I'm glad the nightmare is over

[DeluxePrincess]

As a parent of an 8yo DD, I am voting thumbs down to dreams month. My DD got ears early on in the month and I am thankful for that. However, like many others, her heart was set on that room. Now I know this is a "game" and not everyone wins, but it's hard to win at a game when you don't know the rules.

She was waiting and waiting like many others here. A host would pop in a room stay for a few seconds and disappear. This is very difficult for a child to understand. She would ask things like, "Why won't Lily pick me?". I told her the "story" of how hosts are looking for people with specific items or people who are sitting in the right chair. I told her this even though I was not convinced of it myself. When either of us would see a suite room being given out, it always seemed to go to a "popular" player. Quite a few times hosts had some personal conversations going on with the winners, as if they were old buddies.

The room aspect of dreams month was so very unfair. If I wanted an Animal Kingdom room, I knew I had to do a park quest. The rules were laid out for us. If I want a castle suite room, what do I do? Wait around for hours just hoping the host picks us? Sorry, that is very unfair. If the prize was given out in a host GAME (like inferno used to) I would know that I have a chance. The rules were laid out. This was not the case with dreams month.

Oh well, sorry to rant. I can only hope the ears become tradeable, as DD's friends were not able to play much last month. I would also hope the room could be for sale at some point.

 

[taz]

i agree with everything you said

 

[bopper]

I think this month was an example of the law of unintended consequences. Perhaps the powers that be envisioned that it would be like it was in the real parks...people going about their business and surprise! here is a little gift for you. The problem is that in a real park, you are there to ride the rides and see the shows and watch the parades and eat the food. You are not there to buy every set of mickey ears possible. If you run out of money, you can't hop over to the jungle cruise and ride it 500 times.

In vmk, part of the main things that people do is collect the items. So part of vmk is socialization and part is collecting by buying or trading. So of course people want to maximize their chances for cool new stuff...you start seeing which rooms hosts tend to visit and hand out prizes in, and you stand there hoping to be gifted. You start to feel bad that everyone else seems to have dream ears, and you really really want them too. You end up logging on more often for longer periods of time....standing and standing around, probably afk because you need to eat and do your homework or chores and what not, and it turns into vmk zombieland...people who are here, but not here. Is that what vmk is about? It's like the people at vmk wanted to show their bosses how many players they could get on the system for a sustained period of time.

 

[goldengourd]

My daughter pointed out to me, that you hear about the rooms that the better known players won, well, because they are better known. Likewise, the few prominent members from Dis that won, we hear about because they and their friends post on here. The regular "jo-shmo" players that won the room you don't know them so you don't hear about it here.
She too is very disappointed that she didn't win the room. She has been trying to make a castle suite-type room since she joined VMK, but it never works quite right in any of the other theme rooms. But she doesn't think it was unfair that someone else got it, just wasn't her luck.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

you hear about the rooms that the better known players won, well, because they are better known.

I agree. I also know that some "regular" players won, as well. However, the times we have personally seen the room being given away, I could pretty much tell which players had a better chance. In all three instances, I was right on the money.

But she doesn't think it was unfair that someone else got it, just wasn't her luck.

I'm glad she has a good attitude about it all. To me, luck is when you spin the three correct numbers on the generators to get inferno. This dream mess was all in the hands of the host.

 

[debbi801]

i am also very glad it is over. I was lucky enough to get ears. After got them, I spent a lot of time logged on as my DD after her bed time to try and get them for her. Luckily, she got them as well. But, she had her heart set on that room and spent a lot of time chasing after hosts instead of socializing with friends in real life, leaving the house, etc.

But, I know so many other kids--people on her friends list, people we know in real life and on VMK, etc. that were besides themselves today because Dreams Month is over and they never even got ears. It is easy for an adult to shrug it off, but not as easy for little kids.

In theory, it was probably a great idea. Unfortunately, the reality wasn't so hot.

 

[aengus]

I am normally the first person to point out that this is just a game. There are winners and losers every day. The game starts over the next day and it mixes it all up and new winners and losers.

