Roller Coaster DataBase

Roller Coaster DataBase

Roller Coaster DataBase logo and home page
Web address rcdb.com
Type of site
 Database
Registration No
Available in 10
Owner Duane Marden
Launched 1996
Alexa rank
 positive decrease 198,889 (April 2014)[1]
Current status Operating

The Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is an extensive roller coaster and amusement park database. RCDB was started in 1996 by Duane Marden[2] and has since grown to feature statistics and photos of more than 5000 roller coasters from around the world.[3]

The website has been mentioned by sources including The New York Times,[3] the Los Angeles Times,[4] Toledo Blade,[5] Orlando Sentinel,[6] Time,[7] Forbes,[8] Mail & Guardian,[9] and the Chicago Sun-Times.[10]

History

RCDB was started in 1996 by Duane Marden,[2] a computer programmer from Brookfield, Wisconsin.[9] The website is run off web servers in Marden's basement and a location in St. Louis.[3] As of 2013, Marden still operates the site.[11]

In November 2013, RCDB was given a new look. A mobile skin is also being developed.[12]

Content

Each roller coaster entry includes any of the following information for the ride: current amusement park location, type, status (existing, SBNO, defunct), opening date, make/model, cost, capacity, length, height, drop, number of inversions, speed, duration, maximum vertical angle, trains, and special notes.[13] Entries may also feature reader-contributed photos and/or press releases.[3]

The site also categorizes the rides into special orders, including a list of the tallest coasters, a list of the fastest coaster, a list of the most inversions on a coaster, a list of the parks with the most inversions, etc., each sortable by steel, wooden, or both. Each roller coaster entry links back to a page which lists all of that park's roller coasters, past and present, and includes a brief history and any links to fan web pages saluting the park.[13]

Languages

The site is available in ten languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese.[11][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Rcdb.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Faster coasters have reliability issues". USA Today. June 19, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cohen, Noam (October 3, 2010). "Obsessions With Minutiae Thrive as Databases". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ MacDonald, Brady (October 25, 2012). "Looping wooden roller coasters are about to become a reality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ "N.J. coaster gets raves, when it's working". Toledo Blade. June 18, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ Bevil, Dewayne; Caviness, Tod (July 14, 2007). "A New Life For Old Coaster". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ Shum, Keane (September 19, 2005). "In The Loop". Time.
  8. ↑ LaMotta, Lisa (October 25, 2007). "The Most Blood-Curdling Coasters". Forbes.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "US's temperamental roller coasters". Mail & Guardian. June 17, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ Moran, Dan (September 1, 2011). "New coaster coming to Gurnee Six Flags in 2012". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Marden, Duane. "About This Site". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  12. ↑ Marden, Duane. "After 8 years, rcdb.com gets a fresh new look and one step closer to a mobile rcdb.com". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Frederiksen, Linda (2007). "Roller Coaster Database". Reference Reviews 21 (1): 51–55. ISSN 0950-4125.

External links