One of my Letters- Bugdozer

Bugdozer

<font color=royal blue>One day at a time.<br>Yeste
Joined
May 6, 2003
Messages
2,509
I have sent my first batch of letters off. Here is my second letter that I will mail and I will include slinkyman's and my flats in with them.


Dear Mr. Iger,

I am writing to tell you about a magical place. A place where young and old can gather to play, learn and enjoy the Disney Magic. A place envisioned by an amazing man who dreamed of places where families could gather and have fun leaving behind the real world when they entered. A place that only the magic and creativity of Disney could build.

Where is this place you may ask? It sounds magical and fun. The first thought you may have of course is that it is Disneyland- but this is not the place I speak of. It is a form of Disneyland in a different technological age. The place I speak of is Virtual Magic Kingdom.

VMK started out as what Disney thought would be a promotion for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. So they built this amazing virtual world to replicate Walt’s amazing Disneyland.

They threw open the gates and invited us in. We came slowly at first but once word spread we grew. VMK did not become an online park where we entered for a while then left. It became a community built by its players. A community of young and old, sick and well, and people of all races from near to far off distant countries. Here we found a place that evoked the Disney spirit in all of us. We played, danced, built rooms and formed friendships in the spirit of the man himself Walt Disney.

VMK was growing and becoming more popular so that when the promotion ended the gates were left open and our community flourished. There is no place like it on the Web where children and adults can play in a safe controlled atmosphere. I personally found a place where I and my 13 year old son could be together. We shared in this wonderful kingdom built only as Disney can do-amazing graphics, fun games, a sense of being part of the parks and much pixie dust.

They created our characters to look lifelike, like little people. We named them, dressed them, and formed their personalities. They became part of us. We look forward and enjoy seeing our little people everyday.

Suddenly on April 7th we were hit with an unbelievable devastating blow. On May 21, 2008 our kingdom, our community will cease to exist. The shock that took over was beyond belief. I felt numb, weak, and sick to my stomach, like I had been hit by a bat. How can this happen? How can a company as compassionate as Disney allow the doors of our Kingdom to close?

The news crushed my 15 year old son (slinkyman). VMK has become part of his life, part of his daily routine. A day is not complete without seeing his little person who he created to look like himself. After a few moments the shock and reality sank in and the tears started to flow. WE hugged and just cried asking how, why, how can they?

You see VMK is not just a mere game to us. Six months after slinkyman started playing VMK he was diagnosed with cancer. A shocking blow to any family made worst it being a child. I found my strength to get him through this, and then an amazing thing happened. Thanks to the spirit of Disney he took refuge in his Kingdom. In VMK he was not sick. He was a normal kid that still had hair and he had many friends. He had a support team in this community that was not available elsewhere. Cancer scares many people and our family pulled back-offering no support or visits. Here in VMK slinkyman and I have a community of amazing friends. They talked, listened, comforted us, prayed for us and sent mountains of pixie dust our way.

Through out his treatment whenever we were at the hospital slinkyman would take along the laptop with him. During these painful and scary days of treatment he would play VMK as the poisons to kill the cancer were pumped into his body. Doctors and nurses would ask him what he was playing and he would passionately tell them of a place only envisioned in dreams. VMK became an instrumental tool in his recovery. We have made life long friends and have wonderful support thanks to the magic of Disney. So to us it is so much more then a mere game. It is in our soul.
I had a friend tell me the other day the VMK is in slinkyman’s DNA- they could not be more right. I was able to save my son from cancer but I fear I will not be able to save little “slinkyman” from the darkness that is about to be bestowed upon us.

Please I beg you to reconsider this decision. Please hear the cries of young and old and let our little people live. I can not imagine a day without seeing the face of my little person. I like may others are then willing to pay to keep this community of ours alive. Please consider this option. Please show compassion and Disney spirit and show the children you care. After all in VMK the minds of our young a being filled with Disney and they will grow into adults that spend much money on anything and everything Disney.

In this Year of a Million Dreams I ask you to please dry a Million tears and let our dreams come true.

Sincerely,
 
:hug: Very moving bug. I sure hope its seen.
 
