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About Ultimate Rollercoaster®

UltimateRollercoaster.com® is the online place where millions of thrill-seekers and coaster enthusiasts have come together, making it the definitive Internet destination for Roller Coasters, Theme Parks, and Thrill Rides for more than 24 years.

Ultimate Rollercoaster® first appeared on the Internet on August 29, 1996. The site is the creation of founder Eric Gieszl, who started the site as a simple experiment.

The Ultimate Coaster Links™ debuted as a simple one page site with a dozen links to roller coaster and theme park related sites. It was not an instant success, but as one of the Internet's only roller coaster sites at the time it quickly obtained a regular following.

In January 1997 the site was renamed Ultimate Rollercoaster and its trademark yellow and red look appeared for the first time. From that point the site quickly grew, both in terms of content and visitors. Another major update followed in October 1997.

Due to the increasing popularity, Ultimate Rollercoaster® was forced to move from its servers at Earthlink Network and Champan University to its own domain ultimaterollercoaster.com®. The move on August 24, 1998 coincided with a major relaunch of the site. The new site featured an updated design, new layout, navigation improvements and of course, more content.

Major updates to the site were also unveiled in the of Spring 1999, May 15, 2000, and our most recent and largest relaunch ever on August 29, 2002 for the site's 6th anniversary.

Now 24 years later, Ultimate Rollercoaster® continues to grow and has become one of the Internet's most respected authorities on roller coasters and theme parks, and a top Internet travel web site.

Our Mission Statement

The goal of the Ultimate Rollercoaster® site is to provide every guest with informative, entertaining and up-to-date information, in an easy to navigate and eye pleasing manner.

Ultimate Rollercoaster.com Site

Ultimate Rollercoaster® site is divided into sections:

Roller Coasters is the place to go to find out nearly everything you want to know about a roller coaster.
Theme Parks includes a database of parks, attraction previews, and helpful information for planning your amusement park visit.
Thrill Rides features information about other types of amusement rides, including reviews and photos.
Discussion Forums is our community where you can discuss the site topics with other enthusiasts.
News is the place to read special features and the latest headlines from amusement parks worldwide.
Souvenirs is where you'll find roller coaster merchandise, including books, videos, games, computer software, toys and more.
Members is our online community of roller coaster and amusement park enthusiasts.

Credits and Contributors

Ultimate Rollercoaster® is designed and produced by Eric Gieszl.

The following individuals have helped to make this site possible through their generous contributions:

Ultimate Rollercoaster.com® logo design – Todd Roberson

Site Hosting and Development – Robert Graff

Roller Coaster Historian – Adam Sandy

Contributing Writers – Alex Bove, Adam Sandy, David Fraser, Shaun Irving, Barry Short, John Keeter, Mark Rosenzweig, Kelly Kraft, Katie Olszewski

Photography – Eric Gieszl, Mike Phillips, Alex Bove, David Fraser, Christopher Caravello, Christine McKee, Elvie Gieszl, Adam Sandy, Mark Rosenzweig

Photo Contributors – John Keeter, Christopher Newman, Jeff Mast, Sam Marks, Adam Sandy, Joe Nardone, Bernard Denicola, Barry Short

Past Event Planning – Bernard Denicola, Joe Nardone and John Keeter

Paramount's Kings Island and Knoebels Amusement Resort for graciously hosting past Ultimate Rollercoaster events.

Thank you to the following who've contributed to the Roller Coaster Yellowpages for international amusement parks:

Ashley Stanworth, David Scott

A special thank you to the following individuals for their support and contributions to the site:

Mark Rosenzweig, Adam Sandy, Bernard Denicola, Joe Nardone, Paramount's Kings Island, Matt Crowther, Kirk Crider, Paula Werne, Holiday World, Jeanne Hinote, Cal Jones, John Moyer, Brian Rockhold, Craig Rather and Kiku Lani Iwata