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

 

[I305Evan]

Yup it has two modes; observation mode (CT) and drop mode (regular season). Does it stay spinning at the top or sit at the top for a amount of time or get there and then go straight down?

 

[Shane]

Was so surprised at the number of people who were questioning why it wasn't dropping.

 

[Ludwig II]

Yup it has two modes; observation mode (CT) and drop mode (regular season). Does it stay spinning at the top or sit at the top for a amount of time or get there and then go straight down?

As soon as it gets up there it goes right back down.

 

[redsoxfan787]

Were the lines long for it?

 

[Party Rocker]

Yeah this was mentioned back a while ago in the Christmas Town thread. The park went so far as to rename it Nacht Tower. I honestly could not believe how so many people did not understand the concept of this. Either way, the main issue with this is the line. Since ride time is extended by going down slowly rather than just dropping, I can imagine the line may be longer. Also if everyone wants a Santa's Eye-View of the park, it opens itself up to more people who enjoy observing rather than dropping. So I think the reason it doesn't stay at the top for too long is solely to reduce ride time to try to keep lines short ish.

 

[redsoxfan787]

I think it's a neat idea, and although I would love to do it. I dont plan on waiting in a huge line for it

 

[Ludwig II]

Yeah the line moves dreadfully slow but it actually is worth the wait. It's really a cool experience.

 

[Ben]

Are they selling quick queue for Verbolten Or Mach tower?

 

[Vigil]

So apparently they fixed it? It got a lot of new upgrades some of which will hopefully improve reliability. And they made the freefall longer, something that was immediately noticeable in the pictures!

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

^^:huh: So is that a yes it did get upgraded because you put a question mark. And if it is true how come we didn't know about this already? Also, if this did happen than let me say thank God the freefall will be longer now it might be worth waiting in line for.

 

[Zachary]

There was major work being done on Saturday. They had the entire ride carriage warped in a tarp and I noticed there were empty brake areas on the tower.

 

[Vigil]

The question mark was to convey exactly that: it came as a surprise. (That and I'll believe they actually fixed when I see it).

 

[Party Rocker]

I expect Macht Tower to be out of commission for an undetermined amount of time. Don't expect it to open too soon.

 

[b.mac]

I expect Macht Tower to be out of commission for an undetermined amount of time. Don't expect it to open too soon.

So basically same as last year?

 

[Zachary]

The ride attendant outside the ride said that they hope it'll be ready for next week. Translation? Two weeks.

 

[b.mac]

The ride attendant outside the ride said that they hope it'll be ready for next week. Translation? Two weeks.

Accounting for the fact that they can't properly estimate anything about this ride. It'll be down for at least 3-5 weeks.

 

[Crackel]

If they did remove breaks then I imagine it'll need a whole round of testing. Then they'll break something testing it and it'll be down even longer. I'm calling first week of May before this is open. Whatever there doing to fix it obviously isn't working. Spend the time and money to get it right so you don't have a ride that's only open maybe half the season...

 

[Apollogeist]

Is there problems with the observation mode as well, i wonder if they could keep it open in observation mode instead of having it closed?

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

The problem with that is that there is always a slight chance that they will have to drop. If they drop and the brakes aren't good.....

 

[I305Evan]

It's best to leave the ride alone while they make serious changes like they're. Working a ride while they are working to fix issues will turn out bad.