Alton Towers Secret Weapons

Ever wondered why Alton Towers Resort roller coasters have codenames like SW3, SW7, or SW8? Since 1991, the park has used the internal designation “Secret Weapon” for ground-breaking, record-smashing roller coaster projects. From world-first inverted loops to freefall drop tracks, here is the ultimate history of the Alton Towers Secret Weapons programme!

Alton Towers Secret Weapons Timeline 🛠️

Alton Towers installs Secret Weapon roller coasters at regular intervals to push the boundaries of theme park technology. Non-SW additions like Rita and Spinball Whizzer were installed during intervening years, but the Secret Weapons remain the park’s primary flagship thrill rides.

• Secret Weapon 1 (1991): Arrow Pipeline Coaster (Unbuilt)
• Secret Weapon 2 (1992): Arrow Pipeline Coaster (Unbuilt)
• Secret Weapon 3 (1994 / 2024): Nemesis Reborn (Originally Nemesis) in Forbidden Valley
• Secret Weapon 4 (1998): Oblivion in X-Sector
• Secret Weapon 5 (2002): Galactica (Originally AIR) in Forbidden Valley
• Secret Weapon 6 (2010): TH13TEEN in Dark Forest
• Secret Weapon 7 (2013): The Smiler in X-Sector
• Secret Weapon 8 (2018): The Wicker Man in Mutiny Bay / Katanga Canyon

John Wardley: The Mastermind Behind the Secret Weapons

Theme park pioneer John Wardley was the visionary concept designer behind SW1 through SW5, collaborating closely with manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and legendary engineer Werner Stengel. Wardley played a pivotal role in designing layouts that navigated Alton Towers’ strict tree-line height restrictions.

To discover the fascinating insider story of how Nemesis and Oblivion were born, we highly recommend reading John Wardley’s autobiography: ‘Creating My Own Nemesis’.

The Birth of Alton Towers Secret Weapons

In 1990, Alton Towers installed the temporary Thunder Looper coaster while searching for a permanent, high-capacity replacement. Their idea was that the new roller coaster would open prior to the closure of the Thunder Looper. They desired a roller coaster that was big, different and exciting. To comply with local planning rules prohibiting rides from rising above the tree canopy, Alton Towers set out to build an intense, low-level roller coaster.

SW1: Arrow Pipeline Coaster (Never Built) (1991)

“Secret Weapon 1” (SW1) was the original plan for the site that would eventually be home to Nemesis Reborn. Alton Towers approached Arrow Dynamics for the new roller coaster. The Utah-based company were working on a new prototype. The prototype was a Pipeline Roller Coaster, where the trains rode trapped between cylindrical steel rails as opposed to a traditional roller coaster where the trains ride above them. John Wardley worked on the design of the ride. He planned to theme it on a secret military research facility, codenamed “Secret Weapon 1” (SW1). A short time into the process, the project was put on hold due to the financial problems being encountered by Arrow Dynamics and technical problems with the ride’s design.

SW2: Arrow Pipeline Coaster (Never Built) (1992)

The Alton Towers Secret Weapons program continued when the project team behind “Secret Weapon 1” SW1 revived the idea of an Arrow Pipeline Rollercoaster a year later under the codename “Secret Weapon 2” (SW2). To overcome the height restrictions and help increase the thrill factor, they decided to dig a large hole to accommodate the ride. Rock blasting was used to clear more space for the larger ride.

The proposed Arrow Pipeline Rollercoaster didn’t get much further than the initial plans. When the prototype was ridden by John Wardley and other members of the project team, they stated that it was “very slow (and rather boring), looked cumbersome, and was very energy inefficient”. It was therefore decided that the ride type was unsuitable and the idea to install an Arrow Pipeline Rollercoaster was scrapped. The Theme Park began to look for an alternative, and this paved the way for B&M and “Secret Weapon 3” (SW3).

SW3: Nemesis & Nemesis Reborn (1994 / 2024)

John Wardley became aware of a new roller coaster design being installed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) at Six Flags Great America. He subsequently entered into discussions with Six Flags, who agreed to privately disclose information about the new ride, in exchange for a similar favour at a later date. Jim Wintrode, the general manager of Six Flags Great America at the time, proposed the concept of an inverted roller coaster that featured inversions. Although Wardley believed this would be impossible, Wintrode worked with B&M to develop his idea, which led to the construction of ‘Batman: The Ride’. When John Wardley rode ‘Batman: The Ride’ prior to its opening in May 1992, he decided that they needed to build a similar ride at Alton Towers.

