Once upon a time, in a magical land, lived thousands of pirates, princesses, and park-dressed avatars. You see, this was the kingdom that ran on magic. This was the kingdom that hundreds of thousands of kids loved. This was the kingdom that was the closest you could get to Disney parks, without being in one. This kingdom was called VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom).
VMK opened on May 23, 2005, as a promotion of Disneyland's 50th year celebration (Happiest Celebration on Earth). Whoever made an account the day the virtual park opened, had a badge that will forever be in their profiles that said, "Here From Day 1". The first few months of VMK was strictly beta. They had very few lands that they have today. Their lands, from back then, only included (in order): Main Street, Fantasyland, and Adventureland. After the beta stage ended; they added a game room from Tomorrowland (Tomorrowland Hub), and a few months after that Frontierland, the whole land, opened. Tomorrowland was fully-developed in early 2006.
Main Street Rooms Included: VMK Esplanade, Town Square, Emporium, Dance Remix Lobby, Sci-Fi Dine In, Main Street, VMK Magic Shop, Penny Arcade, VMK Central, Central Plaza, and Castle Forecourt.
Fantasyland Rooms Included: Castle Fireworks Remixed, Banquet Hall, Snow White Hide 'n Seek Forest, Matterhorn, Gallery, Dungeon, It's a Small World Imports, FANTASYLAND in The Sky, Castle Gardens, FANTASYLAND Courtyard, and Storybookland.
Adventureland Rooms Included: Pirates of the Caribbean Game, Adventureland Bazaar, Shrunken Ned's Shop, Pirates Treehouse, Tiki Tiki Island, Elephant Bathing Pool, Jungle Cruise Game, Forbidden Temple, Explorer's Tent, and Lost Safari Party. (Secret Room: Pirate's Treausre Room.)
Frontierland Rooms Included: Splash Mountain, Tom Sawyer's Island, Big Thunder Mountain, Mark Twain, Frontierland Dock, Golden Horseshoe Mercantile, and Frontierland Hub. (Secret Room: Injun Joe's Cave.)
Tomorrowland Rooms Included: Tomorrowland Hub, Space Mountain Quest Deck, Inner-Space Shrinking Machine, Autopia Quest Track, Autopia Space Track, Autopia Off-Road on Mars, Captain Quest Quarters, Nautilus Grotto, and Shipwreck Graveyard.
New Orleans Square Rooms Included: New Orleans Square, VMK Gallery, Blue Bayou, and Haunted Mansion Lobby, Haunted Mansion Stretching Room, Haunted Mansion Ballroom, and Haunted Mansion Attic.
Miscellaneous Secret Rooms: Waterpark Pool, Inner Space, Inner Space Shop. Monrail-Main Street. Monorail-Fantasyland. Monorail-Adventureland. Monorail-Frontierland. Monorail-Tomorrowland. Monorail-New Orleans Square.
When you first registered for VMK, you were able to create a username (the name you logged in with) and then a screen name (the name that was with you whenever you were in the virtual park.) After that you are asked to create an avatar. Many clothes, for your avatar, had the logos of VMK, Disney, and NCPs. And, after all that, you are asked to pick one free guest room.
NCPs live in the kingdom, and were in almost every land. Each day, if you clicked on one, you would get 20 free credits. NCPs were only in: Fantasyland, Adventureland, New Orleans Square, and Main Street.
NCPs Included: Esmeralda - Emporium (Main Street), The Yeti - Matterhorn (Fantasyland), Ned - Shrunken Ned's Shop (Adventureland), Captain Blackheart - Pirates Treehouse (Adventureland), Gaitor Waiter - Blue Bayou (New Orleans Square), Phineas - Haunted Mansion Stretching Room (New Orleans Square), Ezra - Haunted Mansion Ballroom (New Orleans Square), Gus - Haunted Mansion Attic (New Orleans Square)
VMK citizens were supposed to range from age 8-14, but like any other site, that didn't work out as Disney had expected. Adults who loved Disney joined the site, as well as parents, and older teenagers (15-18 and so on and so forth). Even though their ages were different, they all had at least one thing in common: they loved this virtual kingdom as much as the parks.
VMK had a very strict dictionary. You were not allowed to say your address, any numbers, e-mail addresses, instant message names, other site names, curse words, where you go to school, anything inappropriate, or any names, like James. But, VMKers came up with their own language to slip away from being banned. For numbers they use: On, To(o), Tree (Or Tea), For, Ive, Fix, Even, Ate, Fine, and Tent. For names, they just used something involved with their screen name, like Princess.Jordyn = Princess. Anyone who said anything that was inappropriate was banned by VMK staff. Their ban time was figured out by the crime. If you said something such as, "I am home schooled," your ban time was, most likely, a few hours to a day.
So, from the information you have gathered you've probably minimized this article and headed over to the web site (VMK.com) only to see a sad headline, and this message:
"VMK launched as a part of the Disneyland 50th Celebration and is now closed. Disney.com continues to create experiences to amaze our guests and we hope that all of our VMK friends will continue to join us. Thank you to the community that made VMK so special. Wait until you see what we're imagining next... :-)" -VMK.
On April 8, 2008, VMK announced (in 'Yavn's Speaks') that is was set to close on May 21st, 2008, three years and three days after it opened.
This is why newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and L.A. Times have written articles about the closure. This is why thousands of Youtube accounts have been created. This is why 20,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition (SaveVMK.Com.) This is why there is hundred of thousands of outcries on any VMK fan site you look at. This is why I wrote this article.
You see, this kingdom was more than a promotion, like Disney states it was. This was a community that its citizens could use to getaway from the real world, or just to get closer to a Disney park - without being in one. So, you're probably thinking, "Yeah, and who cares? I've never been on this site, it sounds stupid, and why should I do anything about it?" It's a very good point, I admit, especially if you've never entered the site. But, if you've ever been to a Disney park, then you know the feeling of magic. You know the feeling of being welcomed, being secure, and being loved. And this is exactly what this site was about. It's JUST like a Disney park, the only difference was it's virtual. But to many of us players, it was real.
Many of us have been sending e-mails, snail mails, protesting, boycotting, etc. It has helped, but it would help even more if you all could help. At least sign a petition that will take a few seconds at most. If you're willing to, then please visit this site: www.savevmk.com. It has reached 20,000 signatures so far, and continues to get hundreds each day. I hope to see your name on there, because believe me, it will make a difference.
Thank you for reading,
Princess.Jordyn
Uhh, I mean CupOfCake. Yeah, that's the site I'm on right now -- right?
Author's Note: Sources: I remembered most of this by playing VMK from 2005-2008.
and www.wikipedia.org
