This ride was one of the worst rides I have ever been on. I shouldn't even call it a ride! I was at Alton towers on Wednesday 5th of July 2012 and made my best effort to make this the first of the day, bad descision. Put me in a bad mood for the day. This ride probably cost Alton towers about £10,000 to create, it is literally pathetic! They make around £222.5 million PROFIT a year and this is the best they can do? They probably used spear parts from 13 (another flop) for the drop tower and a bit of paper mâché for the egg. I wouldnt mind but they couldn't even be bothered to use real lifts, just vibrating floors and sliding doors and a few pathetic lights. This ride is an insult to the UK. I have been to numerous theme parks around the world and never ever bin on a ride as cheap and nasty as this. It has definitely took a step back in time in the technological and innovative areas.

Went to Alton Towers with a friend about a month ago and decided to give Nemesis Sub-Terra a try. Queued up for just over an hour in anticipation only to be greeted by bossy actors who looked pretty bored themselves. Went and stood on some circles, watched endless videos about the Nemesis, and so on...
When we got out of the "lift" we had to wait in the dark for about 20 mins because it was "running late" or something. Was pretty annoyed already by the time we were let into the main room with the egg. Was thoroughly disappointed by the drop - which felt like barely 10 centimetres - then got cold air and water blown in my face. Something thin started whipping my legs (at which point I thought 'Am I just being over-sensitive or does this actually HURT?') and was poked in the back with some hard plastic thing.
Then we were ushered out into a weird flashing maze of corridors and some actor with a gas mask on practically head-butted me. When we were finally released back into the sunlight to collect our bags, me and my friend just looked at each other in confusion, while the people following us out passed around phrases like, "That it?" and "That was a complete waste of time". My friend's mum actually complained and had a go at the actor standing outside, who acted completely awestruck at her negative comments, as if he hadn't heard the same thing over and over again.
Turns out my friend had red marks on the back of her legs from the whips and her mum's back was hurting from the prodding. This 'ride' is such a waste of time and we warned all friends and family members afterwards not to go on it unless you have a weird will to waste a couple of hours of your life just to be physically hurt.

You'd get more of a thrill going to the 4D ice age film and closing your eyes.

We paid to be fast tracked as we thought this would be a great ride. In fact we hoped it would be the best one. It's not a ride at all. No thrills, no adrenaline. Just lots of noise, shouting, darkness and flashing lights. And one tiny little drop. We felt robbed because we paid £4 each to be fast tracked. But with hindsight that was much better than wasting an hour queuing!

Appalling. Felt so sorry for people queuing. Don't waste your time.

I went on this ride today. A friend and myself stood in the queue for about 15 minutes and I can honestly say that it was worth the wait! I had no idea what to expect, although I thought that there would be an underground rollercoaster. We sat down in the viewing room, the bars came down over you and that was it, I was focused completely on the egg and the backstory. When the video stopped and the lights went off, I knew this was going to be my worst nightmare! The rest of the 'ride' seemed to go by in a bit of a blur to me as I was terrified. But when we had to evacuate the building, people kept popping out of walls with gas masks on, I could barely see a thing as it was so dark in there. I can honestly say that I was terrified by this attraction, when I came out my heart was racing and I always trembling! Well worth a visit!

i went on this ride on the 1st june, and i can assure it has been improved greatly!!! ( i know this because it certainly wasn't crap like others have said!)
although i knew i was on a ride, i did feel very scared and infact ,quite endangered especially when it dropped and the back proders and leg 'ticklers' went into action (of whick to me felt like some kind of creature was trying to grab me!) then the bars went up and we was rushed into another lift ! i don't like lifts at the best of times but when the floor started dropping and walls started shaking i got sooooo scared ! as the lift doors re-opend we was greeted by a man in a gas mask! he shon his torch in my face but me and my friend just ran into a very dark coridor,then to be stopped by another person in a gas mask! he then let us pass and we ran to find the exit... which isnt hard to find, but i was in panic mode and ran into a few walls !

this ride was extreamly scary and in my eyes well worth the hour wait ! i loved it, but i don't know if i will have the guts to go on it again...! ( this ride got be that scared that i couldn't even scream !!!

