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Fans protest end of virtual Disney site in front of Disneyland
May 10th, 2008, 2:13 pm · 46 Comments · posted by Sonya Smith
About a dozen people upset about the scheduled ending of Disney’s VirtualMagicKingdom.com protested Saturday morning in front of the Disneyland entrance.
The social gaming site, launched in 2005 to promote Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, lets players choose and style avatars, chat with other players and play games. It’s set to shut down at 10 p.m. May 21.
“VMK is not just a game; it’s a community,” said Christopher Douglas, the protest’s organizer. “Our real life is in this game.”
Douglas and others stood outside the park’s entry from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday, holding up signs with messages like “The Year of a Million Broken Dreams” and “Disney unplugs over a million kids.”
Douglas, 35, of Trabuco Canyon said he, his wife and two children (ages 5 and 7) have been using VMK for about two years. They have spent about
$1,500 on items such as annual passes to Disneyland, and on promotions to earn in-game credits and items such as hats and pins.
In a statement, Disney officials said the site’s performance exceeded expectations, but the time had come to shut it down. “We plan to offer free online promotions that will continue to engage our parks and resorts guests in new and entertaining ways on the web.”
- Photo by Sonya Smith
Related posts:
- Fans will protest endng of Virtual Magic Kingdom at Disneyland and online
- Fans to protest Virtual Magic Kingdom’s closure at Disneyland Saturday
- Virtual Magic Kingdom will end May 21, frustrating some fans (with poll)
- Virtual Magic Kingdom closure brings out fans
- Save VMK movement now set to music
May 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Disney may want to talk to Coke-Cola about changing something that became part of societies fabric. Coke impacted the whole world. Maybe US consumers don’t carry much wieght.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Get a freaking life.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Our real life in in this game??? That’s pretty sad.
If it’s anything like my ex’s World of Warcrack addiction, I’d say the site closing down is more a blessing than a problem.
Buy a ball and play with your kids outside!!!!!
May 10th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Time to get a life, folks.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
What about all the kids that are in wheel chairs, and in hospitals maybe you should listen to them. this is their life. So if you do not know how much it really means to people then you should not say anything. These kids have looked at VMK as an escape from the things they face everyday. THINK ABOUT THEM. Disney is talking about opening all these new things, and they just can’t keep this game open for these kids. Its just all about money with them, All they keep doing is taking, they never give anything back.
May 10th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I don’t know much about this VMK thing, but as I understand it this was a FREE online game site. The people here had no contract and no sales agreement with Disney. They were just logging on to this free website to play this game, and apparently they were playing a lot.
It’s time to move on folks! Why not go for a ride on Space Mountain or Haunted Mansion or something? Maybe go to the beach? Ride a bike?
There is a long list of troubling things to be upset about in this world. A free video game shutting down after three years is NOT one of those things. And if I were Disney, I would never offer something like this again, lest the “fans” make a scene in front of Disneyland in protest on Saturday mornings. Yikes!
May 10th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Troy they all offered to pay in order to allow their kids to keep the friendships they had built. That was not a valid point.
What an exciting and interesting day at Disneyland. The morning started with a quick mile walk from the hotel to the intersection where we were planned to protest with about a half dozen in tow. Within an hour we decided that we needed to relocate to the Shuttle Entrance where there was more foot traffic and we could relay our message more efficiently.
Once there another dozen Protesters joined the group and we got the attention of Disney security and they sent traffic over the North section of Disneyland to prevent visitors from seeing the protest. They also hung around in plain clothes for some time with different set of them coming out throughout the morning. And of course our last security visitor who come out about 10 minutes to 11:00A at which point we knew why he was there and did not want to give them the benefit of telling us our time was up and concluded the morning with those there at the end signing the banner, giving their hugs and moving on with their day. Press took pictures from across the street and one reporter from the OC Register hung out with us for a while.
The most response we got from what appeared to be a Disney Official was a brief conversation that basically said the exact same thing verbatim about VMK being a promotion. I asked about other games and social networks and got an interesting response that Disney Games are promotional vehicles for merchandising, including Pirates of the Caribbean!
