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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Direct Link to Embedded Media Source


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
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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You have to keep in mind Mach Tower and Drop Tower were built very differently. For one example, the cables on Mach Tower are boxed in, unlike Drop Tower. They aren't going to make the same sounds. I have no idea why it's down so much, but it's definitely safe, I have faith that Busch Gardens would never put me on something that wasn't.
 
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Maybe i'll have to develop this 'faith' then. I got on it at CT for observation and the view was really great! Time will tell.
 
^This. I have never feared for my safety on any attraction at Busch Gardens. I trust the park to operate safe attractions, and I am certain that nothing bad would happen to me if I rode Mach Tower (nothing within the park's control, anyway...).

That said, I actually ride Mach Tower almost every time I visit. Why? Because I know the next time I come to Oktoberfest it'll probably be down. I have never feared for my safety on this ride, although I do get a thrill of knowing there's a good chance I'll get stuck on it. It's happened to me before.

I am confident there is nothing about Mach Tower that could cost life or limb to the riders. Are the restraints ridiculously uncomfortable? Sure. Are the seatbelts designed so it's difficult to fasten them? Yeah. Is the tower as cheap and ugly-looking as crap? Yes. Does it experience insane downtime? Totally. Is it an enormous failure? Yup.

It's no secret that Mach Tower was a flop. But do I fear for my life on this ride? Not at all.
 
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One of my biggest objections to MT is its down-time. I worry that given the probabilities, I will get stuck at the top. I can think of few things more horrifying, honestly. Just in general, I simply don't trust any ride that is broken that often. I trust the park and it's engineers, but MT seems to defy solutions and fixes. And blind faith doesn't seem like a reasonable attitude, when you are cantilevered off a pole that high in the air. Furthermore, the lack of injuries in the past, in no way proves it will be safe in the future.
 
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When MT shuts down it's almost always some sensor thinking something is wrong, very rarely is it something mechanical. Apart from the one time when a wheel fell off... or that other time when a seatbelt buckle broke off... but that was probably a guest's fault, right?
 
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After those pictures came out last year (or the year before?) showing the lift carriage hanging cockeyed near the top of the tower because a cable got caught in the lift mechanism, I can't trust the thing. Say what you will about Moser's internal cable system vs. Intamin's external cable system, but I've never seen that happen on an Intamin tower. Not gonna lie, the thought of one side getting caught while the other continues to lift is, frankly, terrifying. No thank you.
 
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Intamin Towers suffer from many problem. Since the cables are outside they can wrap around the riders. Both of them have their issues but I continue to ride. I understand Intamin towers have less issues but they still are drop towers that are plunging to earth at high speeds with passengers. As long as there fun and safe people WILL ride them for there enjoyment because they trust the people who maintain them.
 
I still ride Mach Tower every time I visit the park. My dad absolutely loves it, and I enjoy the gut-wrenching sensation you get when looking straight down as you drop.

"Hey dad, you hear the thing got stuck at the top when a cable caught?"
"Oh, wow. Sounds dangerous."
-gets in line for Mach Tower-
 
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Connor said:
Intamin Towers suffer from many problem. Since the cables are outside they can wrap around the riders.
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Just quoting this for clarification. All cables supplied for Drop Towers and their Accelerator coasters are designed to fray and disintegrate when the cables 'snap.' The worst injuries to come from Intamin cables fraying are cuts and bruises on their Accelerator coasters after the cables snapped there, and the debris did the majority of the damage instead of the cable. The girl who got her ankles amputated on the Drop Tower in Kentucky Kingdom was unfortunate, but that was because of a critical oversight (negligence) by Kentucky Kingdom using cables that were not approved by Intamin.

Basically you'd think that using external cable systems makes the towers a threat to riders but Intamin actually knows what they're doing here. Their drop towers are by far and away the best in the industry, and among the most reliable compared to their other kin (KGM, S&S, Moser, Zamperla, etc.)
 
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sufpadd said:
Went today and mach was testing the whole time. Shocking, I know.
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Was also down Friday the 11th (not even testing), but it was not posted on the closed attractions at the front of the park, despite the fact that it was closed all day.
 
Connor said:
Intamin Towers suffer from many problem. Since the cables are outside they can wrap around the riders. Both of them have their issues but I continue to ride. I understand Intamin towers have less issues but they still are drop towers that are plunging to earth at high speeds with passengers. As long as there fun and safe people WILL ride them for there enjoyment because they trust the people who maintain them.
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Keep in mind, there are various models of Intamin Drop Towers. The tragic incident with the girl was the model with the individual sections that can be raised and dropped independently of each other. Those models have exposed cables above AND below the ride carriage.

The Intamin Drop Tower at KD has one circular ride carriage with only 4 cables, (2 per lift motor), above to lift the drop mechanism and ride carriage. The cables for the counterweight are within the tower itself and are not exposed.
 
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It's better than the last two years. You have a better chance now of it being open when you go rather than it not being open. It still has it's fair share of down time though.
 
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