Alton Towers Resort has announced the date its most iconic rollercoaster will return.
The Nemesis ride, first unveiled 30 years ago, shut to undergo transformation at the end of 2022.
The entire 250-tonne, 716-metre-long track has been replaced as well as a complete overhaul done of the beast which gives the attraction its name.
Now known as Nemesis Reborn, the ride will open on Saturday, 16 March.
The resort says guests will experience the beast’s eye, ringed by razor-sharp teeth, brought to life through state-of-the-art audio visual technology – demonstrating its evolution into a predator.
To make the announcement today, 21 February, the tourist attraction worked with another Staffordshire destination, Cannock Chase, to plant a floating seven-metre-wide blazing eye of the Nemesis creature in the forest.
Bianca Sammut, Divisional Director at Alton Towers Resort, said: “Throughout its first 30 years, Nemesis captured the imagination of millions of thrill-seekers from around the globe.
“It’s been an astonishing privilege to bring this truly iconic ride into the 21st century.
“We’ve retained its essential DNA, while harnessing the most state-of-the-art technology and immersive storytelling techniques to ensure it will retain its status as a truly unrivalled rollercoaster experience for a whole new generation.
“And from March 16, those brave enough will be able to experience for themselves the truly awesome power of Nemesis Reborn.”
Nemesis, which hit speeds of 50mph, was crowned Europe’s first inverted rollercoaster when it opened in 1994.
Visitors have been told to expect extensive, new, immersive elements that will propel them into the “compelling” new narrative the moment they set foot in the resort’s Forbidden Valley.
According to the story, the beast has been imprisoned underground for much of the past three decades by a shadowy organisation known as The Phalanx and it is now free and out to wreak vengeance.
Cannock Chase was chosen as the destination for the stunt because it has been a hotbed of unexplained alien activity since the 1980s.
The Ministry of Defence has officially investigated dozens of reports of unexplained activity and strange lights in the area.
Incidents include school children who claim to have witnessed an extra-terrestrial figure with a ‘lemon-shaped’ head and a series of triangle shapes seen in the sky.