Basically the time we invest in building friendships within these games does not matter to Disney (as we know) and the single purpose of the Communities they create is to sell products and in a year when Pirates of the Caribbean is no longer on DVD that game too will be retired to the back of Disney’s Vaults along with the magical friendships, forever.
This was a quick reminder to an article I wrote some time ago about synchronous vs asynchronous relationships. Both types of relationships do exist and regardless of the medium used to delivery the limited stimuli it is still a building block of “real” relationships.
The problem I had with the recent press coverage is the use of portions of what is said vs the concept of the entire message to make it portray a different picture. By Sonya Smith, OC Register Reporter quoting, “Our real life is in this game” for one is not a correct quote. If certain conversations were taken as such she failed to reference the healthy balance that was clearly mentioned that our family has with school, sports, scouting and the community and was mentioned only to draw a negative response from those that read this article.
Well it is late. I am hoping that someone will send some pictures in and we can share them with everyone. Again thank you all for showing your support.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Some of these comments made me laugh. People commenting on a game they know nothing about. VMK is a non violent online game. The whole family could enjoy it. Living on the East Coast it was a way for me to get the Disney Magic whenever I wanted. Although it was a free game to play I still chose to give people visiting Disney money to buy pins for me or I went out and bought dvds that I wouldn’t of if it wasn’t for this game. So this free game cost me about $250.00 for the 1 1/2 years my family has been playing. I’m not complaining about that it was my choice. We even sent emails saying that we would pay to play this game but doesn’t look like they care. Everyone has lives outside of VMK, kids come on telling us how good they did in school or baseball games etc. It is a great place to go when you needed cheering up. I will always remember the friends I made in this wonderful place. I wish more people had known about VMK you would of enjoyed it. It was a great place to go after a rough day in the real world. Oh by the way in the winter here when it was dark by 5:00 and cold out it was a fun thing to do. My kids aren’t allowed out after dark and when it’s too cold they aren’t going out either so it was a fun and safe way to be entertained. Now the word Disney no longer brings a smile to my face not just because they are closing VMK but the fact that most of us didn’t know it was only for the 50th celebration (they could of mentioned that) they kept telling us everything was ok and VMK was going strong. It really saddens me that Disney would do this to my family and many other families.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
When you registered to play the game you probably agreed to some terms of service agreement stating that Disney could end the game and/or the promotion at any time for any reason.
It’s cool to say that it sucks that Disney is shutting down the game, but to protest on the street? I wouldn’t protest even if they announced they were closing down the real Disneyland!
Not a single person who drove by Harbor Blvd. that day cared about anything you had to say. Take the appalling amount of money you spent in connection with or because of this FREE promotional game and use it to, gasp, go to the real Disneyland.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:30 am
First of all, the comment about their real life being in VMK was taken out of context. As are most reporters’ quotes.
Second of all, the protest wasn’t to get the attention of those driving down Harbor Blvd. The people driving down Harbor Blvd. aren’t the ones who decide whether the game stays open or not. It was to get the attention of Disney, and it served its purpose.
Third of all, can we please get past the “free game” aspect of it? Nothing is free, and most VMK players would be willing to pay a subscription to keep playing. If you’ve never played it before, you really have no idea. And until you’ve held a son or daughter who was crying themselves to sleep because they were going to lose all of the friends on their friends list with no way to contact them again in another venue, or because they were losing a cherished item (virtual, yes, but probably more cherished than a lot of their real toys) that was given to them by one of the game staff whom they adore, you really have no right to say anything about how important this should or shouldn’t be to people.
I have far more respect for those who will take the trouble and who feel strongly enough to actively protest or support ANYTHING than those who do not, whether or not I personally agree with the stand that they’re taking. How about if those of you who say that the protesters should “get a life” get off your own computers, stop hiding behind semi-anonymous comments to criticize complete strangers whose situations you know nothing of, and go get involved in something that matters to you? As I understand it, they weren’t on their computers at the time. They were outside. And you were inside typing insults on your keyboard.
Hmm.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:21 am
This protest was ridiculous. I’ve been a VMK player since day one, and I’ll miss it, but it’s not the end of the world.
In a day and age when we are a country in the midst of a long term war, homes are being foreclosed upon, and gas prices are through the roof, there are far more important things to worry about than than a FREE online game shutting it’s doors.