This ride according to one of the staff members at the park was closed due to complaints and more effects were added, the ride was then reopened on Saturday 26th May. I did not go on the ride before the changes were made however went there today and queued for 45 minutes (a lot of that due to technical difficulties). However once out of Sub Terra, I was glad I waited and didnt decide to just leave it as both myself and a friend thought it was certainly worth the wait. The acting of the inside workers both before the observation area and afterwards, when getting hurried out was brilliant. Plus the effects were I believe amazing. Would definately queue for this one again

Today, I waited just over an hour for this ride and its massive popularity. When we were queuing some guy shouted it was crap and we ignored him. When we got to the front, my back was aching. The ride was crap, just like the guy said. It is absolutely fake and the drop is terrible and you get wet. In my overall opinion I would NEVER go on this ride again ever in my life even if I had to to save my life. If I were you, go on Air, the queue's shorter and a lot better than this. One Star.

More fun in an elevator.
I was really looking foward to this ride.
Sat down, ready to be spun backwards, thrown around and scared.
Instead I got to stand on a circle, sit on a bench, watch a magic egg change colour and go in a stimulation lift.

If thats what alot towers call your worst nightmare, then god help them.....

The leaflet of this ride, I thought it would be another inverted roller coaster. But I heard it was a meer drop tower. I loved Hex really much, it confused me. After all these complaints about this one, not too sure to ride it anymore. I am no wimp, but, golly. I think all rides are amazing, I don't criticise about any rides. I love every ride at Alton Towers. I don't really care what these commenters say. I am riding it anyway. :) chu. God, don't have to be so bleeding mean to a ride. They tried their best making this! I really accept their hard work. You guys obviously don't. I hate people who critscise. I like the sound of this.

We queued up for an hour to go on this ride and I was so disappointed by it, the Runaway Mine Train is more fun.

Thoroughly disappointed.

I don't see why you are all complaining about I went on it a couple of weeks ago and it was EPIC! Yeah it might not be as good as nemesis but they made a ride for your entertainment and your giving them all bad reviews, don't you people realise that it took a lot of work to build this tide??!!!

Anyways, This ride is sooo scary in my opinion the drop and getting chased out of the ride was the scariest! I almost peed myself. I am 11 an have been on most of the rides their and this one was in the top three! If you haven't been on this I suggest that you go on it. I am not scared of anything anymore! Only go on this is you have the nerve to also don't go on it alone or lose The people who went on it with you. It just makes it even more scarier! I speak from experience I lost my friend while trying to get out :(

I had only been to Alton Towers once before and the ride I was most excited to try out for myself was Nemesis Sub Terra. Although I had seen many reviews online slating the ride I still wanted to go on.
I was intrigued by the ride as it was something unique and I thought that the story of the ride was very interesting.
When I was queuing up for the ride I thought the scenery was very impressive and it looked like you were about to enter a secure military building. There were many screens telling you background of the ride and doesn't give to much away which leaves a element of surprise when you get onto the ride.
When you make your way to the start of the ride there are military staff giving you orders where to stand before you enter the lifts in front of you. Went you go into the lift along with 19 other people there are effects which makes you feel like you are making a descent underground to the egg, however I think that there could have been improvements made to the lifts as wasn't very convincing you were moving, for example the ground could vibrate.
We were then "underground" and made our way to the seats which were surrounding the egg, this part of the ride was very good and the design of everything in the chamber was very effective and realistic and felt like you were underground. Having the military staff there too made it very intense.
The ride itself was good and it made you feel like something that was going wrong so you do panic and when you see that the egg has hatched then it really makes you scared. Being touched in the back and legs is also very convincing that the creature is moving around the chamber. I wasn't able to hear much voiceover and effects though as there were so many people screaming.
You then have to escape which is very thrilling and immersive, as people are rushing to get out and sirens were flashing which makes you panic even more.
When you are in the second lifts you feel like you are making your way to safety until there is blackout and it shakes and noises convince you that the creature is trying to get you.
When the lift doors open you desperately want to escape but everyone is terrified as there are staff with gas mask covered with blood chasing you through the scare maze, which has to be the most terrifying part of the ride.