I cant this time. I dont blame VMK for it. The room is just to nice to be retired and the kids (heck adults) just love the room to much. The princesses especially I mean come on look at that room. I bet every little girl who saw it can picture themselves in it for real.

 

[Belle1997]

I understand your pain been there done that since day one. So when I won a room I was just shocked. To that day I was not friends with any staff, never won inferno or any rare item. Nor best guest room or quest though I continue to try. I can see how you see some of the popular folk won. But there was also real new players to. Someone wanted to know how to put furniture in his castle suite that is how new he was. I was regularly checking the castle suites and there was at least half of new or not very popular players that got rooms. I really believe they tried to gift has many players as possible.

I saw it helped autistic kids learn to share. When one was given a gift of ears when he did win them he had them gifted to another who had none.

I saw greed too. But I also saw a great support to help others get dreams. A real organized effort of caring people. People walking around with signatures that said if I win ears please gift them to so and so.

And I am sure if when the ears become tradeable there will be at least 90% going around to gift them. Which I think would make those ears even more special to the recepient. Because a total stranger showed they cared.

Do I wish we had all got ears to start with yes!!!. But the problem would then be I never got a beta item, or anything else.

So I see A no win situation. But I bet more got dream items than the amount of people that go to Disney and get nothing.

 

[bevgray]

Since Aurora has been my favorite princess since the time I was a tiny little princess myself, I too was very disappointed that I did not get the room or that it was not possible for everyone to get at least one.

I ended up making my own. For those who have the Animal Kingdom Lodge room, it makes a very nice princess room for it too has a balcony at the center top. I will have the room open again this evening (around 8:00 EDT) for anyone who wants to come in to get ideas for their own castle room. I may not be there but one of the castle family will be sitting in it. Just look for Blue Castle - Sweet Dream room.

Aliceblue also made her own castle room using the Maleficent Fortress and the pirate walls.
CL_TinkerBlue

And for the record, I didn't get a dream either - ears, pins, or room so at least you'll know the community leaders weren't singled out to receive the goodies.

 

[TLinden16]

I also wish that they had given the rooms out a different way. I wish that they had given out more of the rooms so that more of the kids could have gotten them. I wish that they had some how programmed it so that the rooms were given out randomly based on logging into the system (i.e.the 4000 person to log in on a day would get one, then the 12,000 person to log in, etc.).

 

[gshawen]

Dreams month should have been set up as follows.
If the host showed up in a room you were in, everyone in that room should have been granted every prize that was being given out including the room. That way you would be done with it and would go on about doing what you normaly do.
Than at the end of the month every prize should be made available for purchase for a reasonable price. This way the people who won can say "I got mine for free", and the others can atleast say "I got it too but I had to pay for it".

I would rather have to pay for something than to not get it at all.

And it should have not been titled "Dreams month", more like "Nighmare Before Halloween" would have been more appropriate

 

[eaglesgirl]

I have mixed feelings about this. One the one hand, I'm complete frustrated by the greed that I've seen. On the other hand, I think this month was clever to a point.

VMK renewed faith in a lot of people. Many were "bored" with the same old thing every day. VMK created a "new" activity. As many have surely pointed out to them, there was lots & lots of tweaking that needed to be done. Just like with most new things, hopefully everyone involved with the daily ins & outs of the game listened to the suggestions, complaints, comments, etc. and will reflect on how to improve this event in case they do decide to run it again in the future.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I also wish that they had given the rooms out a different way. I wish that they had given out more of the rooms so that more of the kids could have gotten them. I wish that they had some how programmed it so that the rooms were given out randomly based on logging into the system (i.e.the 4000 person to log in on a day would get one, then the 12,000 person to log in, etc.).

That is a great idea. I wish they would have done something like that.

 

[Kairi-Angel]

well i didnt like dreams month at all. I thought it was the worst month so far The first few days i was all hyped, waiting for a host, but then, as you said, the "popular" players that i had for friends and people like that go the ears and room. I also have friends who had over 5 dreams items. I was like, whoah! what about everyone else?. Well whatever, im just glad dreams month is over, cuz i love halloween