Also, I’d like to see the figures where these protestors came up with Disney unplugging over a million kids. Even though millions of avatars were created while the game was alive. many players have 10, 20, 30, or over 100 avatars. Considering the most players that were ever online playing at the same time were around 8000, I’d say at most there are 50,000 active players right now.
So don’t make it sound like Disney crushed millions of dreams. The fact that only 12 players showed up for this protest should show you just how many people care about VMK closing. I’m sure there are lots of players within an hours drive of Disneyland, and the fact that only 12 showed up shows you just how small this community is.
The number of players playing VMK at any given time is about half of what it was before VMK announced the closing, so many players have already moved on, and realize that VMK is only a small part of life.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:56 am
VMK is a cut above most online games in that it appeals to all ages. Entire families enjoyed playing together. While it is true that families can interact in “real” life, what about the grandparents who live on another coast or children with divorced parents who don’t see the parent that lives three states away very often? With VMK, these separated families were able to engage every day. While Disney has several online games, none appeal across the board as this one did. Also, VMK is not a static, reactive game where players passively follow set game sequences. It supported creative use of items in the game. For example, a child could take furniture crates and make pirate ships, or black cats, or duplicate a favorite Disney ride. Education and software companies spend millions trying to make their games reactive for their players. Disney accomplished it so the closing of the game is a shameful waste of creativity for its players.
As to protesting on the street? Why not? We do have the Constitutional right for peaceful demonstation for anything that matters to us. If you are not interested, that’s okay. But don’t judge those that feel strongly enough about something to take the time to make a statement.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:20 am
What I don’t understand is why people paid so much money to gain virtual items!! Some people must have more money than sense. You knew when you were spending the money, that all you were going to get was a bunch of pixels!
To spend that about of money to show off virutal items, in a virtual world, would make me think that there is really something lacking in your life.
And, yes, I have played the game, I’ve played for 2 1/2 years (mainly to play with my kids and younger family members). I’m not even bothered that it’s closing, to be honest, and there’s plenty more online games out there. Infact, I’m kinda glad that it is closing, as I hate the attitude displayed by a lot of people in the game, i.e. I have lots of ‘rare’ items, therefore I’m better than you. This is not a good message to be sending out to kids. And, a lot of the time it’s not just the kids who are displaying that attitude, the adults can be even worse.
Yes, it’s sad for the kids, especially sick, disabled, housebound etc kids, who for them, it probably is a big part of their life. But, for all the adults who say they have cried, spent a lot of money, organise silly little virtual protests in the game, I’d say go and get a real life!
May 12th, 2008 at 7:35 am
VMK game may not bring people outside but so what. Any game or TV is bad so who cares? People may not give into the game but can’t you guys just respect the people who do play it? There are thousands of little children, playing this game..sure there are the elder and some more in the middle but there are children, and can you tell some random kid in the game to get a life because they play too much and it’s wrong that they protest? The idea of protesting for a game may seem a bit stupid to some but look it’s for the little kids and for all of us who enjoy it. And for those that have said to take your kids outside and play instead of the computer, why don’t you take your kids away from your computer and TV as well and take them to a park or something. Sure in a way the game closing is good in that perspective, but the bigger perspective for us is losing our friends. Going on there when we’re stuck in our rooms, grounded, and hanging out with friends from the game or real life. Sure we have AIM and all, but a parent is not going to allow their ten year old or daughter chat. Maybe some do, but the majority doesn’t.
So don’t tell us to get a life, why don’t you go back to your TV addictions or reading addictions being a workaholic or something. If you can’t respect what other people do, then turn around and find something else to respect. Or you can keep hatin on others.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I think that a few of the comments made by the protestors were taken out of context.
VMK is not everything about our lives. There are so many families that log into VMK. Many on a daily basis. Others log on only once a week. I do mean actual, full families. Mom, Dad, all the kids from 3 years on up, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles are all playing.
Most of these people have full lives. Adults have full time jobs and kids go to school and have extracurricular activities. I even remember one kid talking about how he made Eagle Scout.
But, VMK is a place where a person can always log on and find a friend to talk with or play with and wind down. It’s generally a stress free place for all to come and enjoy.