Overall I found it a very immersive and fun experience and would recommend it to any thrill seeker as it is a awesome ride :)

4.5/5

I found the ride very scary, I HATE that kind of thing, if I was blind and deaf I might have enjoyed it, as I love drop towers, although the drop was more like falling downstairs! I was 100% convinced there was going to be a rollercoaster, even after the second lift I was expecting some kind of rollercoaster to help us "escape" from the monster. Totally disappointed and made worse by it being the longest que of the day! And on my birthday and all lol!

Not a very good ride. If the Q is more than 20mins dont bother going on it. I was luckey as there was no Q because it was late in the day. So if ypu want a thrill dont bother. If you want to be bored Q up for it.

I had to go on this ride on my own as my friend chickened out last minute - as i HATE walk throughs (wouldnt even dream of going in SAW;Live) I was a little nervous!

I went on a quiet Monday, VERY wet but also ment the park was extremely dead and we walked onto every ride without queuing.

Personally, I thought the actors were very good, the theme was hard to see as it was so dark but it all fitted together well. The ride itself WAS scary - I didnt know about the drop and it shocked me! As did the poking in the back, wet mist and tickling of my legs!

I do agree the ride was too short, but all the roller coasters are over in a shorter time than this one, so moaning about the length is pointless - any longer and we would have to WAIT longer to get on it.

The walk through at the end was a good finish to the ride. I would not advise anyone to wait longer than 20 minutes for this ride as its not worth it.

Overall, I enjoyed it and so did the group I went in with!

Massively disappointed!!! Laughable not scary at all, tiny 2 foot drop and some wind blowing into you :( was well exciting going onto this ride but will never go on it again

I had no idea what to expect, but I went to Alton Towers on probably one of the wettest days of the year (defintely the wettest day of September) mainly to experience this new ride. The only upside of it being so wet was that the park was very quiet, and the longest we had to queue for any ride was less than five mins. I went on this ride with the intention of immediately going on it again afterwards. I was looking forward to it so much. I guess I was expecting some kind of underground roller coaster. However, when the drop tower ascended, and we were ushered into the lift, I thought we were being taken to a different part of the ride for the main action! I couldn't believe it when I realised it was over! Both my friend and I said "Is that it?" I even had to ask the operator when the next part was, and he didn't know what I was on about. I was very disappointed with Th13teen, but this ride was 1000 times worse. Even my wife who gets scared with riding on cable cars would find this ride lame

In reply to by Chinky (not verified)

Well I've not acctually been on yet but I'm going with school in July, and I'll tell you, I'm going to ride this, then give Alton Towers a peice of my mind. As I'm only in year 7 I'm gonna tell them I've been waiting a year for this and they let me down. They did exactly the same thing with Th13rteen. A tiny drop and you were like is that what I waited a hour for? I told the guys in the Nemesis shop we needed another thrill coaster. Like Nemesis, thats what Adrenilin junkies like me want, and kids feel proud after. After looking at plans for SW7 I can just tell it's gonna be emmence! They need to take a leaf out of Thorpe Parks book for Thrill rides and scary stuff. I will be making my mates split in the single rider queue when we go and if they dont like it tough cos I am not being dissapointed by these bad designers again! I've designed better rides the than this and I'm 12! Please ddont dissapoint AT!!!!

In reply to by Visitor (not verified)

Well earlier today I was on the AT website and it said at the top that Sub Terra will be closed from 20~25th May for work so does this mean their doing it up scarier?

