Mäch Tower

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The first entry in this thread is a WikiPost. As such, it can be edited by anyone with the appropriate permissions.

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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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
 
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horsesboy said:
They could do the SEA version of what CO did with Wicked Twister and sell pieces of it for $250.
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I dont think MT was nearly as popular as WT. It certainly didn't have as long of a run (19 vs barely 11). If my knowledge is correct, LeMans is the only ride in BGW history where they auctioned off anything from a defunct ride. They didn't even do that with wolf, so while there may be some people who want parts from MT, it's probably not enough to make it worth it. That said, if the park is watching this, I'd really like one of the harness lock cylinders. Some of my most memorable times working that ride are from those not unlocking correctly.
 
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I am planning on being there tomorrow to catch the last Celtic Fyre and hopefully if the weather isn't to bad the last ride on Mach Tower. Let me know if anyone is interested in a meet up.
 
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Though i heard it wasn’t that good of a ride, i’m kinda sad that i never got to ride it.
 
ControlsEE said:
If my knowledge is correct, LeMans is the only ride in BGW history where they auctioned off anything from a defunct ride. They didn't even do that with wolf, so while there may be some people who want parts from MT, it's probably not enough to make it worth it.
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It has been a while, but didn’t people get old Loch Ness fiberglass shells via auction?

Granted, that ride isn’t defunct. But Eggery Deggery is.

Maybe those auctions were held by a third party…? I’m off to search threads...

Update: Eggery Deggery and Wolf both have seen boneyard auctions. In Wolf’s case it was long after the ride closed. I don’t know who bought the Wolf car, but I like to believe @Zachary hosts a fortnightly morning tea in the Deggery egg with a small group of invite-only luminaries.
 
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halfabee said:
It has been a while, but didn’t people get old Loch Ness fiberglass shells via auction?

Granted, that ride isn’t defunct. But Eggery Deggery is.

Maybe those auctions were held by a third party…? I’m off to search threads...

Update: Eggery Deggery and Wolf both have seen boneyard auctions. In Wolf’s case it was long after the ride closed. I don’t know who bought the Wolf car, but I like to believe @Zachary hosts a fortnightly morning tea in the Deggery egg with a small group of invite-only luminaries.
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Never knew about the Wolf auction. I knew they donated a car and some track to the coaster museum in TX, but aside from that, I wasnt aware of any sale by the park for Wolf. I knew that Zachary had an eggery cabin, but I thought that was a 3rd party sale/junk yard find, not a formal auction from the park. My major point being that the park rarely sells off pieces of defunct rides to the general public, and even so, it seems to be wildly popular rides, which MT was not. In other words, I'm not getting my hopes up that the park will do anything but scrap most of the pieces and salvage anything useful on other rides (electronic components and such).


Edit to avoid double post: If the park is closed today, it seems fitting that Mach arrived 3 months late, then couldn't be bothered to stay open until the final day.
 
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This was planned.....they posted earler today "and the sun sets....see you in a couple weeks". This is shit.....would be one thing if there was really weather coming or if it wasnt the last night of CT or last ever of Mach.......but this is complete crap.
 
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Yep, im betting they just didnt want to fix whatever issues they were having just for a few hours tonight, but again in typical BGW fashion they blame weather. I would much rather the park be honest and say the ride is broken and given the fact it will be torn down Monday they have decided to close the attraction. Now what would be a good gesture on the parks part would have been to open the park even with less hours and had Mach Towers seats open for guests to sit in for one last photo that wanted one on the very last day of operation.
Anyhow I was there on August 18 2011 when the ride opened that morning to guests with absolutely no ceremony. It opened just like every other ride that morning. I was never a fan of the ride and in fact only rode it once and that was during the VIP event for the opening of Verbolten, after a few of the free coctails at the open bar I made a poor life choice and rode Mach Tower. I was never happy with the movement of the Katapult from that location and since then it just isnt as fun as it was there for some reason. Hopfully the station house stays since it was there from the days before Mach Tower. Honestly a nice new flat in that location would be nice, they could repurpose the structure that cerruently holds the netting and cover it.

Anyhow....enjow this opening day video, I had hoped to document todays very last riders as well……..

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ControlsEE said:
Never knew about the Wolf auction. I knew they donated a car and some track to the coaster museum in TX, but aside from that, I wasnt aware of any sale by the park for Wolf. I knew that Zachary had an eggery cabin, but I thought that was a 3rd party sale/junk yard find, not a formal auction from the park. My major point being that the park rarely sells off pieces of defunct rides to the general public, and even so, it seems to be wildly popular rides, which MT was not. In other words, I'm not getting my hopes up that the park will do anything but scrap most of the pieces and salvage anything useful on other rides (electronic components and such).
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There have been auctions of Loch Ness, Le Scoot, and Escape from Pompeii vehicles.
 
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Well now that we are here, who's gonna spot the demolition crane in the skyline first??? Also, still curious are they going to simply have construction walls up around the Mach site when the park reopens in a few weeks or are they just going to leave it sitting just like Cradle's former site?
 
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rvadude85 said:
Well now that we are here, who's gonna spot the demolition crane in the skyline first??? Also, still curious are they going to simply have construction walls up around the Mach site when the park reopens in a few weeks or are they just going to leave it sitting just like Cradle's former site?
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I would guess that since they have a few weeks off, it would make sense to demo it now. That way they don't have to move cranes every weekend when they are open.
 
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WDWRLD said:
Im not sure they would need to move cranes, it should come down fast....really fast.
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LOL! I am not an expert here but thinking that they would likely have one crane to help dismantle in pieces starting from the top. Somewhat of a complex job given the height of the structure.
 
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