Mäch Tower

Manufacturer

Moser's Rides

Model

Gravity Tower

Hamlet

Oktoberfest (Germany)

Opening Date

August 18th, 2011

Closing Date

January 8th, 2023

Attraction Height

240ft

Duration

About 90 Seconds

Riders Per Cycle

30

Height Requirement

48in

Mäch Tower was a Moser's Rides Gravity Tower located in the Oktoberfest section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Originally planned to debut in the spring alongside Beste Brezeln und Bier and numerous other alterations to the Oktoberfest hamlet, Mäch Tower faced months of delays throughout the first half of 2011. Ultimately, the attraction did not open to the public until August 18th, 2011.

Mach Tower was typically converted into an observation tower named Nächt Tower for the park's annual holiday event, Christmas Town.

On December 16, 2022 it was announced by the park that Mäch Tower would close on January 8th, 2023. The ride did not operate in it's typical Nächt Tower mode in 2022, in order to have final sendoffs in the normal drop tower mode.

When it debuted, Mäch Tower featured an onboard audio system which would play music throughout the ride's ascent and a seat vibration effect that would trigger immediately before the drop. A POV featuring the on-ride audio can be found below.

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Direct Link to Embedded Media Source

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Sources:

1. Mäch Tower Announcement Press Release
2. Official Statement Regarding Opening Delays
3. "Waiting for the Mach Tower to Drop" via The Virginian-Pilot
4. "Busch Gardens opens towering drop ride after 3-month delay" via The Virginian-Pilot
5. First Ride Video & Opening Day Photos via BGWFans
6. Early Mäch Tower Ride Impressions via Theme Park Insider

 

[IndyRacingNut]

This is precisely why I will never ride this ride....

 

[Party Rocker]

The ride is currently out of service all day today. The maintenance car is still stuck in place. Lockwood has a large crane on site, I believe it is the same one used to build Mach Tower initially. Looks like some heavy duty work needs to be done.

 

[Zachary]

O, fantastic. Anyone able to get pictures?

 

[Thomas]

Why would you want a picture of a big blue pole with a catch car stuck half way up? Is it really that interesting to you?

 

[I305Evan]

Why would you want a picture of a big blue pole with a catch car stuck half way up? Is it really that interesting to you?

Spoiler

Yes.

 

[Unagi]

Why would you want a picture of a big blue pole with a catch car stuck half way up? Is it really that interesting to you?

It's not interesting at all to me but in general it's been a habit on this forum for the past two years in making note of the ride every time it breaks down!

A pic showing this new mess just adds fodder to its on-going ridicule! LOL

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

Why would you want a picture of a big blue pole with a catch car stuck half way up? Is it really that interesting to you?

You forget who you're talking about. Last Christmastown we had to stop every five seconds because one admin had to get pics of every god damn wreath in the park.

 

[Zachary]

*bows*

 

[James]

Surprised no one has mentioned the cart was at an angle.

 

[Zachary]

Surprised no one has mentioned the cart was at an angle.

I can confirm.

 

[Vigil]

God damn Busch Gardens Tampa.

 

[CarterGee]

Anyone else looking at Falcon's Fury and thinking, "Oh. So that's what Mach Tower should have been." ?

 

[chickenking]

Falcon's Fury - RISING SPRING 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y4uKOsogphs

'Falcon's Fury' coming to Busch Gardens

 

[Party Rocker]

Major note, one of the cables inside of Mach Tower was frayed and did end up breaking in half. A very major problem and definitely one to be noted!

EDIT:
Falcon's Fury is definitely promoted 10x better than Mach Tower, although when I think of Falcon, I think of Wild Reserve at BGW rather than Africa?

 

[I305Evan]

Guess the park maintenance team didn't properly inspect the lift cable. Well they are paying for it now.

Kinda odd that it happened as the catch car was coming back down the tower. After all, it's a ton less weight after the carriage is released. But I guess it's good that it happened after the drop because it could have left potential damage to the carriage. And imagine trying to evacuate the ride

 

[Unagi]

Major note, one of the cables inside of Mach Tower was frayed and did end up breaking in half. A very major problem and definitely one to be noted!

EDIT:
Falcon's Fury is definitely promoted 10x better than Mach Tower, although when I think of Falcon, I think of Wild Reserve at BGW rather than Africa?

There are many falcon species native to Africa.

http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/AF_Raptor_Falcon.htm

 

[Party Rocker]

True, there may be, but like I said, I don't immediately make the connection Falcon to Africa right away.

Well they are paying for it now.

Well since Mach Tower was a failure and a prototype basically, would the park get the cable for free?

 

[I305Evan]

Probably not. Because it's not really in Moser hands and a cable snapping is pretty common and could have been prevented. Just a typical issue you find on any attraction that uses cables to be honest.

 

[destroyer421]

I'd love to know what the down time percentage on this ride is.

 

[Peter R.]

Well, it was back up and running today. Got to ride it with my Dad as a matter of fact, and he liked it.