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

 

[Gavin]

 

[Zachary]

Yeah. The lack of permits for work lately has been... very weird.

 

[horsesboy]

Yeah. The lack of permits for work lately has been... very weird.

Hypothetically is there any law that would require permits to be posted online as long as a paper copy was freely available for public review?

 

[Jonesta6]

I'd think at the least there'd be an FAA update since they're taking down a structure with a light on it.

 

[ControlsEE]

Yeah. The lack of permits for work lately has been... very weird.

What permits would they need if they aren't digging? Could they do the work under existing height permits for other projects? Are they pulling a Fun Spot and asking for forgiveness instead of permission? Wouldn't the FAA just update the note that existed for MT to the next tallest structure in the park? Does the FAA really care if a tall structure is demolished?

 

[Zachary]

It's my amateur understanding that any sort of substantial alteration to a structure or property requires work permits, but I'm certainly no expert. Maybe someone like @Celticdog can speak to this?

 

[horsesboy]

It's my amateur understanding that any sort of substantial alteration to a structure or property requires work permits, but I'm certainly no expert. Maybe someone like @Celticdog can speak to this?

Supporting this is that Rampage's deno permit appears to be separate from the building permit for the new slide. I am not sure what other possibly county differences would require a demo permit for one and not the other.

 

[Gavin]

There isn't even a NOTAM for the crane or the removal of the warning light.

 

[horsesboy]

There isn't even a NOTAM for the crane or the removal of the warning light.

I could be miss reading this but I believe this warning for an obscured tower might be related to that.

 

[Gavin]

That's for a light out on a High Voltage Power Transmission Tower, the decoded NOTAM is below.

!JGG 01/001 JGG Obstruction TOWER Light (ASN 2017-AEA-12965-OE) 37°10'42.0"N 76°39'27.0"W (4 . 6 Nautical Miles Southeast JGG) 298FT (279FT Above Ground Level) Unservicable 2023/01/01 16:21- 2023/02/15 16:21

 

[Celticdog]

I'd think at the least there'd be an FAA update since they're taking down a structure with a light on it.

The FAA update needs to be filed/provided within 30 days of completing construction/demolition. The FAA does not need to be notified prior to removal. The crane should be exempt from FAA notification because they are working on a structure that is already a known obstruction.

It's my amateur understanding that any sort of substantial alteration to a structure or property requires work permits, but I'm certainly no expert. Maybe someone like @Celticdog can speak to this?

Yes, there should be demolition permit(s). The County should have them, however, I'm sure the holidays "interfered" with proper filing and processing. It's a common excuse that I have been getting since Thanksgiving.

 

[ControlsEE]

Ok, with all this said, even if we found the demo permits, would we actually learn anything new? We already know it's being taken down. Chances are they weren't putting up anything new just yet. Isn't the most likely thing just an expanded seating area next to pretzel world in the mean time? Yeah, they could also keep it walled off, but I only see that as a viable option if they are planing on adding something smallish for 2024 or something bigger for 2025.

 

[warfelg]

Yes, there should be demolition permit(s). The County should have them, however, I'm sure the holidays "interfered" with proper filing and processing. It's a common excuse that I have been getting since Thanksgiving.

Depending when the fiscal year for JCC ends they could be approving, not filing, allowing work to start, and are backlogged on catching up.

 

[Zachary]

Ok, with all this said, even if we found the demo permits, would we actually learn anything new?

Nope—but it made reporting out the timeline for removal really bothersome.

Sources have been spot-on with Mäch Tower's removal for many months now—and they all agreed it was coming down immediately after Christmas Town—but we were waiting for permits to confirm—permits that seem to have failed to materialize on the public record.

Just a very curious situation.

 

[ControlsEE]

Nope—but it made reporting out the timeline for removal really bothersome.

Sources have been spot-on with Mäch Tower's removal for many months now—and they all agreed it was coming down immediately after Christmas Town—but we were waiting for permits to confirm—permits that seems to have failed to materialize on the public record.

Just a very curious situation.

For demo permits, how early would they have surfaced? I imagine they don't really need them until like a week before, or at least well after they announced the ride closure. And based off of what warfelg said, could they have waited, gotten approval, but the county just hasnt gotten there yet? I know some stuff takes a few weeks under normal work load to make it on county websites.

 

[AIR]

A couple closer pictures of the top being removed yesterday:

 

[YachtyLogs]

Looks like a giant Pez dispenser without the top

 

[Darkoastie]

Don’t have pics but I seen the top being transported on a flat bed going south on the MMBT outside of Newport News about an hour ago

 

[Jonesta6]

Wonder if they sold it to someone or for scrap? I mean, the boneyard has been cleared out but it's not like they couldn't figure out alternative local storage

 

[Coasternerd]

I mean I feel like they wouldn’t be removing the ride so slowly if it were headed to the scrap Yard anyways, maybe it could actually have been sold to another park?