There are also a lot of adults and kids that log in to our community who are home-bound or hospital-bound. Meaning, they can’t get out to enjoy life outside of the place they are in. There are a lot of people that have various illnesses and/or disabilities.
Some have used VMK to be able to temporarily get away from life’s difficulties. Friends that have been formed within VMK can be very strong.
And, due to the rules of no personal information allowed and no outside sites mentioned in VMK, these friendships will be permanently lost. Forever.
I think some people (all these critics here) really need to take a look at all the forums dedicated to VMK and read some of the letters to Disney that have been posted. Many are truly heartbreaking. And these are only the few players that belong to a forum. Most players do not.
When I read things like the following:
“It’s about 4am now…3 hours after VMK closed for the night. I just checked in on my daughter (MonkeyRulz on VMK) who was still awake. She was crying…crying because we just found out that VMK was going to close. The thought of her losing all of her VMK friends was just too much for her to bear. No one thinks that children have much stress in their lives, but they do. Last summer she had surgery to remove a soft tissue mass on her thumb. Through the tears and the pain, she still was able to type to friends far and near in her virtual Magic Kingdom. This is what saved both of our sanities during this time. Her VMK friends was who she counted on while she was lying on the couch only able to use one hand to type. Her VMK friends was what made her forget her pain. ”
or
“Many of us dream of being a cast member (to work for Disney) to be a part of the magic; that Disney creates. Well reality for most; it is just not possible.
In VMK we get to live out that dream. We could be virtual Disney ambassadors. What do I love about VMK? It not the things, not the games not even building rooms. But all those things are a means to do what I enjoy the most. Spreading pixie dust. Maybe I have had the most aweful day and going on VMK helping another always lifts my spirit. Gifting new guests with a real Mickey hat or a princess crown helping a person build a room, or show them around the Magic Kingdom and all it has to offer.”
Or
“VMK also keeps me immersed in “all things Disney.” We love the family-friendly aspect of it…in fact my husband, me, and my 11 year old and 14 year old all played the game. But now it will be gone.”
Or
“Six months after … started playing VMK he was diagnosed with cancer. A shocking blow to any family made worst it being a child. I found my strength to get him through this, and then an amazing thing happened. Thanks to the spirit of Disney he took refuge in his Kingdom. In VMK he was not sick. He was a normal kid that still had hair and he had many friends. He had a support team in this community that was not available elsewhere. Cancer scares many people and our family pulled back-offering no support or visits. Here in VMK … and I have a community of amazing friends. They talked, listened, comforted us, prayed for us and sent mountains of pixie dust our way.”
Or
“If nothing above moves you to feel that this human interest story is anything more than the closing of yet another online game, allow me to leave you with a direct quote of an entry from the online journal of an 11 year old VMK player has Spinal Muscular Atrophy which controls voluntary movements, such as crawling, walking, swallowing and breathing:
“My favorite web site, Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) is closing May 21st. I’m sad and MAD! I can’t live without my friends on VMK. PLEASE sign my guestbook like a petition to SAVE VMK for me and my friends. Pass my site on to everyone you know so they can help too. I love VMK cause I can WALK, TALK, EAT, DANCE, SHOP and play checkers all by myself.
PLEASE HELP ME!
Love,
Madison
p.s. VMK is GERM FREE too!
p.s.s. and no one stares at me there.”
I have seen the pleading of parents and children alike to keep VMK open. Most of us have even begged Disney to allow us to give them money to keep it open.
Also, from what I heard, there were quite a few people that drove by the protest and asked about VMK or gave their own support to the protestors. I salute the protestors for standing up for what they believe in and I would have been there in an instant if I could have flown out there.
As for people that spent money on VMK, many of them did go to Disneyland or Disney World because VMK enticed them to go.
If a person wouldn’t want to protest VMK closing or even if Disneyland or WDW were closing, that’s their perogative. And it means that those things truly mean little to them.
