Newsletter 4/10

[chrisb26]

Yavn's got an update to the recent announcement about the future of VMK.

Hello again.

So it's been a difficult past few days for all of us. I know many of you are upset – some upset with me, some upset with the company, and lots of you just plain upset. Many of you are still struggling to understand the decision we made to close Virtual Magic Kingdom. We hear you and we share your concern and sorrow.

We have received an incredible outpouring of emotion regarding the decision and wish we could respond to each of you. Unfortunately, it's impossible to respond to you all individually. But please know, we're touched by your concerns and feel your heartache.

We hear you and we share your concern and sorrow.

In addition to the concerned and upset players who have contacted us, many of you have called or emailed to thank us for running the product as long as we did. We're glad that you have had a chance to enjoy it and will continue to do so for these next few weeks.

Please know that the decision to close VMK was not made without a great deal of thought and discussion – because we loved creating VMK just as much as you loved playing it. We considered many options prior to closing but ultimately determined that VMK had accomplished its goal and then some. VMK was a valuable part of the Disneyland 50th Celebration, but it was never meant to live on forever. It's now time to focus our resources on our new virtual worlds.

Our company encourages innovation and creativity – as Walt said, "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." That's what we plan to do now, and we really hope you will also continue to join us.

I know many of you are upset that you'll be losing your friends, and we hear you. To that end, we're working on a way for VMK players to be able to recognize other VMK players while visiting on Disney.com and playing in our other virtual communities. Stay with us for news about that in the coming weeks.

While I'm on that topic, please remember that during this time you will see other sites that pop up – some that look very much like VMK – asking for your email and character name to support an effort to keep the game alive. These are not Disney sites and are in no way affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. You are putting your online safety at risk (not to mention getting an inbox full of spam) by sharing personal information like your email with these sites.

Please enjoy VMK while you can, and let's all be thankful that we got to enjoy the game for as long as we did. We thank you for being part of this journey with us! And we hope we continue to see you at Disney.com and in our other online worlds enjoying what we imagine next!

Hey, we've still got a month and a half left to run the game, and we still have plenty of magic left. Let's enjoy it!

See you in the game,

-Yavn

Questions? We've prepared this Q&A:

Why is this happening? Why are you closing Virtual Magic Kingdom?

As Yavn mentioned in the Newsletter, VMK was created and launched as part of a promotion to celebrate Disneyland's 50th Anniversary.
The game/promotion has ran well beyond the original time it was intended to.

When is the last time I can play?

The game will close at 10:00PM PST, Wednesday, May 21st, 2008.

Will I still be able to buy cards and pins in the Parks?

Yes, you can still buy VMK Cards and Pins at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Parks while supplies last but after May 21st, 2008 the codes will no longer work in the game.

What will happen to the game and the website?

The website will remain up for a few weeks to let people know what has happened, but you will not be able to log into the game after May 21th, 2008.

What will happen to all my virtual stuff in VMK?

Since the virtual items live only in VMK, you won't be able to access your VMK items or take them with you to another Disney Online Virtual World.

[chrisb26]

I'd really wish they'd stop using this quote from Walt.

But I'm glad our letters are not going unopened they have obviously seen them!

[mickeytinkerbellprincess]

I'd really wish they'd stop using this quote from Walt.

How many times can they say concern and upset in one newsletter? Nothing new, though. Same basic stuff; we're really sad about this, there's nothing you can do about it, play something else for a change.. yada yada yada. Whether we like it or not, Yavn is pretty solid on this

[JPL]

That qoute or should I say misquote of Walt really makes me sick to my stomach. If that was how Walt really felt when WDW was completed Disneyland should have closed down.
Walt is one of my idols and has inspired more than anyone. I have read every book about him and can't get enough information about him and I can say that using that quote in the context they are shows they have no clue about their heritage and what Walt was all about.

[milklady]

I can only say Sorry Walt for what has become a nightmare from your dream.

[WDWizard]

Although I appreciate Yavn's efforts in this whole situation, I think a lot of people are disappointed and upset and I guess this was just a confirmation that there is not much that can be done at this point to save VMK, unfortunately. I think we should stop worrying about this and enjoy the limited time we have left on VMK.

[jjramsey]

I can only say Sorry Walt for what has become a nightmare from your dream.

Hey that would make for some 'interesting' news stories:

Newspaper - "Walt Disney's Dream Becomes Nightmare for 250,000 People"

TV - "Walt Disney's Happiest Place on Earth Becomes Nightmare for 250,000 People...more at 10..."

If anything I think it should give us hope. They do know how we the players feel. It's not time to give up, This has to be taken up to the next and highest level of disney management!

terri.m, I think headlines are the only thing that could possibly catch corporate attention. It unfortunately seems that money and bad press (that has actually been released) can get more than a canned planned response.

...sigh...

At Least I may get my 600th post in before VMK closes...