Still a waste of time I say, I went a few weeks ago and they have updated it and it was all working. The so called back ticklers felt like I had been jabbed in the back and the so called leg ticklers bloody stung nothing so tickly about them!!
After seeing eggs crack, being whipped then jabbed and felt like I had been spat at as well as stupidly loud sounds that I couldn't make out, we where shouted to move and escape even though the ride restraint was still down. When we was finally free we hit the lift for it to pretend to break. A guy in a gas mask covered in blood opened the door and led us through a scare maze, which live actors decided it would be funny to jump out on people I told him not to bother as I would punch him in the face I wasn't amused, back out into the open clean air and thinking why did I bother with that. Usually being in total darkness feeling blind scares me this just annoyed me... Although the only good bit about this ride, instead of all 4 seats dropping at once they dropped individually which I believe was a nice touch... unfortunately the only one.

yes !! i went today and i crapped myself !!! it is deffinatly wort trying again !!

In reply to by Visitor (not verified)

They updated it to make it more terifying but they could add
.Actually meet the nemesis alien
.add better things
.or witness the egg hatching
im going to Alton towers on the 26th of july so i will see the updated version

Oh my god. I'm so dissopointed! I still haven't got over it and I went like two weeks ago. Waited 35 minutes was greeted by some lame workers, then a giant egg and some random water splashing in my face? I feel sick talking about it. I'm so angry/annoyed! Waste of my life. DO NOT GO ON THIS RIDE. It's so stupid it's unbelievable que up for something like oblivion or air instead! :)

Terrible ride, ineffectual scares, 3 metre drop, and to top it off the harness crushed my family jewels.
If theres' no queue its maybe worth a look but its' totally underwhelming, as said the Runaway Mine Train is ten times as exciting.

In reply to by Visitor (not verified)

Totally agree hahahahaha rubbish ride which is so unorganised with some workers that I reckon are work experience from the local school

Agree wholeheartedly - over-hyped and under-whelmed...

Before we entered the 'lift' the solid connection to the floor outside was obvious, which combined with the weak 'LED running lights' and rigidity meant the entry to the chamber was a let down... The exit lifts were better, but again were too under-stated.

The chamber theming/dressing was good, but the whole thing was so rushed that there was no opportunity to play on the 'psychological' twists that were promised.

Let's hope SW7 doesn't disappoint - which means the creative teams need to raise their game, and the marketers need to temper theirs somewhat.

Visited Alton towers today and went on the sub terror with no real idea what to expect. Well, I'm still in fear now. Not only was I clearly the most nervous person there as the actor man stood for a full five minutes in my face shouting at me but to then be taken into a lift then the room I knew this was going to be bad. After what ever the heck happened in that room all I know is I nearly had my arm ripped off as I was holding onto my boyfriend for dear life when the attendant person ragged the bars back up shouting at us but I ended up in such such a state I was literally crying my eyes out in my boyfriends chest wanting nothing but to get the hell out of there...and I'm 25!!! Again, the rest was a blur again but the guy handing my bag back to me seeing me literally sobbing clearly made his day. I think that genuine 'thrill seekers' may indeed find this a ride a massive disappointment but for those who are, let's face it, soft like me will loose their witts down there! It's my biggest fear and when all u want to do is run and ur tied to a seat it really does bring you nightmares. Fair play Alton towers but I literally have bruising on my arm from it bending so far back so I can see an accident happening quite soon.

Really agree with this review... was sadly underwhelmed by this ride which I had been so excited about. I like that Alton Towers have tried to beef up the atmosphere and 'dramatics' with their more recent rides (this, thirteen and Hex) but they fail to deliver on the actual thrills. This ride could have been fantastic if they'd gone the whole hog and built a larger drop tower (30 meters or so would be great). The drop could still take you down into the underground cave before shooting you up to the top (think Dr dooms fearfall at Universal Florida). But instead they've settle for a mediocre ride which leaves riders a bit cold.

