8/6/07 Yavn Speaks

[WDWfanatic742]

8/06 – This week Yavn's got hot info on VMK's newest game, plus important news about VMK Central at Walt Disney World. It's Tiki Month in VMK now let's "talk Tiki!" Wake up, Yavn – it's showtime!

Ahhh! Buenos dias VMK'ers and welcome to another edition of Yavn Speaks! Hope you're all having a good summer, there's lots to talk about this week, so let's dig in!

Your Attention Please…

First up, I have an important announcement I need to get out of the way… there's really no easy way to say this, so here goes – on September 30th we're closing VMK Central at Walt Disney World. Now hold on, before you get upset and start sending hate mail, let me explain why this is happening…

As time has gone by, we've changed the way Quest, rewards and other parts of VMK work. The game, very much like our theme parks, is always changing. We've always tried to experiment with unique ways of doing things, like in-Park Questing, and we'll continue to do that (for example, we'll still be doing cool stuff in the Parks, like the merchandise cards and the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage Quest) - but those things won't revolve just around VMK Central. Just because VMK Central is closing doesn't mean the game is going away. VMK is going stronger than ever and we've got some very cool announcements (including one I'm making today) about how VMK will get even better. Yes, I know you'll miss Questing in the real Magic Kingdom, but like I said, this is part of a much larger plan for cooler VMK stuff.

So there you have it, sad news sort of, but you have plenty of time to complete those in-Park Quest. Just remember VMK Central in the Cinema on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom will stop accepting Quest and giving out rewards after September 30th, 2007! Okay, so now that I've taken care of the "elephant in the room" (hey, it must have escaped from the Jungle Cruise) let's talk about some really cool stuff on the VMK horizon.

Thanksgiving in September!

You spoke (boy, did you ever) and we listened. By overwhelming popular demand the next item in the snack cart series is, drum roll please& the brand new Turkey Leg Cart!

It's the snack that eats like a meal!

Of course the next question you have is "When can I get one???" All I can say about that is early September. Sure, we should wait until Thanksgiving to release it but who wants to wait that long?

It's the NEW Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Shirt

Speaking of new items, we've got plenty more on the way – like the new Hawaiian Aloha Shirt – it'll look great with that new Cowboy Surf hat, you'll be able to pick up both of these in the Emporium and then be ready to hit Typhoon Lagoon in style!

Aloha, cowboy!

Surfing isn't your cup o' tea? Then how about some baseball? Just in case you missed them last year, America's pastime returns to VMK, with hat, shirt, pants and shoes – and a stadium room batting clean up! Look for all these items in our VMK shops before September.

Game On!

Remember last month when I promised you the lowdown on a cool new VMK game? Well, now it's time to pull back the curtain on that game and reveal the latest and greatest from VMK Labs. Today I'm proud to announce the VMK Trading Card Game!

Here's a sneak peek at the brand new VMK Trading Card Game!

The best way to describe the game is as a mix between the card games Trumps and War. It's an awesome game that's a lot of fun. This month we'll be releasing a preview version of the game that will teach you the basics of how to play, then over the next few months we'll be adding some more functionality to the game and rolling out more advanced rules. Oh and before you ask, there are some NEW items we created to go along with the VMK Trading Card Game&.but that's for another column…

More News on the Way!

Alright, that should wrap it up for now, hopefully you're still with me and not too upset about the news. Again, remember what I said and don't think of this as the end of an era, but the beginning of something just as incredible. The new items I've mentioned above like the snack cart series, the Trading Card Game, there's lots of great VMK stuff on the way!

Oh, almost forgot to mention, remember our Mickey rewards? We have a few items that were originally going to be released as Quest prizes. What should we do with them now? Do you think they should be sold/rewarded in-game? Or saved for something special, like say, an in-Park event??? Hmmm… Cast your vote and let us know.

Okay, so I have to get back to playing the VMK TCG and testing all the other cool stuff we have in the works. I'm so excited, I want to tell you about – oops, sorry, that will have to wait until next time! But keep checking back here for the latest VMK news because there's some really awesome things on the way!

See you in VMK,
Yavn

[WDWfanatic742]

Finally done formating and actually was the first one to post the thread in awhile

• Seems to be whenever he can crank out a new newsletter he will put one out. If it's still him making them.
• It was a matter of time before VMK Central at Magic Kingdom was going to go. Since Disneyland's went there was no way that ours would be there much longer.
• Turkey Legs ... Must try those on my next trip.
• Hawaiian Shirts are pretty cool
• New game called Trading Card Game. Must come up with a better name than that. He describes it as Trumps and War combined. Never heard of Trumps before in my child lifetime. War is a definite child past time.

[TinkRocks]

Shoot - I wasn't planning on going into MK until Oct 14!!!!!!

I'll have to find a way to get there if I can.

[RicksCafe]

I am so stoked about that new red Hawaiian shirt. For those that know my real-life fashion taste... you know I wear my red Hawaiian shirt as often as I can. And then there is that time I walked out of my office and... surprise! There was a semi-formal event going on... yup, and me with red Hawaiian shirt on. (Extend thumb and forefinger... place against head.)

Arg... green Mickey shirt... red Hawaiian shirt... green Mickey shirt... red Hawaiian shirt. What will I do....?

Ricks (who needs couture counseling...now more than ever)

[WDWfanatic742]

I still have two theme parks and one water park left on my ticket. The times that we would be able to go is either next month and hopefully it cools off a little bit, or early Decemeber a couple days before our tickets run out. Might be the last time in awhile to get the cards in the park.