VMK “players” are not a promotion. We are a Community.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Oh my god. What a pack of losers. Tell you folks what. Go outside and spend time with your kids. Go to the beach. Go boating. Spend $1500 on something other than to make this major rip off corporation that much richer. Take your computers and throw them away and do something else if this is what it drives you to doing.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:10 am
It’s easy to tell people to “get a life” if you are not familiar with the game. All of us VMK players were brought together by our love of Disney parks. I logged into VMK nearly 3 years ago and never expected to find the magic I discovered. This “game” is truly a community of friends and family. Because of that, there is no other “game” like it around. With all of the troubles you hear about stemming from online games and websites, VMK was safe for the ENTIRE family. Everyone from Grandma down to preschool could enjoy this place. When you look up “Disney Magic”, there should be a picture of VMK. I will miss this place dearly.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Well, why can’t some of those insulting people throw out their own computers and get a life?
No. They have to spend their lives on the computer insulting others for standing up for what they believe in.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:03 am
First let me just say I have played VMK since beta. While it is sad that it is going and I understand that there are those that have kids with whatever health issues and such that it is hard on them to have this end. I’m sorry but it is almost at this point as if alot of adults are using those issues to try to keep this game going more for themselves then the kids. Plus you can’t tell me all the kids that played VMK had health issues or something wrong with them in some way cause I know my kids don’t. I wonder what the numbers are for adults playing compared to kids. BUT anyway, it was a free game and even if it wans’t and was a pay it could have been pulled. As was said the number of players in VMK is not the true number. It was easy for any player to go in and make as many “mules” (as VMK players called them) for the game. I had 2 myself. So if the game was to become a pay to play Disney still wouldn’t make enough money to bother with it after knocking down the number of all the players mules cause who is really going to pay for all those when some did have 20 or more? And honestly the game has been declining over the last year and a half. Moderators were NOT doing there job when they should have been. There were kids left and right asking if someone was taken or not and wanted to be boyfriend/girlfriend (which they never knew who was on the other computer or their age), fighting over virtual boys/girls, tons of dictionary dancing with giving personal info out that should NOT have been especially when you have no clue who you are really giving it too, and calling others names like ugly and some really not so nice words. While yes there were those that did not do it but alot of times those that ended up banned from the game for a time were ones that did nothing. Server(s) were junk obviously. Oh and lets not forget about those that would easily scam someone from their virtual items. Which was nuts and got out of control more and more over the years. And sorry but VMK is NOT a cut above most online games for families to play. There are many other games out there if you look that you can play as a family and tons of online games that are a cut above what VMK is and much safer for your kids to be on cause they aren’t asked for personal info or bothered with the whole “please be my boyfriend/girlfriend” junk or scammed. And for the person that said VMK was a non-violent game, well there were plenty of those that dictionary danced words to turn it that way at times. Ones that decided to put little “gangs” together or “armies”. Oh and I guess shooting cannons at a pirate ship isn’t violent, huh? Which I won’t even get into how many players acted with that mini game in VMK and most being adults which was just sad.
If some people put this much focus and energy into things that actually mattered like poverty, homelessness, disease, war, intolerance, well then maybe the world would probably be in a lot better shape.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I am laughing so hard right now at all the jerks who posted for VMKers to get a life yet they have nothing better to do than tell others how to live their lives and post to this board about going outside etc.
I think you need to get a life, stop telling others how to live theirs.
It is really none of your concern what people do with their free time and if all you have to do is troll the internet and post rude comments to others then your life must be sad and pathetic.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I play the game and the thing I will miss most are the friendships of People that I cannot find outside the game.
IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY AS WE HAVE OFFERED TO PAY and so had countless others. Money cannot replace the friendships that Disney is destroying by closing the game and cutting those friendships apart.
VMK is so safe that players cannot exchange personal information (email, phone or addresses) and once the game ends so do these friendships, forever.
I respect all those that stand up for their friends rather online or offline. The value of friends cannot be defined by how they exist. I totally support those that take a stance and help save a community.
Regardless of the outcome of their protest one thing is for sure to be gained from this experience with Disney. Do not trust any online game of Disney as they are all promotional and they clearly feel so are the friendships between people.
Sorry Disney there is nothing Magical about intentionally destroying the friendships between kids/people. Thanks a Million!