The B&M inverted roller coaster, then dubbed “Secret Weapon 3” (SW3), was developed throughout 1992. John Wardley worked alongside Stengel Engineering and landscape architects to develop a layout for the ride and surrounding area. His vision was to make the area exciting for both riders and non-riders. To build an intense thrill ride without exceeding tree height, workers blasted 70,000 tonnes of granite rock to create a sunken quarry. The roller coaster track sits inside the quarry, and the queue line winds its way around it, giving guests a thrilling insight into what’s in store. To make it just as exciting for non-riders, the final inversion was built at spectators’ eye level.

John Wardley and Nick Varney, marketing director of Alton Towers, came up with the name “Nemesis”.  They pitched a theming concept about an alien creature excavated from the ground. Tussauds Studios elaborated on this, creating the station and surrounding theme design.

Opening in March 1994, Nemesis became Europe’s first inverted roller coaster. In March 2024, after 30 years of exhilarating riders, the legendary coaster underwent a total track replacement and reopened as Nemesis Reborn, complete with updated alien narrative animations and red-veined black track!

A Completely Different Look to Forbidden Valley

In the original SW1 and SW2 plans, the hole is much larger than the one that now contains Nemesis Reborn. Forbidden Valley would look very different had the plans for SW1 and SW2 come to fruition. This is not only due to the shape of the pit, but also because the proposed ride spread much further than Nemesis Reborn into the neighbouring sites currently used for both Galactica and Nemesis Sub-Terra.

What is Nemesis?

Nemesis comes from another dimension, a dimension beyond our imagination! After being disturbed during maintenance, the monster that lay dormant was unleashed, wreaking havoc on the surrounding area. The Phalanx immediately launched their extreme security division to pin down and disable it. It took 250 tonnes of steel to be bent and twisted around the creature to hold it down – creating the Nemesis rollercoaster.

Nemesis is a Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) inverted roller coaster. First opened in March 1994, the roller coaster is 716 metres long and 13 metres high. It travels at speeds up to 50mph subjecting riders to g-forces of 3.5G. Nemesis was Europe’s first-ever inverted roller coaster (where your legs dangle beneath you as you ride). The intense thrill ride features four inversions.

Despite its age, it is still rated as one of the best roller coasters in the world, consistently ranking highly in industry polls, hence the reason why it was re-tracked and revitalised as Nemesis Reborn. It was the first roller coaster to be completed as part of the Alton Towers Secret Weapons program.

SW4: Oblivion (1998)

In 1998, Alton Towers introduced Secret Weapon 4 (SW4) – Oblivion, the world’s very first B&M Dive Coaster (vertical drop roller coaster). Featuring wide 8-abreast trains, the ride holds passengers hanging over a 180-foot drop into a dark underground tunnel at an 87-degree angle, reaching speeds of 68 mph!

Oblivion has a simple layout with a 180-foot drop at 87 degrees (meaning it does not have a true vertical drop). The car slowly ascends the lift hill at a 45-degree angle to build tension, then levels out. At the top of the lift hill, it slowly travels around a curve on a unique chain system, seen only on Oblivion. When the car reaches the drop, it is held by a holding chain for five seconds, giving riders a clear view of the drop, before the car drops 180 feet into the tunnel below. The open-design cars, each weighing the same as a large elephant, accommodate sixteen passengers in two rows of eight. The car uses theatre-style seating with the back row slightly raised to give all passengers a clear view of what lies ahead.

SW5: AIR & Galactica (2002)

Alton Towers conceived the concept of a flying roller coaster in 1990, twelve years before AIR eventually opened. Following the opening of Nemesis in 1994, a flying coaster was planned by the theme park to open in 1998 but was delayed due to technological limitations. During AIR’s development, Alton Towers marketed the ride as “Secret Weapon 5” (SW5). Alton Towers initially advertised the new rollercoaster as a “next-generation Aerial Inversion Ride”, subsequently revealing the name AIR.

The World’s First ‘lying down’ Experience

When Merlin Entertainment’s coaster guru John Wardley created AIR at Alton Towers over 15 years ago, he introduced the world’s first ‘lying down’ experience on a ride. The sprawling, looping maze of metal has delighted riders and is still one of the park’s most popular attractions. At the time of opening, AIR tied with Oblivion as the most expensive ride at Alton Towers, at a cost of £12 million. A £4.5 million marketing campaign for the ride included commercials based around the ride’s slogan, “assume the position”.

