Fans speak out passionately on Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom closing

by Mike Schramm Apr 14th 2008 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Virtual worlds, Kids

We reported on the closing of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom the other day, and at the time, it seemed like business as usual -- Disney had created the virtual world for an event, and the event was over, so it was time for the world to close. But the comments thread over on this Virtual Worlds news post about the closing has to be seen to be believed: fans of this place loved it completely and are painfully heartbroken over its closing. There are tons of eloquent, emotional comments lauding VMK for its sense of community, the friends made there, and the opportunity to connect on a virtual level with other people and Disney's attractions when, for various reasons, the same can't be done in real life.

What's most amazing here is that, from these comments, it seems VMK was one of the strongest virtual communities out there. This is why we play these MMO games -- to connect with others online, to experience things that can't be experienced any other way, and to create connections that otherwise wouldn't be there. It's an amazing story -- here's an MMO that worked perfectly in terms of building community and developing social connections between players, and yet Disney chooses to close it down.

There is a petition online, with 11,000 signatures as of this writing, to keep VMK open. Disney has responded to this emotion with a short statement only saying "we hear you," and the game itself is still set to close down as planned on May 21st.

[Via Waxy.org]

Tags: casual, closing, communities, community, connections, disney, emotion, kids, mmo, virtual-magic-kingdom, virtual-worlds, vmk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Penny said on 7:19PM 4-14-2008

Hello, I am writing to show my opposition to Disney’s decision to close the Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK.) I hope to show, through this letter, exactly what VMK means to me, and how VMK has affected my life.

Life doesn’t always deal you a great hand. We’ve all been there, and hopefully learned from our shortfalls and losses. During the ebb and flow, I discovered VMK. VMK has become my “happy place.” I get excited to sign on each day and chat with thousands of other Disney lovers all over the world! We have a common interest in all things Disney. I turn to Disney for my online community, my virtual friends and I share laughter and tears. And I thank Disney for creating this amazing visual interactive site. VMK appeals to almost everyone! If I am not chatting with my friends, I am challenging myself at arcade style games, or expressing myself by creating works of art in my guest rooms. I am an elementary school teacher, and I enjoy “meeting” my students after school for some VMK fun! VMK has brought me closer to my students by creating a connection I could never achieve in the classroom.

ßWithout VMK, I would not have taken advantage of your successful Disney Movie Rewards site. Because of the inclusion of virtual prizes, I have spent nearly $200.00 on Disney DVDs and BluRay discs over the past year. The virtual VMK prizes motivated me to ask friends and family to purchase Disney movies whenever possible!

ßWithout VMK, I would not have planned a family vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. VMK offered in-park quests to explore the Magic Kingdom and earn virtual rewards. My family and I had a blast filling out the quest cards and redeeming our prizes. That vacation cost roughly $2500.00 and could have easily been spent somewhere else.

ßWithout VMK, I would not have ordered Disney Pirate Pin sets. These special pin packs included beautifully created pirate theme pins featuring Disney characters, but also a special code to redeem for VMK virtual prizes. Each pirate pin set cost $15.00, and I have ordered at least five.

ßWithout VMK, I would not have explored your sister site Club Penguin. I choose to pay for this site in order to have access to all of the items available. This pay to play game has cost me nearly $120.00 over the past two years.

ßWithout VMK, I would not have discovered Disney Edition Hyperion Books. I have purchased additional copies to share with family members and students in my classroom. That’s a total of roughly $70.00 in books!

That is nearly $3000.00 spent on Disney trips and merchandise because of VMK!

And I am just one person! I am literally begging you to take my money and NOT close VMK!

Losing VMK on May 21st would be a tremendous blow to your Disney fan base.

Don’t take away our Virtual Magic Kingdom.

Ask the members of VMK… WE WILL PAY TO PLAY VMK!

Give us the option, you won’t be disappointed.

