Disney Game Kingdom Online Opens Its Doors

Room for Imagination

The Disney Insider: Official Disney e-Newsletter
July 17, 2007

For every kid who's ever dreamed of having a special place of his or her own, with amazing pets, games to explore, and rooms to decorate in any way imaginable, a new kingdom online has opened its doors. A premium online experience, Disney Game Kingdom Online lets subscribers play games – from fast-paced arcade adventures to learning activities – but that's just the beginning. At Disney Game Kingdom Online, a kid's online "room" is truly his or her kingdom.

Producer David Chatfield sums up the Disney Game Kingdom Online philosophy with one phrase: Your world. Your way. "It's eminently customizable in a number of ways. You can change your home page to suit your own tastes and interests," he explains. "There's a variety of themes you can bring to the home page – hero, princess, animal, high-tech. And you can individually change and customize various components. The left side of your screen might be very princessy and the right side might be heroes, and the bottom might be 'The Little Mermaid' and the top might be Cheese." Cheese? Yep, that's one of the options!

David says another thing that sets Disney Game Kingdom Online apart from other online game sites is the Disney touch for storytelling and imagination. "These are magical areas," he explains. "In your virtual house, you start with a single room that you can add stickers to. What's cool about how we've done it is that we have functional stickers. Like the door sticker – you add one, and suddenly you have a new room that's been added to your house. You can add up to nine different doors, so you can have up to 10 rooms in your house. And each room can have different backgrounds. One can be a dungeon, one can be an aquarium, another is outer space, there's the inside of a giant nest. They're very fanciful."

And Guests will never feel lonely in their houses, because they can add some very special companions. "We're really excited about the My Pets application. You can have up to six fantasy pets," says David. "Each pet is a combination of two animals. Just a few of the choices are the Drog (part dragon, part dog) and then there's the Squenguin (part squirrel, part penguin). We have a Yetisaurus (part Yeti, part dinosaur), and a Cabunny that's a cross between a cat and a bunny." Although Disney Game Kingdom Online is really intended to appeal to children, David says that even grown-ups who have visited tend to fall in love with the pets!

To get your cool rooms, accessories, and pets, you'll need to earn money to buy them. But in Disney Game Kingdom Online, you get "paid" to play! Guests earn coins by playing their favorite games, and then go shopping for whatever appeals to them to make their homes even more fun. From music boxes to pet treats, additional rooms to puzzles to play with, kids can add all kinds of updates to keep their online homes fresh and fun.

David sums it up: "The experience is about making it your own." Whether you design a Princess retreat or an ice palace – a dungeon or an interstellar space station – Disney Game Kingdom Online is a place to let your imagination be your guide, and where your only job is to have fun. It's a place that only Disney could create.