May 12th, 2008 at 11:44 am
All of you who are telling VMK players to get a life and go outside, aren’t you actually inside on the computer right now? Hmm…
Anyway, VMK has been a huge part of my life. It’s the only way for me to really get that magical feeling of being in Disney while I’m at home, far away from any of the parks. True, my life won’t end if the game closes, but there will be a lot missing from it. The friends that I’ve made on the game are more than just avatars on the screen, they are real people somewhere and I will miss them terribly.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
To Spokker, who said “I wouldn’t protest even if they announced they were closing down the real Disneyland!”
… I say “Really? How sad
If we are not willing to fight for those things that represent freedom to us, then we might as well all move south to Cuba!”
I am grateful to these dozen people, who represented so many of us in the VMK world who could not be there.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
ALL YOU PEOPLE NEED TO GET A LIFE. STOP COMPLAINING, IT’S A GAME, AND DISNEY IS DOING YOU GOOD BY GIVING YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET A LIFE.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I hope those kids get real friends, VMK friends aren’t real.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Sure slinkyman had cancer but instead of keeping that private and out of his VMK life, he chose to tell everyone in VMK. Not so much of an escape?
May 12th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
To Jason P: I THINK YOU MUST NOT HAVE A LIFE OF YOUR OWN BECAUSE YOU TROLL AROUND THE INTERNET TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE THEIR OWN LIVES.
To Kristin: according to Dictionary.com:
[b]friend[/b]
–noun 1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.
5. (initial capital letter) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.
–verb (used with object) 6. Rare. to befriend.
—Idiom7. make friends with, to enter into friendly relations with; become a friend to.
This sounds like VMK friends are real friends. There are real people behind those avatars.
If you don’t think so, then I guess must not be a real person.
You sound like you have a real disconnect with people.
I won’t comment on Slinkyman myself. I’ll leave that for his mother.
But it must take a heck of a “nice” person to practically attack children.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
“Kristin Says:
I hope those kids get real friends, VMK friends aren’t real.”
But they are. They’re real people you are talking to. I’ve established contact with several outside the game and have made great friends because of this. I almost got to meet another on a trip to WDW.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
May 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm, Kristin Says:
I hope those kids get real friends, VMK friends aren’t real.
That is the same as saying you are not real and this discussion is not real. Please think before you make comments. Do a little research on synchronous vs asynchronous friendships and conversations.
I am confused about your comment on slinkyman what importance does it present that he was a Make a Wish Kid who had his dream come true to meet the game producer, Seth. That completely voids your argument that these people are not real and cannot have real feelings, friendships and Community regardless of it being online or offline.
Jason, yes it is a game and we do not care about that what we care about is the friendships our kids established in this Community that Disney is destroying.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
“Shell Says:
If some people put this much focus and energy into things that actually mattered like poverty, homelessness, disease, war, intolerance, well then maybe the world would probably be in a lot better shape.”
People put WAY WAY more effort into these things, and I don’t know if you realize this, but they are quite a bit harder to solve.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I used to play VMK a bit here and there. What I don’t understand about this is: why not just go pay to play Toontown? It seems just as friendly, has been around for quite a few years (one of Disney’s first forays into MMOG), and satisfies the pay-to-play thing. Is it VMK? No. Is it a lot like VMK? Maybe. But when people are saying that the most important thing is the friendships that they and their children have with others, why does it have to be VMK directly? I know VMK is restrictive about personal information, but why not just move on to another game (Neopets, Toontown, Club Penguin, etc.) and keep your username. I’m sure these and other games are already amassing groups of ex-VMKers.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
“Shane Says:
I used to play VMK a bit here and there. What I don’t understand about this is: why not just go pay to play Toontown? It seems just as friendly, has been around for quite a few years (one of Disney’s first forays into MMOG), and satisfies the pay-to-play thing. Is it VMK? No. Is it a lot like VMK? Maybe. But when people are saying that the most important thing is the friendships that they and their children have with others, why does it have to be VMK directly? I know VMK is restrictive about personal information, but why not just move on to another game (Neopets, Toontown, Club Penguin, etc.) and keep your username. I’m sure these and other games are already amassing groups of ex-VMKers.”
