old Ice Show tent, but this never materialised meaning the only thing new in 2011 had been some Japanese Spider Crabs in Sharkbait Reef. To make up for this, the park had promised fans "something very special" in 2012, with Sub-Terra opening in addition to Ice Age 4D.
Unfortunately, Alton Towers' hopes of cashing in on the success of Nemesis were misplaced and Nemesis Sub-Terra opened to largely negative reaction, with most guests being distinctly underwhelmed. Various improvements to the ride were made in the weeks following opening, and it was closed for almost a week in late May 2012 for major changes to be made including the addition of the strobe maze finale.
Even with the improvements, Nemesis Sub Terra wasn't a great success or a crowd pleaser. Perhaps there was just too much "fluff" around what was essentially a small kiddie drop tower, even though Merlin have had much more success with these at their Dungeons attractions.
Sub Terra was closed in August 2015 in the weeks following The Smiler accident, possibly due to the decreaed visitor numbers and the high staff costs needed to run the attraction. It officially remained Standing But Not Operating for eight years, with the main entrance sign removed and the area around it looking decidedly abandoned. The site was briefly reused as the location for the Project 42 scare maze which premiered at Scarefest 2018 and followed the continuing story of The Phalanx.
With the Nemesis retracking project meaning that Alton Towers was down one rollercoaster for the entire 2023 season, and with renewed interest in the Phalanx generated by the park's marketing department, rumours began spreading that Nemesis Sub-Terra could be reopening. Following various works to get the ride back up and running - including replacement of the rotten wooden queueline floor - it officially reopened on Saturday 27th May 2023. As expected, very little had changed inside and the ride remains as poor as it ever was.