Went on Nemisis Sub-Terra yesterday not knowing what to expect as I didnt even know they had a new "ride". Firstly, it is not a ride, more an experience and reminded me of Hex. One of those done it once and never again things. We waited over an hour for this and were so disappointed when we came out. The staff (probably students) seemed to rather enjoy the dressing up and ordering people around too much in my opinion. Went in, got sprayed in the face, poked in the back and a tiny drop and came out and that's it. Gutted that on a very busy day we wasted over an hour for this when we could have gone on something much better such as the real Nemisis (my favourite ride in the place) or Air. Dont do it unless you can more or less walk straight in.

A very fair review. Couldn't agree more about the 'underwhelming' nature of this ride. It's all about the hype unfortunately. I would say ulness the queue is less that 10 minutes don't bother!

There was a lot of hype about Nemesis Sub-Terra and my wife had read multiple reviews saying to not go on it because it was terrifying. So after reading that my wife and eldest daughter decided not to go on it. So me and my 12 year old daughter thought we'd go on it as the que was the smallest it had been all day. We qued up for around half an hour before finally getting let in.

A lot of teenage girls were over reacting in my opinion,screaming at every moment. Especially when the egg was cracked and the small drop! I'd advise not to sit too far back in your seat as my daughter got poked in the back rather hard and later had a very small bruise. The evacuation point went rather wrong for us though. The staff members who were supposed to be around the different rooms had already left as we were held up by a large group of teenage girls who stood still screaming in terror. When we got out my daughter was laughing,as was I. If you have a fear of the dark then you may enjoy this but if you are not frightened by such silly things it would make more sense to que up for 40 minutes for the REAL Nemesis.

The marketing for this ride had me hooked and I was desperate to give Sub Terra a go. Complete garbage is the only way I can describe this ride. I cannot tell you how many people we passed during our two days there but we never heard anyone say anything half decent about it. We were lucky and only queued for about 20 minutes. I would not advise anyone to queue longer than that. Your time would be better spent waiting to go on a decent ride.

Went on Nemesis Sub-Terra last Thursday, queue time was 45 minutes. Hadn't read anything about it before so was quite excited, and my 12 yr old son was too. The 'actors' were really good and barked orders at us. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and were genuinely scared, especially the evacuation and lift 'breakdown'.

We went on it again later the same day, but this time just screamed (we thought to make it more scary for others). Have to say my voice is still not back to normal!! Obviously most of the people on the second visit had been on it before too and were even speaking the script word for word, and giving the game away. In my opinion it's a one trick pony - once you've experienced it it's never the same. I'd like to have seen more of the creature, even if just flashes of images (like Dr WHO's BLINK episode) with it getting closer. Definitely the drop could be bigger and maybe repeated, but definitely more visual impact needed. I'd still give it 10/10 for the first visit, without people on the ride spoiling it! But after that, probably 5/10 for laugh factor.

what a wast of time and money!! we queued for over an hour for this and was so let down!! in 1 word this ride was LAME.

Having read many of these reviews I wasn't expecting much however I was thoroughly impressed. There has to be a wide variety of rides and attractions to suit all - it would be unwise to concentrate soley on the 'adrenaline junkies'. Sub-terra is completely different in that the staff are actively participating in the attraction - the acting was OTT but great! My teen kids loved it also!! I was terrified at SAW the experience at Thorpe Park and similarly with Sub-terra. I have been on major coasters in UK, Spain, Italy and Florida and yes I was excited and scared but my real terror certainly comes when there are actors within an attraction whose only objective is to scare you witless.
I believe this ride deserves better reviews than has been posted.

"Is that it" is the perfect description for this ride. I got there for the early ride time 9.00 but sub terra didn't open until 10 I joined the line 10 min before the ride opened, and jumped in to the single rider line. so only waited 15 min tops. I think this ride would be a good distraction while waiting for the proper nemesis. queuing once for both rides. with an option to skip each of them if you want.

I think the last major ride addition to the park was Rita, the rest just park fillers. hyped to get people in.
It looks like merlin are concentrating on Thorpe Park, for the big rides. or is The Swarm just an Olympic year crowd puller.