I used to, but with how little money we have left after gas, we can’t pay for it anymore. And many people don’t like the game because of how tuned to little kids it feels.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
May 12th, 2008 at 3:28 pm, Shane Says:
“I know VMK is restrictive about personal information, but why not just move on to another game (Neopets, Toontown, Club Penguin, etc.) and keep your username”
Thank you for the value-added content to the discussion and for understanding that these are friendships that are being destroyed. My sons play baseball and they have great friends and they have a common interest they enjoy.
They also have their VMK friends where they share the same common interest. Friendships generally involve some sort of shared likes and for VMK Friends it is the game VMK.
True moving on to another game with the same screen name is a wonderful solution and it will work for a few of these kids. A good solution to these friends is for Disney to have a universal friends list database where your friends from one Community can still remain on your list within another Community (such as POTC, ToonTown and so forth). However, Disney is not offering this as a solution.
Now the question might be ask upon Disney if they have a way in the next 9 days to keep these friendships together throughout their various games? They already use the same registration database (meaning my same username and password connects me to any of their games).
Thank you for adding this to the discussion and until Disney tells us otherwise Friendships will still be lost, forever.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Just picking up on a few things ,firstly if you do not play this game and therefor do not understand the united feeling of a community it gives you,then you should not be rude about the game or the people who play it.
As for people saying get a life and go to the real park,this game is played all over the world, i myself live in England ,so i can not just pop to the park.
All sorts of people play the game ,it does not matter if you are old or young, black or white, christian or muslim, ablebodied or disabled.
You can play the game and be what you want to be and nobody will know .
Disney has gone down in my opinion and seem to have used this game and the game players .
Lastly please do not knock what you do not understand, and thanks to all the people who tried to make a stand for the rest of us.
THANK YOU
May 13th, 2008 at 4:47 am
http://web.archive.org/web/20050406220330/disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/special/vmk/index?VMKSplashPage
Just a little FYI from a beta player. If you go to the above link you will see that nowhere in the original advertisement for VMK does it say it is promotional and to be short lived.
Playing a game for 3 years - whether it be for an hour or two a week or a a few hours a day, you become very attached and to have it yanked out from under you without a viable alternative is very difficult to accept.
Currently the only suggestions from Disney are to go to their pay to play sites - which for some people is not feasible - especially given this current economy - BUT also because they in no way compare in the gaming experience. Its a token suggestion from DIG to try to save face and not look like they are the bad guys.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:22 am
OK Everyone, I’ve been on VMK since beta. While I support the decision to protest VMK’s Closure, I really think people should give up on the save vmk effort and spend time on VMK while you can. It’ll be gone on May 21st, only 8 short days away, so cherish the memories and move on to bigger and better things. While I know many people have an emotional attachment to the game, I used to as well. I have rather severe depression, and VMK was an outlet to be happy and see friends. If you really care about VMK, you’ll respect the decision to close it and move to the knock off that someone came up with.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Donna, you’re right that it does not say that VMK is only a promotion, but it also doesn’t say that VMK will be around permanently. Disney has the ability to pull the plug on any of it’s gaming sites at any time, and is under no obligation to the fans of that game to keep a free game going indefinitely, nor do they have an obligation to switch it to a pay to play game. They don’t even have to keep pay to play sites open as long as they refund patrons any prepaid fees.
There are other viable options out there. The other Disney sites mentioned all have free options. You just get access to more things when you pay to play. Just because you don’t like the other options out there, doesn’t mean that they aren’t viable options.
And Disney is affected by the current economy as well. They have to cut back since their revenues will probably decrease as well, and the first thing they have to cut back on are things that aren’t profitable. I know Disney had bigger profits last quarter, but the economy has changed a lot since then, and they are going to see lower numbers in the current quarter.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Joe good input; however, it is not about the sites being free or switching to pay to play. We have all taken the financial aspects of this out of the equation.
The underline issue is that Disney allowed our kids to build friends through a common interest and these friendships will be lost at the hands of Disney, forever.
The only reasonable solution that Disney needs to do is make a centralized database, as they already have for all their games, that allows these kids to remain friends regardless of which Community (game/environment) they join. They has 8 days to complete this project or be solely responsible for destroying a community, forever.
