Has the closing of VMK effected how you feel about Disney?

[Barbday62]

Im trying to process some of the facts in my brain.

They start the Game May 22 2005
They end the game May 21 2008
Exactly 3 years

Doesnt it sound like a contract thing? Makes me wonder if the contract with Saluke ran out? (Im sure it was renewed at least once in there) Maybe they couldnt come to an agreement on making it go more?

In any case. I still love Disney. Always have and always will.

 

[Mamacita]

Disney is a huge corporation and the actions of a few suits in one department won't change my love for the rest of it. I was crushed as much as anybody and I also dealt with my crying children losing their favorite game, but I won't allow it to make me bitter toward Disney in general. I will try their other games, but I won't pay for any unless by some miracle vmk comes back in a paid version. I will however not get as attached to it as I did this time, knowing what I know now.
Mamacita

 

[bevgray]

I still love Disney even though I lost VMK and my favorite Disney Store within a week of each other. I am disappointed too but, since VMK was not wholly Disney built, I accept the idea that there may have been many factors behind the closing; not just "meanies in suits". Disney has never been a company to go public about business decisions and, without all facts at hand, I can't put the blame just on them without knowing what, if any role, Sulake had in the closing.

Keep in mind, that VMK wasn't all pixie dust and rainbows. While the artwork was breathtaking and our community was special, there were some decided Non-Disney and rather ugly aspects to that game. The unfairness of a game that was supposedly geared to 8-14 that benefitted a handful (think how impossible it was to get Sparrow or the room events), the occasional temper tantrums that punished the general game community (making pirate items untradeable and suddenly closing the big pirate quest a half-day early) instead of the "known" hackers.

I also know that WDIG is still fairly new and that, as time goes along, things may develop there that will leave all of us happier and with a restored sense of wonder. My hope is that as this group develops with their narrow niche games, they will eventually re-create a bigger, better Disney Virtual World that will regain our magic but leave out the very un-Disney like behavior.

 

[sleepingbeautymama]

I really have mixed emotions. I'm very upset they closed VMK and then to make things worse they are closing our local Disney Store so right now I'm very upset. Will I stop loving Disney?...No. I have loved Mickey Mouse as far back as I can remember and going to Disney World is just so magical so I'm still going to be a big Disney fan I probably won't pay to play their games online though. Of course I say this but maybe when I'm more calm I'll change my mind. I know my daughter is interested in the fairy game once they make it a virtual world so I guess I'll decide on that game when the time comes.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

Well- I do still love Disney- I am upset with this decision- and can say that although we could scrimp and save and make the trips we planned for this year- both DH and I have said we will put them off for later. So you can say we cancelled 2 trips to Disneyworld.

My 3yo son got his first day of the closing yesterday- he went to the computer to "play his favorite game" and couldn't get on- he was agitated that the game was "broken" and when I finally told him Disney stopped the game it doesn't exist anymore it, it is all gone. He broke down and cried. He was upset that he couldn't take pictures of animals or run around tomorrowland- (he loved tomorrowland and would go from room to room and watch others for a long time for a 3 yo) He went into his room and threw Mickey Mouse out of his bed- said he could "sleep in the time out corner"
Right before he went to sleep he asked if he could still dream about the dirt space place [Mars off road]. I told him that was perfectly fine- and a good thing to do.

My older daughter 10yo- stopped playing VMK a week before it closed. She said, "it is pathetic that they are doing this- and I can't watch" So she chose not to be around much. She also has boycotted the Disney Channel and has been watching Nick and Discovery Kids and Animal Planet instead. She says, "Disney doesn't care about me. I don't think I care about it much anymore."

DH had gotten away from daily play of VMK earlier in the year. When he heard the announcement of closing- he stopped playing all together. I think he may have logged on 3 times since the announcement. He thinks he won't get involved in any other online game ever.

None of us will be visiting Toontown or Pirates. We have visited Fairies- but well after about an hour of that- what else is there to do- not much fun. Cars we have yet to see- and that may attract my son. DD plays Webkins and some other games she was told about by friends.

Overall- yes I still love Disney- the feeling and experience can't be beat- but I think I'm a little bruised from all this and not quite as eager as I was before. I tell you- I have NOT purchased any disney movies since the announcement-and I usually got 1 a month, but I have gone to see some in theaters. In talking to my son about his birthday- I steared him away from a Cars theme or Mickey Mouse theme- and suggested something outside of the Disney World Realm... And I proudly sported my Marvin the Martian Shirt last weekend- and shoved my Mickey one away

Here is a link to the "Vmk Archives" page http://vmkarchives.oxyhost.com/, it is not as interactive as the real game but your son would still be able to visit his dirt space place.


