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
 
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kmccarthy27 said:
Would have been so much cooler if it was themed like a giant Maypole and not what they did.
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I was always under the impression that Mäch Tower is supposed to be a giant maypole, but they weren’t allowed to paint it with a striped pattern because of sightline restrictions.
 
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kmccarthy27 said:
Would have been so much cooler if it was themed like a giant Maypole and not what they did.
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I'm honestly curious, how do you propose they theme it to a maypole any more than they have?

From images on a quick Google search, most poles have similar components - mostly blue/white or white (though there was at least one red and white one in the results), with some kind of wreath and ribbons suspended from it - the park used to have one with ribbons in the garden outside of Das Festhaus, and also incorporated the act of weaving the ribbons in one of the stage shows (I this 'This is Oktoberfest'?). Some also seem to have what appears to be images of people on them as well... Which I believe the park actually had two of these kinds of poles right around where the path between MT and the pretzel shop currently exist.

All of that to say I'm not sure what could be done on a drop tower to give the impression of a maypole that wouldn't interfere with ride operations in some way.
 
ControlsEE said:
How do you think it is different from almost any other tower? Not challenging, just genuinely interested in your opinion
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Possibly some giant flag pole type halo structure around the perimeter some ways up that had ribbons going to the ground like a maypole rather than what they did withe the banners. It does not have to be at the top, with that and the paint job they were not allowed to have would have been slightly more themed, immersive. You can see even in the one in front of the Festaus it does not need to all the way to the top.
 
Bring Back Questor 87 said:
Said this back in August, but hoping BG will have the brains to replace this with a Giant Discovery over the water and call it a day. Would be a 2024 attraction to accompany the hopeful RMC addition, but why not?
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A giant discovery sounds like fun but putting another flat ride at the immediate edge of the water sounds like another Finnegans Flyer mistake IMO. Finnegans is a great lineup addition but it being where it is means the Hastings bridge completely lost is deep wooded aesthetic, and chopping down all the trees above and around the Rhine Cruise to make way for the MASSIVE four-legged structure just sounds like deforesting insanity to me. Right at the edge of the bridge too so it encompasses your view the entire walk across the bridge.

Can’t imagine turning the foreground of one of the most photogenic spots looking into coaster valley into Finnegan-gravel pit 2.0. If the park wants to do massive tree clearing, they should try to do so at least slightly away from the major thoroughfares and iconic photo ops.

But I totally agree that a discovery would be a badass addition with an RMC! Though maybe in festhaus park instead
 
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If the tower falls, they can always pull Der Wirbelwinchen back out and plop it in...

Though I'd guess they'd make a seating area out of the space until the next thing comes, presuming it's not an immediately replaced ride.
 
I'm curious how this could be tied in thematically, but I would love to see a Gerstlauer Sky Roller. It may work in this spot, but they would have to remove a few more trees on the perimeter to get it to fit. But admittedly, I just want to see one of the Virginia parks get this flat. I rode one up at Canada's Wonderland and it was an amazing unique experience.
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I305Evan said:
I'm curious how this could be tied in thematically, but I would love to see a Gerstlauer Sky Roller. It may work in this spot, but they would have to remove a few more trees on the perimeter to get it to fit. But admittedly, I just want to see one of the Virginia parks get this flat. I rode one up at Candas Wonderland and it was an amazing unique experience.
View attachment 28078
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Never heard of this, saw a video of a guy just endlessly spinning, oh yeah I need this in my life. Thanks for sharing,
 
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They're probably just waiting to pull another DK. Just announce the closure after season end and never give anyone a chance for last rides.
 
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ControlsEE said:
They're probably just waiting to pull another DK. Just announce the closure after season end and never give anyone a chance for last rides.
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Running it in drop mode conflicts with that ethos though. That said, different departments doin' their own things so, who knows, I guess.
 
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Zachary said:
Running it in drop mode conflicts with that though ethos.
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How so? Didn't DK run til the end of HOS 2017 and then just never reopen? My theory is that they may run MT until end of CT and then announce the closure in January. Wouldn't both ride's closure decisions be a combination of Maintenance, Engineering, and Park Ops anyways?

Side note: I'm getting really nostalgic for DK and totally making a tribute ride next year for halloween.
 
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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.
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