Away from the rest of the park, guests can enter an area savaged by a terrifying monster and take on some of the resort’s most intense thrills, or find their way through to a futuristic space-port and embark on an intergalactic journey.

Food & Drink

  • Rollercoaster Restaurant
  • Coffee Lounge
  • Valley Loaded Fries & Hot Dogs
  • Nemices Donuts
  • Rehydration Station
  • Coca Cola Freestyle

Fun & Games

  • Edge Games

Facilities

  • Toilets – found under the Skyride station, outside the entrance to Forbidden Valley
  • Lockers – located in the smoking area in Galactica’s plaza area
  • Picnic Area – located in Galactica’s plaza area

Transportation

Situated right at the back of the theme park, deep within this apocalyptic wasteland lies a thrashing monster at the heart of a colossal pit of tossed and torn shrapnel. But situated at the bottom of the wasteland is a space-port, where prospective Galactinauts can blast off into the limitless wonders of space.

Nemesis has claimed Forbidden Valley as its home ever since being discovered and chained down in 1994. Despite the Phalanx’s best efforts to take control in late 2022, things eventually spiralled out of control. From 2024, Nemesis Reborn has seen a fearsome creature, fury heightened and more uncontrollable than ever before!

Near to the Nemesis site is the Phalanx Research Facility, reopened following an extended period of closure following an egg-citing discovery, but what terrifying secrets lay in wait, deep underground?

Swinging higher and higher from its very own pit is a sharp take on the classic swinging ship attraction. It’s one of the oldest and most iconic attractions at the park, but more to the point, it’s The Blade.

If you can brave the journey through the war torn landscape, the bottom of the valley will reveal a space-port operated by Galactica – The Universe’s first spaceflight voyager. Guests will be launched up into space, flying and looping beyond the stars, banking through wormholes and speeding across undiscovered galaxies.

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Nemesis Reborn

A fearsome creature, fury heightened and more uncontrollable than ever before! Twisting and turning through the rocky terrain, Nemesis Reborn creates a unique experience for new and seasoned thrill seekers alike.

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Nemesis Sub-Terra

Civilians are invited to journey deep beneath the Nemesis site to discover the secretive research of The Phalanx, where they can view a Nemesis egg. However, with it reportedly showing life signs, a team of Phalanx operatives are investigating – can they keep control?

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Galactica

Blast off with Galactica Tours and embark on an intergalactic journey into space. Visit distant planets, twist, turn and soar amongst the stars, and journey through wormholes to undiscovered galaxies, all on a flight which is simply out of this world.

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The Blade

At the heart of Forbidden Valley, amidst the devastation, is a rusted swinging blade – a piece of shrapnel extracted from the pit during the Nemesis excavation. Take your seat on board and be tossed forwards and backwards as you cut your way through the Valley.

This area originally started out as Thunder Valley in 1990 when the Thunder Looper was installed, for some time this was the only ride in the area. In 1992 however the New Beast was moved from Talbot Street to the lower end of Thunder Valley, along with it a children’s roller coaster, The Beastie, which sat alongside the area’s entrance.

1994 saw the opening of Nemesis, Europe’s first inverted roller coaster,  and Thunder Valley took on a whole new look along with a new name, Forbidden Valley. In 1997 the Thunder Looper was removed from the park and Ripsaw, the fast, wet Topspin ride opened along with a revamped Pirate ship now called The Blade.

By this time the Beastie had departed the area moving to Adventure Land for 1996 and 1997 was also the last season The Beast operated in the park, leaving a large gap at the far end of Forbidden Valley.

In 2002 Forbidden Valley saw a massive shake up of the area, when the far end was finally filled by Air, the £12million flying roller coaster, where you actually fly around a roller coaster track, in the ”superman” position! Dynamo also arrived at the entrance of Forbidden Valley for 2002, however its stay was only brief, as it was removed again at the start of 2004 due to technical problems.

Towards the end of the 2011 season Phalanx took up base in Forbidden Valley, after reports of something being discovered during excavation. Over the closed season a secure military base was constructed on the site, with Nemesis Sub-Terra being unveiled in 2012. The climax of this new experience was the ABC Drop Tower concealed inside, which was complimented by a show sequence where things didn’t go as planned. The attraction would remain SBNO from towards the end of the 2015 season until May 2023.

At the very start of 2016, it was announced that Alton Towers Resort would become home to the UK’s first Rollercoaster Restaurant. Situated in the building that was previously home to the ‘Air Shop’, diners would be able to watch their orders travel through two ‘loop-the-loops’ before spiralling down 8 metres to their table.

On 12th January 2016, at a media event held at the London Science Museum, Alton Towers Resort announced that Air would become Galactica for the 2016 season, claiming it to be “the world’s first rollercoaster full dedicated to virtual reality”. Whilst there would be no physical changes to the ride’s layout, guests now had the option to wear a VR headset for the duration of the ride to simulate an interstellar adventure. Galactica opened in March, a few days after the start of the main theme park season.

In 2021, the former site of Ripsaw was temporarily home to Funk’n’Fly – a member of The Retro Squad, a collection of pop-up flat rides. The ride returned for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

At the end of the 2022 season, Nemesis closed in order to undergo an 18-month refurbishment, which would see the vast majority of its track and supports replaced. The ride therefore didn’t operate during the 2023 season.

However, the 2023 season did see the return of Nemesis Sub-Terra, which was reopened as part of the story-telling around the Nemesis track replacement project. The attraction was largely unchanged from when it operated from 2012-2015, with thematic changes to the final part of the exit corridor being the most notable change.

Nemesis was back with a vengeance for the 2024 season, returning as Nemesis Reborn which represented a new iteration of this iconic rollercoaster’s theme.