[PinkJJ]

Well, I was all excited when I heard about the Hawaiian Shirt. Then I saw the picture of the moo moo.

Now, a grass skirt would have been fun!

[Jeremy]

i like the Hawaiian Shirt its is cool.
cant wait to get it.

yeah the moo moo looks like Mrs. Roper. haha

[varcity]

Ok, well, thinking trades, if the LE mickey series cards are park exclusive, massive trade value. If sold in game, no value. What ta do what ta do.

Hurray turkey leg.

The game..? hmm, well if you win vmk stuff and allow it to be multiplayer AFTER hours, awesome. if only played during hours, boo. more comments when its "beta" form is out

Well, I'd love to start a "yay it's now fair WDW has no VMK central" but opt out of that. Instead, I skip this section completly and return to trade boards

[Patricia]

Hmm.. we already knew that the VMK kiosks were being moved to the Space Mountain arcade in WDW(or was that only me that knew?)

Word leaked out back in July that the WDW VMK Central was slated to close and they are moving the King's Gallery onto Main Street.. King's Gallery was supposed to be turning into a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.. unless that plan has been altered.

I'd have rather had a grass skirt as well but I love the boy's shirt. So cute.

[TinkRocks]

Something to think about -

If VMK went with a grass skirt, wouldn't they have to make our characters' heads bobble?

[chrisb26]

Finally done formating and actually was the first one to post the thread in awhile

Well lucky for you I was yesterday and actually am still today so when you posted this I was probably

Hmm.. we already knew that the VMK kiosks were being moved to the Space Mountain arcade in WDW(or was that only me that knew?)

Word leaked out back in July that the WDW VMK Central was slated to close and they are moving the King's Gallery onto Main Street.. King's Gallery was supposed to be turning into a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.. unless that plan has been altered.

I had also heard about this but didn't realize it would also mean the end of WDW in the park questing as well Which really does stink cause I was hoping to be able to get at least one more set of quests done in October when I went as well as getting that next mickey item which I believe was going to be the chair.

The game looks intresting to me I was really hoping for something better like more interactive rather then a card game. Yavn said it was a mix of Trumps and War. Now I also had never heard of Trumps before so I looked it up and it appears to be very simular to the game War only in this game it is more complex and would use it would seem maybe trading cards. So like if you used baseball cards you would pick the card on the top of the deck. Then choose a category like Home Runs maybe and then put the card down. The other players would also put the cards down and the person who's card had the highest number of home runs would win the round and take the cards. So really it is an enhanced version of the game War. I am glad that you do get to actually win prizes from this game and I hope they are good items and that they are not to difficult to win.

The new Hawaiian shirt does look cool I will like it for sure alot better then these Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon outfits they released last month. As some have said Girl's "Moo Moo" it will be interesting to see if it is one or two parts the way it looks it looks to be only one part however I think it will be two which would mean girls would have to pay for both while the boys would only have to pay for the shirt!

I like the look of the Turkey cart however like the other carts I doubt it does anything which does dissapoint me a bit. But I guess in the future they could always make it do something. Look at the Tiki Torch it didn't do anything until a couple months ago and that was around for a very long time.

Finally I'm glad that he didn't wait a month to update the newsletter again hopefully he will start to update it more often. I do think it is him writing them also I heard on another site that Yavn has an account on that he was the person writing them except that he got a new editer so that is why the newsletter might have seemed different.

[Patricia]

If VMK went with a grass skirt, wouldn't they have to make our characters' heads bobble?



It's a good thing Yavn got himself an editor. I could seriously use and editor.. any takers for this huge job?

[TinkRocks]

It's a good thing Yavn got himself an editor. I could seriously use and editor.. any takers for this huge job?

As your potential editor, would I be able to accompany you on your frequent Disney trips?

[terri.m]

If VMK went with a grass skirt, wouldn't they have to make our characters' heads bobble?



It's a good thing Yavn got himself an editor. I could seriously use and editor.. any takers for this huge job?

don't you mean AN editor?? Does that mean I get the job???

[varcity]

don't you mean AN editor?? Does that mean I get the job???

just make the realization that I skipped making fun of you this time. Being nice now my b-day is coming

[LittleDragonErin]

The trading card game sounds interesting. Wondering if they're doing this to appeal to the target age group which is still into those. That's probably a big part of why many got into it in the parks, for the cards. I'm just very very curious as to what's on the cards (the pictures he show look quite interesting but I don't really want to speculate on what some of them are), and how the value system works.

The MK VMK Central was only a matter of time.

Why does the turkey leg look like the actual product instead of a cart?

The hawaiian shirt looks like it's modelled after Lilo's which is cool.

Not sure I like where he's going with the Mickey Rewards cards we never got.

[terri.m]

just make the realization that I skipped making fun of you this time. Being nice now my b-day is coming

don't tell me I need an editor too????

[LittleDragonErin]

Here's a larger picture of the trading card game.

Trading Card Game

[jjramsey]

Thanks for the larger picture

It was hard to see the small one. It does look interesting.


As for an editor...

Patti, if you get an editor, wouldn't they need an assistant and they need an assistant and so on...until all of us get to go with you...hmmm...then the cast members might think you are a celebrity! You and your party (ahem...including the assistants) get the red carpet treatment

[PadmeNaberie]

Here is what the cards say:

Test Track Start and Finish Line:
Testers start your engines! Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel! On your mark, get set.. GO!!

Stitch Hat:
Get with the times and get this space age sombrero! Its what all the very ideal experiments are wearing this season!

My eyes hurt from all the squinting haha