Have you ever woken up in the morning and expected to just have a typical day? You wake up fully expecting to do the same things, see the same sights, and meet the same people that you do most every other day. Don't get me wrong- I love typical days. There is comfort and security in doing, seeing, and meeting the familiar. But every now and then a day which starts out typical will take an unexpected turn and bring you face-to-face with something magical. I've been fortunate to have many of these days in my life. One of these days happened three years ago, in May 2005.
My family and I had recently returned from Disneyland after a long absence. The 50th Anniversary celebration had just kicked-off and we had an amazing time. Missing the magic already, I was reading one of my favorite Disney message boards when I saw a posting about a new "Virtual Magic Kingdom". Having never played an online multiplayer game before, I was initially skeptical about it. But the fact that it was a virtual version of one of my favorite places on earth (complete with Main Street, Fantasyland, and Adventureland!) convinced me to give it a try. After logging in, I was asked to create my character. After making him look as much like my true-self as possible, I had to pick a name. It's funny how sometimes you make a decision with just a few moments' of thought that can have long-lasting effects. I decided on the name "Carioca" after one of my favorite, lesser-known Disney characters- "Jose Carioca".
From the moment I saw the map of the kingdom with its bright colors and details and the mystical "Wheeee-oooooo wheeee-oooooo" background music, I was hooked! I couldn't wait to show my wife and other family members what I had found. Soon, we were all playing together and exploring this new world. Credits were harder to come by back then but we did our best to buy clothes and furniture for our guest rooms. Green being my favorite color, I bought my green baggy pants for 25 credits. We had no idea that the items that we were collecting would one day be called "beta" or "rare" items. We were all new and inexperienced and excited to see what changes would come next in VMK.
And changes did come! It didn't take long before more and more players joined the game and more friendships were made. We made a special trip back to Disneyland in the fall (one of many over the next 3 years) and had a great time on the Insider tour and doing the In-Park quests. We received our first VMK cards on that trip. Frontierland and the Tomorrowland Arcade were released. Then the first Halloween and Christmas in VMK, followed by the first ride-building competition. The Everest ride-building competition is where I really made my first "don't know them in real life" friends in VMK. The process of planning, building, coordinating, and staffing a ride with relative strangers was a difficult task, especially with the communication limits that are part of VMK. But "Expedition Ancient Alpine Temple" worked hard and had a lot of fun, even if we didn't win any prizes.
As a child, I wanted to grow up and be an Imagineer. My plans changed as I grew older but I never lost my interest in the rides, theming, and design that are the hallmark of the imagineers. One of my favorite past-times in VMK was building rides and rooms, especially those patterned after my favorites from the "non-virtual" Magic Kingdoms. So when VMK announced the Space Ride Competition, I built a replica of one of my favorite childhood Disneyland rides, "Adventure Thru Inner-space". I was shocked and truly honored to have won the Best Theme prize in the competition and it made me smile to see how many other people also remembered and loved that ride.
But my favorite part of VMK? Being able to watch and play with my family. Exploring the kingdom side-by-side with my kids. Playing in the rooms and rides that they built themselves with their young, imaginative minds. The fact that young and old can play together in a world of fantasy is what makes the Disney parks different. It's what makes them magical. It's what made VMK so magical for me.
So here we are, three years later and Yavn has announced that VMK will open its gates for the last time on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. It's sort of like a death of a friend or family member. You know that it will happen someday. But when it actually happens, there is a shock and a sense of loss. Come to think of it, we devoted VMK players will experience the classic five stages of loss:
To Yavn and the unnamed testers, programmers, and artists who worked so hard to build and protect the kingdom, thank you. To the kind and patient hosts who showed a degree of kindness and professionalism that even Walt would be proud of, thank you. And to my fellow players and friends who turned a concoction of bits and pixels into a community, thank you.
And what of life after VMK? I suspect that I'll wake up Thursday morning, and find that there is a little less wonder in the world. There are other online games out there, but none that I've found that captured the interest and imagination of me and my family like VMK has. But life will go on and I'll go about my typical days. And I'm sure- someday when I least expect it- I'll come face-to-face with something magical once again.