Dang it. I'm crying again. That was so beautiful.

With just a few modifications, that could go out to SO many people. I would like to see some of the children's organizations get involved, if possible. Have you thought of sending something similar to Make-a-Wish, asking for their assistance in saving something that has brightened so many of the children they are trying to help?
 

Very well written!! I started crying reading it. I hope Disney head honchos see this and change there mind. ;)
 
That, was the most beautiful letter Ive read so far.

I really liked the part at the end, with reference to "Million Dreams".

That was truly beautiful.
 
Wow Bug, that is a truely amazing letter!

I love your reference to "the Year of a Million Dreams" becuse it is true they've crushed a million dreams and caused a million tears.
 
Bug :hug:

Once again your flair for the written word is amazing. I sure hope someone in is Disney is seeing all these wonderful stories.

What is also amazing and not often expressed in our letters to Disney is how wonderful the staff of VMK has been to us players. How they have bonded with us and in your case Bug, made a wish come true for a very special boy. The Host's are another reason why we play VMK and not another on line game.
 
Wow, Bug. We should send this to everybody we know that's associated with Disney. News corporations too.
 
Dang it.

I've been off work this week, so I've been reading every thread and message about the closing and many letters have pulled at my heart strings... but this one brought it all to a head for me. :sad1:

Big hugs to you and Slinkyman. :hug:
 
Thank you everyone for your kind words.:grouphug: It was slow at work today so I worked on my thoughts. Of course the girls looked at me kind of funny when the tears were falling. The letter is going out to the 4 big address we have. I think I will e-mail it to all of then ones listed as I did my first. Ink just finished and signed his letter and it will go out tomorrow in the mail. We need to really push the regular mail. I am not giving up because I got a canned response. Need to figure where else or who else this letter should go to.

Bug
 
Great job! I think you told the story so beautifully. If these people have even a shred of a heart you just grabbed it. How can anyone not respond to such plain, raw truth?
 
Oh Bug, you've done it again - ripped the tears right out of me :hug: I hope that slinkyman and all the kids are able to keep their safe place with friends and family. I'm sure doing my darndest to make it happen.

Best of luck to all of us - keep fighting:thumbsup2
 
Oh Bug, you've done it again - ripped the tears right out of me :hug: I hope that slinkyman and all the kids are able to keep their safe place with friends and family. I'm sure doing my darndest to make it happen.

Best of luck to all of us - keep fighting:thumbsup2

Hugs! Nice to see us come together as a community and fight for what we believe in. It is a wonderful lesson for our children to see.

Once again everyone many thanks your kindness does help. Lets just hope some one high up sees our letters.


Bug
 
:sad: :sad: :sad:

You've done it again. Just like everyon else, I truly hope that someone with heart will read this letter.
 
Bug, you are an excellent writer. Most importantly, it was real, heart warming and to the point. Would Ink object to you posting his letter? I would really like to read it as well.

Has anyone contacted the Orlando paper (Sentinel I think)? This is certainly a human interest story they might like to cover and the paper does carry a lot of clout. They may even be able to direct us in who to write to next.

There are few things I think Disney (VMK) never figured on:

1) The large population of players over 18 yo. who remain in the game after
2+ years. I'm will to bet it's 50 % or more

2) The friendships / bonds that these adult players have made as a
community of family and friends. We are not just here to play pirates,
imagine that.

3) That VMK is more than it's creators imagined, the healing pixie dust that is
spread throughout the virtual kingdom has touched many players including
myself.

I found VMK during a time when I was ill and confined mostly to
my home. It was my daily visits to chat with friends, play a few games,
design a room, a ride, a quest that helped get me through. My little
player could walk and dance without a problem just like everyone else.
She was alway well dressed, earning enough credits to get almost
anything she desired. .... I could go on and on. I will save it for my
letter and not bore you here.

I think Disney (VMK) thought, these are kids. We'll just give them some other virtual game and they'll be OK. We can make a profit by charging for the next game. We need to make them realize how wrong they are. Please everyone keep writing those letters. Each small voice added to the next will make a deafening roar. We will roar back at the Mouse so loudly that the executives at Disney will hear.
 












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