Living in Leeds this is a big problem and a deal breaker for renewing my annual pass for next year.

Went on this ride yesterday with some friends, and after skimming through comments here I can understand the different points of views. Having no idea what the new ride even entailed, only knowing that it was underground not even knowing if it was a roller coaster definitely made it so much better. Reading spoilers and other views I think you have already lost the mystery of the ride and probably won't find it as exhilirating as you should. (this ride was out 6 months ago and I still didn't know of it)
I am not someone who is easily scared but definitley came out of this feeling shaky! The seriousness of the guards the whole time really added to the effect and made it fun. Through out the ride I was a mix of 'get me the hell out of here!' and in fits of giggles. Wouldn't really go on it again as like I said think the lack of mystery makes it boring but would definitely go on with new friends to watch them be scared to death!
Think the drop effect could last longer/be span round or something. And possibly inside the lifts could add more to ride experience like a roller coaster.
Overall really do recommend the ride, especially for thrill seekers! Stop listening to everyone else and try it out for yourself!!

The name Nemesis really brought back fond memories for me, I remember queueing for it with my mom years ago in utter terror, the river of blood, the abandoned jeep, the music it was all perfect and the ride topped it all off. It was awesome.

Alton Towers knows exactly what they're doing, they're targeting families more than Adrenaline junkies, guess that makes more money.

Though it sure would be nice if you brought a little of the magic back some time.

big disapointment, q'ed for an hour for this, total rubbish.

In reply to by Visitor (not verified)

Maybe I spoke too soon. SW7 sure sounds awesome. Guess I'll wait until 2013!

Your review has it spot on. We left the ride saying "Is that it?" hoping that it was a precursor to a 'proper' ride but no. An amusing side excursion to the main Nemesis 'coster but do not queue for longer than 10 mins for it or you will be cursing the waste of time!

Now, an underground version of Nemesis... how awesome would that be? Huh, Alton Towers??

Waited 55mins, went in, came out...what a waste of an hour of my day
Do not waste your time on this rubbish ride.
Came off then went on the old nemesis, what a ride that is! Now thats a thrill worth queueing for .

Queued for about an hour for this ride, only to be hugely disappointed but the poor quality and lack of thought that went into the ride (if you can call it that).
Having never been to Alton towers before, i had massive expectations and was really looking forward to the nemesis ride. We were put into a side chamber and were waiting there for about 15 minutes, i thought this was to build the suspense, but it turns out that there was a fault with the ride, nobody informed us though :(.
Having waited a long time we were really enthused to be getting on the ride only to be disappointed, nothing was scary about it, maybe it was the 15 minute wait, but i can't help feeling really let down, the drop must of been around 3 meters if that and then taken straight back up to be told to evacuate!! This i thought was going to be a move onto another area, but, alas, NO, outside we all went, thinking "is that it", but it was.
Would have loved to write something positive, but im sorry, cant think of anything except, the nemesis rollercoaster was great fun, just stay above terra

Shit more shit what waste of time

Never before have I seen such a quality park make the same marketing blunder time after time after time. Don't they conduct any sort of market research or anything to find that the "secret" rides need to actually be breathtaking in order to live up to the hype?

Honestly this ride sounds interesting. Like so many of Alton Towers' recent additions, it sounds like a quality, well-themed, well-rounded, family-style experience. But year after year of overhyped marketing schemes are going to leave a sour taste in visitors' mouths if it hasn't already...

Okay it did beat hex for a simulator
The guards were funny too but the ride itself was a let down
Alton Towers took a big name and sorta let it down here
Being visually impared being in the dark alone with lots of lights gets me hyped but the chamber was disappointing
Alton towers are definatly gonna have to pull out all the stops for the new 2013 ride Considering its also close to oblivion an obvious favourite

this is so true,me and my husband were so glad we only had to wait 5 mins for this ride.any longer and it would have been a waste of time.so disappointing,save yourself time and disappointment dont go on this ride,the original nemesis is by far superior.

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