AIR becomes Galactica

It’s a bold move to take something that so many people love, flip it on its head and turn it into something completely different. In 2016, the world’s first AIR rollercoaster at Alton Towers underwent a huge virtual reality overhaul.

Galactica still used the existing track structure combined with a new fully-dedicated virtual reality experience that Alton Towers claimed as a world’s first. Riders had the option to ride with or without the Virtual Reality Headsets. The configuration of the ride allowed for up to 1500 riders per hour, although this was heavily reduced when the virtual reality headsets were in operation.

The reduction in throughput was one of the key reasons why, during the 2018 season, the virtual reality headsets were reduced to the back three rows of each train only, with guests choosing whether or not to use the headsets when they entered the station. On 17 March, 2019, Alton Towers announced that the headsets would be removed entirely, due to guest feedback. Despite this, the ride still maintains its Galactica name and theme.

John Wardley’s Thoughts on Galactica

John Wardley, who designed the original AIR roller coaster, stated:

“When I rode Galactica, I was completely blown away, the illusion of flying through a totally different environment left me astounded. It is totally amazing, it really is.”

“People will be very surprised by this, you are physically moving in a very dynamic way as you would be on AIR, but you are now flying through the most amazing space environment.”

“I was incredibly cynical about them taking my ride and messing about with it but actually the ride is an enhancement to the VR experience, rather than the other way around!”

SW6: TH13TEEN (2010)

The Iconic Corkscrew was removed in 2010 to make way for “Secret Weapon 6” (SW6), now known as TH13TEEN. Alton Towers first revealed their plans for the ride in October 2008 when it was announced that Corkscrew would be removed. Planning permission was initially delayed due to concerns about an Iron Age hill fort in its vicinity. In March 2009, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council accepted planning permission for the ride (with conditions) and groundwork construction commenced about three months later.

It was proposed that TH13TEEN would travel around the perimeter of the former corkscrew site and enter a dark, indoor show building for the secret element to take place. The ‘bad luck’ concept and Dark Forest theme were designed by Candy Holland, Art Director for Merlin Entertainments. The Alton Towers marketing team made an effort to keep the project secret so that the surprise feature would not be revealed until the ride was opened.

World’s First Freefall Drop Rollercoaster

The dark and mysterious TH13TEEN is the world’s first freefall drop rollercoaster. TH13TEEN is an Intamin family coaster.  This style of Roller Coaster was chosen for its lightweight trains, helping to reduce strain on the hydraulics for the freefall drop.

The Corkscrew

The iconic Corkscrew, which was removed to make way for TH13TEEN, was one of the first double-inverting coasters in Europe (the first in the UK). The classic ride received lots of publicity and avid popularity in the 1980s. During the first few months of operation, waiting times for the ride frequently reached 6–9 hours. The section of track which formed the two iconic corkscrew inversions is now on display at the entrance to Alton Towers.

SW7: The Smiler (2013)

Opening in May 2013, Secret Weapon 7 (SW7) was revealed as The Smiler in X-Sector. Built by Gerstlauer, it smashed the Guinness World Record for the most inversions on a roller coaster, turning riders upside down 14 times across two lift hills! (One of which is vertical).

Sadly, The Smiler suffered lots of minor malfunctions following its launch. Things got worse for the theme park when The Smiler crashed in 2015, which severely injured four people. The ride reopened for the 2016 season following a thorough investigation into ride safety and procedures. With the new safety precautions now in place, it is probably one of the safest rides in the world.

SW8: Wicker Man (2018)

Built by Great Coasters International (GCI) on the former Log Flume site, Secret Weapon 8 (SW8) opened in 2018 as Wicker Man. It became the UK’s first new wooden coaster in over two decades, seamlessly combining timber track with dramatic fiery effects and a 6-storey effigy structure.

Will There Be a Secret Weapon 9 (SW9)? 🔮

Theme park enthusiasts frequently speculate about Secret Weapon 9 (SW9). While Alton Towers has not yet officially announced SW9, park investments traditionally follow 4 to 6-year development cycles following major re-track projects like Nemesis Reborn. Stay tuned to our Alton Towers Insider Tips for future SW9 announcements!

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