Year end updates: another milestone reached, major Japanese improvements, and assorted ramblings.
Hit number 250,000,000 (yes, one quarter billion served!) rolled in on Friday, December 9th. The site is currently averaging 230,000 hits a day -- a 45% increase over last year. To see a graph showing the growth since 2000, click here.
The multilingual capabilities have been expanded to include the Japanese language. Special thanks go to Joel Hettinger for helping on this project.
In the last few days over 500 Japanese pictures were added to the site. Thanks go to Lisa Scheinin, Chris Belson, Robb Alvey and Eric Sakowski for all of their wonderful pictures.
Several weeks ago the "All / Past / Present" options were added to the quicksearch. This has been a popular request for quite some time. It was intended to be included with the big September update, but it just wasn't feasible. Additionally, some cosmetic improvements we made to the tabs throughout the site.
Since the last update I've received a number of emails asking why the search by ZIP code feature was removed. While the feature was unavailable for a month or so prior to the last update, it has already returned. The confusion seems to center around the changes made to accommodate international postal codes. The easiest way to search by ZIP/postal code is to enter it into the "Quick Search" box. Otherwise, you can go to the "Amusement Park" search, look under the "Advanced Search" heading, and use the "Near Location" option.
Finally, many people have realized that 2006 will be the site's 10th anniversary, and want to know what special things are planned. Traditionally a significant new feature has been added to the site every year, and 2006 will be no exception. Something extra special is indeed planned -- that you can count on.