Hope this helps.

 

[Jasonbobdude]

I only hate certain parts of Disney, namely the WDIG and the people who are involved in High School Musical. But the rest of the company is awesome, and I have loved them for far too long to abandon them now.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

I still love Disney, with the exception obviously of the WDIG.

I haven't joined Toontown Online or Pirates Online. I don't really intend to, either. I don't think I will join anything that WDIG puts out from now on.

But as I cut myself off from WDIG, I don't hold the rest of Disney responsible for the bad feeling I have for WDIG.

Therefore I will go to the Disney parks.
I do want to take another Disney cruise because it's a great travel product.
I will continue to see the Disney films and buy the DVDs.
I will buy the books and music.
I will continue listening to my favorite Disney podcasts.

Just don't count on me to try any of Disney's online worlds.

Same here Briar,

I have no ill feelings towards the parks and DVDs portion of the company since they have nothing to do with WDIG.

 

[Mnementh]

I can't resist Disney movies I won't avoid Disney movies because of VMK's closing. I was considering cancelling my trip to WDW, however, but we've put too much time and money into planning this trip, so it wouldn't be worth it to cancel it. As of right now, though, I don't plan on making another WDW trip, but being on a board with a ton of Disney fanatics will probably change my view over time and I'll probably end up going back anyway.

 

[Barbday62]

Here is a link to the "Vmk Archives" page http://vmkarchives.oxyhost.com/, it is not as interactive as the real game but your son would still be able to visit his dirt space place.


Hope this helps.

This site is amazing!! Thanks for sharing it here. I love how you can even go into guest rooms as well as public rooms.

 

[redshoe]

Oh, Smart, it's wonderful! I love it.

If you want to add anything, let me know. I have screen shots of all the NPC messages from credit-gathering, and a lot of other stuff, too. I'd be more than willing to share if you want to use any of it.

 

[aliceblue]

I have been a Disney fan all of my life. I am deeply saddened by the closing of VMK, but I still love Disney. If I happen to love another game designed by Disney, I will try not to get so attached to it.

I will try their other games, but I won't pay for any unless by some miracle vmk comes back in a paid version. I will however not get as attached to it as I did this time, knowing what I know now.
Mamacita

I think many of us have learned this lesson the hard way. Personally, I would apply it to any online social game, not just Disney. What happened to VMK could theoretically happen elsewhere.

I have to wonder; perhaps these kinds of games are not a good idea in the first place, seeing the impact they have on players that goes far beyond entertainment. Sometimes a game should be just a game.

Keep in mind, that VMK wasn't all pixie dust and rainbows. While the artwork was breathtaking and our community was special, there were some decided Non-Disney and rather ugly aspects to that game. The unfairness of a game that was supposedly geared to 8-14 that benefitted a handful (think how impossible it was to get Sparrow or the room events), the occasional temper tantrums that punished the general game community (making pirate items untradeable and suddenly closing the big pirate quest a half-day early) instead of the "known" hackers.

Good point. The circumstances make it all too easy to remember the game through rose-colored glasses.

I also know that WDIG is still fairly new and that, as time goes along, things may develop there that will leave all of us happier and with a restored sense of wonder. My hope is that as this group develops with their narrow niche games, they will eventually re-create a bigger, better Disney Virtual World that will regain our magic but leave out the very un-Disney like behavior.

It will be interesting to watch the direction they go. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to hear their philosophies about online environments, and their perspective on what happened with VMK.

 

[luvyawdw]

Yes, it has affected how our family feels about disney. A company with so many resources should have given this more thought. Our daughter was an avid player. She collected the VMK pins and purchased them with her own money to recieve the codes, now they are worthless. On a even more serious note, the friendships that were formed are very real. Since you can not exchange personal info, the players have no way to stay connected. So when they closed the game they cut off the players from continuing friendships that were formed on their site . If we had known that it was going to close at anytime we would not have encourged our daughter to play. I do feel disney had a responsibilty to transition this closing in a different way if they had to do it. I don't ever remember anything informing players that it was a temporary game. It continued to grow and evolve, which is more condusive to a game that has the intention to keep its players active and looking forward to what will come next. I feel it was very misleading. I think they have broken alot of hearts, young, middle and older. All very important. The explaination given is weak, to say the least, if it is even believable. I do think we will still go to disney only because it holds very special memories for our family. I do not think I will allow our daughter to play another disney internet game unless I can be assured this will not happen again.
I think the group that made this decission underestimated the the number of families that the young players come from.
I hope everyone is doing okay, this is really sad . I read some letters that parents wrote to disney, they posted them on savevmk i believe. I was really amazed at how many parents wrote to them and how they probably all felt ignored. Just like my daughter, asked me to write, I did, and then as time went on and there was no reversal in the decision, I felt in some way I let her down.
I hope everyone will find their friends on another site, Beth has been trying to get on the vfk, but has had not luck.