The value of friendships, regardless of them being online or on the ball field are real and to me and our family, priceless.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
VMK was a fad. things come and go all the time. soon, something better will come along and most people will forget all about VMK. i dont remember getting upset when Pogs or pokemon cards went away…
Why dont we spend less time protesting about a free promotional game and START protesting about high gas prices and food prices!
May 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
auztnpowers you are welcome to pick up a protest sign on gas prices.
Pogs and Pokemon cards are not a social community based network of People so your reference does not hold that much weight.
Thanks for reading the article though.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
For one thing I have played this game since June/July of ‘06 and I have been hugely impacted by it. I get on WoW one day, IT SUCKS. You want to know why? Because I couldn’t create my own room. This is the funnest and most friendly MMO I have ever played.
Also, as with any News source, they picked the biggest fans of it possible, and portray us all as addicted as them. Not all of us, or even most of us, are like that. I may have played this game for more than 1500 hours in all likelyhood, but I have never been more proud of a Game; Having friendly staff, host, and players, and a few idiots in the Sci-Fi Dine In who need to get a date in real life. This is the kind of game I will remember not for how much rare or how high off a level i was, but for my friends.
To those previous comment saying they are happy its closing, you need help. You are happy about over 65,000 active players and over 500,000 semi-active players being cut off from a phenominal family friendly game.
As for the comments about the people who are cruel about how rich they are, I dont see any other game you can enter and not be called a n00B.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
You know what’s funny? All of these VMK addicts who were out picketing Disneyland will still use and purchase thousands of dollars of merchandise from Disney.
They claim to be mad at Disney for cutting out their childrens hearts, and they’ll mount a pathetic one dozen strong protest on Harbor Blvd., and yet they’ll go right back to the trough and buy the Disneyland Annual Passports and the latest Disney DVD at Target and the Prince Caspian Bedroom Set and the 40 dollar light saber in the Tomorrowland gift shop.
There is along list of healthier activities they could be getting their children involved in, especially here in gorgeous Southern California. And yet they’ll carefully put their SAVE VMK protest signs in the closet as a souvenir before shelling out more money for Disney branded entertainment. Just like with SunCal and the Anaheim City Council, Disney always gets the last laugh. Especially with folks like these VMK protesters. Disney always wins.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
“… I say “Really? How sad
If we are not willing to fight for those things that represent freedom to us, then we might as well all move south to Cuba!””
I really wouldn’t protest anything at Disneyland. All that’s going to happen is that Darkbeer is going to take a picture of you and you’ll look stupid.
Well, maybe I’ll protest. Where’s my fake white beard and sunglasses?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Forgot about the pin trading! The VMK gang hounding the poor kids working Innoventions usually had lots of pin lanyards on. PINS! VIRTUAL MERCHANDISE!
A loving community built around trading pins and buying virtual furniture on a promotional website. And all of it with that little “Copyright Disney” logo in the bottom corner, with all the profits sent in armored trucks up to Disney headquarters in Burbank every night.
The VMK crowd is so mad at Disney, they’ll cut back their spending to only 5,000 dollars worth of Disney branded junk this year. That’ll show ‘em! Send over another superfreighter from China please! The Star Trader needs to be restocked!
May 14th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
well I have been reading all this stuff and all i can say is that I for one will miss vmk It has helped me through a very bad sickness and I have made made lots of lifelong friendships. I have played vmk since it was 2 weeks old. It is a community that will be missed. I do have a life outside of vmk but here in vmk I am healthy and have a support system. How wrong for you to mention slinkyman he is not of your concern. Yes there are many on here who are adults and grandparents but this is how we get to communicate to each other since our children play on here. We have made a family here in vmk. I will go to Disneyland still and I will still buy disney products but that is not the question here. This is about a game that many people play and have come to depend on, It brings together a community I agree there are things on there that are not good but that is life and for the most part vmk staff handles it. We share our happiness and sadness with each other. This will be missed. I starsnowgirl will miss vmk and am sorry I could not be there to walk with my friends.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
i dont understand you people when you say get a life.
you do not know what its like to have something you love scatttered.
if you were a player like i am then you would know.
we are fighting for something we love,
we are a vmk community.
enough said