4th Grade Teacher and avid Disney fan

Karen said on 7:30PM 4-14-2008

If anyone had told me 18 months ago that I would be petitioning for an online game to remain open, I would have thought they were out of their minds. I have never been interested in computer games, I am a cross-word puzzle kind of person, but VMK speaks to me as no other game ever has. VMK is more than just playing games, it has become a community, a family that I share my love of Disney Parks with. It truly has become "more than the sum of its parts".

My love for Disney is deep, and although my heart is hurting at the feeling of abandonment by their careless actions in shutting down VMK, I would never punish myself by threatening to cut off my association with them. On the other hand, neither am I willing to accept them mollifying me with promises of a new online game to replace VMK .. my trust in them does not extend that far any more.

Karen said on 3:48AM 4-16-2008

Nothing has hit me harder than the announcement of VMK's closing. It is one of the few things I truly looked forward too during my day. Disney's sudden slamming of the VMK gates make me I feel like I (as well as other players) was a science experiment. Diseny got the stats they wanted, skewed the way they wanted and now I am left bereft in the maze.

Fonna said on 12:17AM 4-17-2008

You know something. I was so shocked and sad when I first heard about VMK closing. A bit of panic even set in. ‘What will I do?’ I wondered. After all I have been playing this game for 3 years. 3YEARS!! Who would ever have thought they could make a commitment to a virtual computer game for that long, let alone stop playing only because you are forced to??
Well a bit of time has passed and I am no longer shocked (albeit still sad inside) I have graduated to ANGER! I am so disgusted with Disney for doing this to me – to us. To ALL of us.
We have longed on to this game, rearranged schedules so we could be on certain times for either – certain Hosts events, new item releases, or just because there is that one particular time of day you can spend with that very special friend you made from across the world! Literally across the world! I have friends from the opposite coast of the US all the way out to the UK, that I have met and come to love as a part of my life. All because of VMK.

Thanks Disney for destroying that for me!

I am ANGRY about losing that special place to share a bit of the ‘magic’ with them
~sitting in the Blue Bayou in the mornings for our coffee talks
~racing down Main Street USA in our virtual cars (yeah the greenest was hardest to get but the pink is so awesome!)
~ floating on a snowflake with your buddy

Thanks Disney for destroying that too!

Why on earth would I ever want to try another Disney game, let alone pay for one, after this fiasco? First of all there is NO game ~ Disney or otherwise, out there today that contains all the elements that VMK offers us. We got to live inside Disney on VMK. We got to be a part of the magic! More than that we were able to create our own Disney magic for ourselves, building our own attractions for our friends to enjoy. All the while walking around in Mickey ears or space suits all day long if we wanted. We were kids here, all of us, as often as we wanted to be.
Well welcome to reality.

Thanks again Disney for destroying that as well!

It’s a slap in the face for all loyal Disney fans that have invested~
• Our time
• Our money
• Our loyalty
• Our emotions

Thanks Disney for pointing out the fact that we are nothing but a number to you.
Years of our lives invested in the Disney magic, planning trips to do the VMK quests in the parks and buying whatever VMK merchandise we could get our hands on, just to have YOU the GREAT DISNEY COMPANY, decide that – “Oh sorry- this 3 years long promotion (oh did we fail to make that part clear) is over now. Thanks for playing, have a good life- BUH BYE!
Thanks for caring that all the people that are unable to get to the parks now lose even the slightest glimpse of the Disney magic they enjoyed.
Thanks for closing the doors on all of the kids that are sick or just unable to make friendships otherwise.
Thanks for taking away the moments all those adults that cherished being able to feel like a kid again.

I am not sure when – if ever, I will be able to visit a Disney Park without that dark cloud of this mess hanging over my head. Certainly won’t be anytime soon as even my desire to be in a Disney park is gone. How will I ever look at Disney the same way again? I am just not sure at this point.

I thought Disney was the place where dreams come true. Well, apparently that is only the case if your dreams are in line with the Disney Company. Otherwise too bad, so sad.

Thanks a lot Disney! Thanks a lot!