 

[charstar]

Disney has been intertwined into our families lives. We had a disney themed wedding spent 10 night at Disney World for our honeymoon. We've taken our kids there as many times as we can, We have Disney license plates( the world remind us of disney) I will not hold the closing of VMK against the Mouse. My feeling for him have not changed. I have not and right now will not sign on and pay for the other Disney games. My kids do not play enough to justify the cost for all the kids. I wish they had a family rate I might consider join then but Disney is very good at nickel and dimeing you to death. Our kids next trip to orlando will be to universal. However, I am sure we will still hit Downtown Disney Who can avoid that cute mouse?

 

[poohluv2u]

I am feeling a little disenchanted with Disney right now, but I will probably move past that. I love to visit the Parks and we have a cruise booked for late summer that we still intend to take. Where Disney online games are concerned I am digging in my heels and saying that there is no way I am getting involved with them. Even if they created another game with a Park like enviroment, I would have serious reservations about joining. I would have to feel that WDIG has a heart-felt understanding of what it takes to be responsible for an online community, and that they don't just see it as a 'good while it's useful' marketing strategy.

 

[verenice07]

Vmk's closure definitely changed how I feel about Disney, but not to the point that I wouldn't visit the disney parks. And I'm pretty sure that if they come up with another virtual world similar to vmk you will find me there. Even if they close it in 3 years. It is hard to lose great friends, but I would rather know them for a short time than never meet them at all. Even now that vmk is closed I have so many memories that will stay with me forever. Not to mention that with so many great sites like this one it is possible to keep in touch with many of my friends.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

Oh, Smart, it's wonderful! I love it.

If you want to add anything, let me know. I have screen shots of all the NPC messages from credit-gathering, and a lot of other stuff, too. I'd be more than willing to share if you want to use any of it.

I agree, it is wonderful. All the credit for it goes to Oboeman, he has given all of us something to re-create memories we had of VMK, I just found his post.

Thank's Oboeman!

 

[redshoe]

I agree, it is wonderful. All the credit for it goes to Oboeman, he has given all of us something to re-create memories we had of VMK, I just found his post.

Thank's Oboeman!

Sorry, LOL!! I spent all that time on it, and still thought it was yours. My apologies to Oboeman, and if you read this, my offer of additional screen shots stands!

 

[Lastinside]

Yes, My feelings have changed. Reminds me a lot of how my favorite football team (Raiders) moved. How do they expect us to put i time and energy and heart into anything WDIG again? So they can take it away when they please?
As the old saying goes ... Trust is easily lost and difficult to re-gain. For now my feelings towards WDIG are extending to the actual parks .. There is a gloomy felling that is cast over the kingdom

 

[seaturtledude]

My loyalty towards Disney has changed a TINY bit, but we still plan on vacationing there, etc.

 

[osmello]

I am a Disney cast member right now and that's why I felt like I couldn't fight just as much as I would've liked. It has changed my opinion of the Disney internet team as I really cannot understand why they would get rid of a successful thing, a promotion or not. They have broken many hearts, mine included.

While singing the tiki tiki tiki room song today it occurred to me.....that my children will not be in the virtual park each day, instead they are looking for other things to do. When we ask them where they want to vacation will they think disney? Probably not, because they have moved on to other lands. So the long term vacations for us will not be spent in the magic kingdom, but rather at adult directed events. Countless amounts of money are spent by families like mine not only on parks and souveniers, but on movies for codes, on toys, and on other dis related items like cruises. Then I thought, if they would have sold virtual bricks for the virtual espalande, for real cash, like how we bought movies for codes, we could have supported the staff for the virtual park! And we would all have a virtually good time. Sorry disney, you lost us to vfk, your other games online are very poorly done, and no where near the same experience. I have met young and old people on vmk, and we are all wondering why you gave up such a great program instead of finding a way to promote and generate revenue.