Until then, thank you for the magic!
My family and I had recently returned from Disneyland after a long absence. The 50th Anniversary celebration had just kicked-off and we had an amazing time. Missing the magic already, I was reading one of my favorite Disney message boards when I saw a posting about a new "Virtual Magic Kingdom". Having never played an online multiplayer game before, I was initially skeptical about it. But the fact that it was a virtual version of one of my favorite places on earth (complete with Main Street, Fantasyland, and Adventureland!) convinced me to give it a try. After logging in, I was asked to create my character. After making him look as much like my true-self as possible, I had to pick a name. It's funny how sometimes you make a decision with just a few moments' of thought that can have long-lasting effects. I decided on the name "Carioca" after one of my favorite, lesser-known Disney characters- "Jose Carioca".
From the moment I saw the map of the kingdom with its bright colors and details and the mystical "Wheeee-oooooo wheeee-oooooo" background music, I was hooked! I couldn't wait to show my wife and other family members what I had found. Soon, we were all playing together and exploring this new world. Credits were harder to come by back then but we did our best to buy clothes and furniture for our guest rooms. Green being my favorite color, I bought my green baggy pants for 25 credits. We had no idea that the items that we were collecting would one day be called "beta" or "rare" items. We were all new and inexperienced and excited to see what changes would come next in VMK.
And changes did come! It didn't take long before more and more players joined the game and more friendships were made. We made a special trip back to Disneyland in the fall (one of many over the next 3 years) and had a great time on the Insider tour and doing the In-Park quests. We received our first VMK cards on that trip. Frontierland and the Tomorrowland Arcade were released. Then the first Halloween and Christmas in VMK, followed by the first ride-building competition. The Everest ride-building competition is where I really made my first "don't know them in real life" friends in VMK. The process of planning, building, coordinating, and staffing a ride with relative strangers was a difficult task, especially with the communication limits that are part of VMK. But "Expedition Ancient Alpine Temple" worked hard and had a lot of fun, even if we didn't win any prizes.
As a child, I wanted to grow up and be an Imagineer. My plans changed as I grew older but I never lost my interest in the rides, theming, and design that are the hallmark of the imagineers. One of my favorite past-times in VMK was building rides and rooms, especially those patterned after my favorites from the "non-virtual" Magic Kingdoms. So when VMK announced the Space Ride Competition, I built a replica of one of my favorite childhood Disneyland rides, "Adventure Thru Inner-space". I was shocked and truly honored to have won the Best Theme prize in the competition and it made me smile to see how many other people also remembered and loved that ride.
But my favorite part of VMK? Being able to watch and play with my family. Exploring the kingdom side-by-side with my kids. Playing in the rooms and rides that they built themselves with their young, imaginative minds. The fact that young and old can play together in a world of fantasy is what makes the Disney parks different. It's what makes them magical. It's what made VMK so magical for me.
So here we are, three years later and Yavn has announced that VMK will open its gates for the last time on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. It's sort of like a death of a friend or family member. You know that it will happen someday. But when it actually happens, there is a shock and a sense of loss. Come to think of it, we devoted VMK players will experience the classic five stages of loss:
- Denial: "This is impossible! Disney would never close VMK!"
- Anger: "But Yavn told us that there were big plans for the future!"
- Bargaining: "I'll pay to play! I'll sign the petition!"
- Depression: "What am I going to do now?"
- Acceptance: "It's OK. Life goes on."
To Yavn and the unnamed testers, programmers, and artists who worked so hard to build and protect the kingdom, thank you. To the kind and patient hosts who showed a degree of kindness and professionalism that even Walt would be proud of, thank you. And to my fellow players and friends who turned a concoction of bits and pixels into a community, thank you.
And what of life after VMK? I suspect that I'll wake up Thursday morning, and find that there is a little less wonder in the world. There are other online games out there, but none that I've found that captured the interest and imagination of me and my family like VMK has. But life will go on and I'll go about my typical days. And I'm sure- someday when I least expect it- I'll come face-to-face with something magical once again.
Until then, thank you for the magic!
) 
