Robb Alvey
{{Short description|American roller coaster reviewer and video game producer}}
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{{Infobox person
| name = Robb Alvey
| image = Robert Alvey.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Robert Lee
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Southern California
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| occupation = Video game producer
| known_for = Theme Park Review
}}
Robb Alvey (born Robert Lee) is an American roller coaster reviewer and video game producer. Alvey has ridden over 1400 coasters around the world, and has documented his travels and those of others on his website Theme Park Review.{{cite news |title=High times |author=Christopher Kompanek |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/high_times_ZLlJeWSW3qi8NJAaWuR78K |newspaper=New York Post |date=August 4, 2012 |access-date=December 20, 2012}}{{cite news |title=Top thrill rides compete in Travel Channel's 'Insane Coaster Wars' |author=Brady MacDonald |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2012-jun-26-la-trb-insane-coaster-wars-travel-channel-06201226-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=June 26, 2012 |access-date=December 20, 2012}} He has been featured on related documentaries for Discovery Channel, Travel Channel,{{cite news |title=Rollercoaster Expert Travels to China! |author=Rani Robinson |url=http://blog.travelchannel.com/the-traveling-type/2012/09/20/rollercoaster-expert-travels-to-china/ |newspaper=Travel Channel |date=September 20, 2012 |access-date=December 20, 2012 |archive-date=September 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922005152/http://blog.travelchannel.com/the-traveling-type/2012/09/20/rollercoaster-expert-travels-to-china/ |url-status=dead }} and TLC.
Career
Alvey is best known as a roller coaster reviewer and aficionado. His Theme Park Review website was started in 1996 and became a site for coaster videos, photos, forums, and information about theme parks and roller coasters. As of 2012, the website sees over 2 million visitors a year{{cite news |title=Travel group is on a roll |author=Joshua Adam Hicks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86212167/article-about-robb-alvey/ |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=August 5, 2011 |access-date=December 20, 2012 |via=Newspapers.com}} and has more than 35,000 registered members.{{cite news |title=Roller coaster lovers take a ride at Great Adventure |author=Andrew Martins |url=http://sub.gmnews.com/news/2011-08-25/Front_Page/Roller_coaster_lovers_take_a_ride_at_Great_Adventu.html |newspaper=Suburban |date=August 25, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124201825/http://sub.gmnews.com/news/2011-08-25/Front_Page/Roller_coaster_lovers_take_a_ride_at_Great_Adventu.html |archive-date=January 24, 2013 }} After the popularity of his website increased, a number of people indicated they wished to be involved in his theme park tours, so he began selling tickets for fans to accompany him. These tours were organized by Alvey through his website and span multiple theme parks across the United States and internationally, such as the Middle America Tour in August 2010, where seventeen theme parks were attended over the course of fifteen days,{{cite news |title=A Venomous Debate |author=Lee Filas |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-234428002 |newspaper=Daily Herald |date=August 14, 2010 |access-date=December 20, 2012}} {{subscription required}} and a 40-person world tour that included Aussie World in Australia.{{cite news |title=Ride reviewer on a roll |author=Bianca Clare |url=http://www.mydailynews.com.au/news/ride-reviewer-on-a-roll-sunshine-coast/811855/ |newspaper=Gold Coast Mail |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2012}} He is also a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts organization.{{cite magazine |last=Addson |first=Lisa |date=July 1999 |title=yaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Robb+Alvey&pg=PA99 |magazine=Orange Coast |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=99–103 |access-date=September 29, 2021}}
He has also worked as a video game producer on a number of games including the remake A Boy and His Blob{{cite news |title=Joystiq interview: Majesco, WayForward spill the jelly beans on A Boy and His Blob |author=Jason Dobson |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/20/joystiq-interview-majesco-wayforward-spill-the-jelly-beans-on/ |newspaper=Joystiq |date=March 20, 2009 |access-date=December 21, 2012}} and Call of Duty: United Offensive.{{cite news |title=Call of Duty: United Offensive Interview |author=Staff writer |author-link=Staff writer |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/04/17/call-of-duty-united-offensive-interview |newspaper=IGN |date=April 16, 2004 |access-date=December 21, 2012}} Companies he has worked with include MGM Interactive,{{cite journal |last1=Staff writer |year=1995 |title=Appointments |journal=Animation |pages=17 |publisher=Animation Magazine, Inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzERAQAAMAAJ&q=%22robb+alvey%22 |access-date=January 2, 2013|author1-link= Staff writer}} WayForward Technologies, Take-Two Interactive, and Gray Matter Studios.
He has been featured in the television series Insane Coaster Wars as a roller coaster "expert".{{cite news |title=Best at Twisting and Terrorizing? Audience Decides |author=Mekado Murphy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/arts/television/insane-coaster-wars-arrives-on-the-travel-channel.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1355998624-PKHfT4sThF6aiFWPYCTe/g |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 6, 2012 |access-date=December 20, 2012}}
He currently lives in Orlando, Florida.
Filmography/games
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{cite news |title=Live Active Cultures |first=Seth |last=Kubersky |url=http://orlandoweekly.com/arts/visual/live-active-cultures-1.1470546 |newspaper=Orlando Weekly |date=April 10, 2013 |access-date=April 26, 2013}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://themeparkreview.com}}
- {{IMDb name|0994791|Robb Alvey}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/themeparkreviewTPR Official Youtube Channel]
- [https://www.mobygames.com/developer/robb-alvey/credits/developerId,1771/ Robb Alvey on Moby Games]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvey, Robb}}
Category:Writers from California
Category:American video game producers