The Curse at Alton Manor Opening Day

A first glimpse at Nemesis and the lack of track after the lift hill

A rather drizzly and misty start to the day

Walking up to Katanga Canyon

We discovered the end of the queue for The Curse at Alton Manor stretching back to Pizza Pasta

It would have been a long wait, so we decided to continue down the path rather than joining the queue itself and see what was going on in Gloomy Wood

First view of Alton Manor

There were a crowd of people gathered around waiting expectantly

Roaming actors were keeping people entertained

John Wardley was there to lend his support, along with new Divisional Director for Alton Towers Bianca Sammut

The Curse at Alton Manor was officially opened just before 11am

After watching the opening we made our way toward Forbidden Valley, past a long line of people waiting in Alton Manor's fastrack and ride access pass queuelines

A member of the Phalanx was on duty guarding a new viewing platform under construction, which should allow people to get a good view of the Nemesis retracking work going on throughout the season

Construction walls surround the Nemesis site

A large crane towers over the area, with the old lift hill the only visible sign of the old Nemesis track

Galactica only had a 10 minute queue

Sadly the large screen in the station wasn't working

It was great to get back to riding rollercoasters and blow away the closed season cobwebs though

Back to Gloomy Wood to meet up with some old friends

Time for a ride on Oblivion, the best (running) rollercoaster at Alton Towers

It's a simple enough instruction: don't look down

Crossing over to the other side of the park

Lunch at Woodcutters

The restaurant was suffering from first day issues and it took over an hour for the food to arrive

Unfortunately it was all a bit tough and overcooked once it finally got to our table

The ever reliable Th13teen

Closely followed by the ever reliable rain

Finally, a chance to ride The Curse at Alton Manor for the first time

Everything was absolutely fine according to the estate agent ... despite his head being on backwards

I think Emily Alton would beg to differ on that one

Mary was just looking for her friend

Behind the scenes with Ben and Hollie's Theme Park Adventures

We need to get this together if we're gonna make a decent album cover shot

Hey Bob

Queuing for Wicker Man in the late afternoon sunshine

In the station

Still running beautifully fast and smooth

Just can't help loving this rollercoaster

Sunset rides on Oblivion are the best

Rounding off the day with a final ride on The Curse at Alton Manor

Partying like its 1892

It was a fabulous start to the season: we had a fantastic day meeting up with friends, and The Curse at Alton Manor was a lot of fun