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{{More citations needed|date=May 2015}}
'''Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom''', or '''VMK''', is a free ] run by ]. It is a ] representation of the ] and ] theme parks, and contains areas and games which are based on real park attractions.
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{{Infobox video game
|title = Virtual Magic Kingdom
|image = ]
|caption = ''Virtual Magic Kingdom'' official logo
|developer = ]<br />]
|publisher = Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
|designer = Fiona Romeo,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/organizing-a-museum-can-take-a-lesson-from-design-and-digital-media/|title=Organizing a museum can take a lesson from design and digital media|publisher=]|author=Cornish, David|date=February 24, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref> Seth Mendelsohn, Jeremy Malillin
|engine = ]
|released = May 23, 2005
|genre = ]
|modes = ]
|platforms = ], ]
}}


'''''Virtual Magic Kingdom''''', also known as '''''VMK''''', was a ] developed by ] and ] and published by ]. It was a ] representation of the ]-style ], containing areas and minigames which were based on real park scenery and attractions. The ] opened publicly on May 23, 2005, with new lands opening up through 2007.
The ] opened publicly on ], ] with ], ], and ] available to players. The game was no longer in beta as of ], 2005.


''VMK'' initially launched as part of the ] promotional campaign, commemorating Disneyland's 50th anniversary. Despite no long-term intentions, it gained popularity and eventually became a long-term venture on its own. The ] of the game was children between the ages of 8 and 14, although ''VMK'' was designed to be enjoyed by guests of all ages. Due to the young age of the game's target users, it was patrolled by paid staff who watched out for inappropriate behavior and language. Because of the need for human monitors, the time that the game was open had to be limited; it was open to the public daily between 7:00am–10:00pm ] (10:00am–1:00am ], 3:00pm–6:00am ]).
]
==Gameplay==
When a player begins the game, they create an ], and have the ability to select for gender and appearance (shirt, shoes, pants, hair, hat, face, and colors for skin and hair). The player also selects a "guest room" for the avatar (which can be decorated later with furniture and posters). One room is provided for free, and additional rooms can be purchased later with in-game "credits." The avatar is starts with a few tradable items (mainly tee shirts), and is then placed in the game.


''Virtual Magic Kingdom'' was closed by Disney on May 21, 2008. Many fans asked Disney if ''VMK'' was going to reopen. This prompted Disney to post a message on the ''VMK'' homepage that the game was a promotion, and was closed, and that there were "no plans" to reopen ''VMK'' in any form. The ''VMK'' homepage now redirects to the main Disney games site. An unofficial fan recreation named MyVMK was launched in 2013.
Activities an avatar can do in the VMK include:


== History ==
*Walking around from area to area, and exploring to find what sorts of things are available. The user can also visit other players' guest rooms.
=== Early history (1995–2004) ===
In 1995, ] greenlit a pitch from ] art director Terry Dobson to create a CD-ROM adventure game set at a Disney theme park. In this iteration, which was the first to be called ''Virtual Magic Kingdom'', a stylized park would be overrun by villains during a special after-hours visit. The project was overseen by ].<ref>{{Cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Izz76S5UKg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/2Izz76S5UKg |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Interview with Roger Holzberg, Senior Producer for the EPCOT "MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION"|website=The Tiara Talk Show|last=Tuckey|first=Tammy|date=2018-08-25|access-date=2021-10-23}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The game was developed from 1996 to 1998, but was ultimately cancelled. The work on the Fantasyland portion was repurposed into the 1999 game '']''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Salas|first=Jacob|date=2021-10-21|title=One Name, Two Games: Virtual Magic Kingdom|url=https://pophistory.club/feature/virtual-magic-kingdom/|website=Pop History}}</ref>


Holzberg and Dobson reunited at Imagineering, then were recruited separately for a new Parks and Resorts Online unit around 2003. After being introduced to Sulake, who were attempting to expand beyond their breakout service ''Habbo Hotel'' (now '']''), they collaborated on a pitch demo set in Adventureland. According to Holzberg, the new pitch leaned heavily on its value to sell tickets to Disney parks.<ref name=":0" />
*Chatting with other players, though the available vocabulary is limited; see below.


=== Launch (2005–2008) ===
*Trading pins, posters, shirts, and furniture with other players. These items are only virtual, and have no "real-world" significance.
The ] opened publicly on May 23, 2005, with three virtual lands to explore: ], ], and ]. This "beta" designation was removed on June 27. The ] game area was made available on October 5, and ] opened on December 12. The rest of Tomorrowland opened on April 4, 2006, and ], the final land added, opened on January 8, 2007.


On June 24, 2005, the Parks and Resorts Online team filed a patent for their integration of real-life and virtual theme park rewards in ''VMK''.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US7396281B2|title=Participant interaction with entertainment in real and virtual environments|gdate=2008-07-08|invent1=Mendelsohn|invent2=Dobson|invent3=Holzberg|invent4=Voris|inventor1-first=Seth|inventor2-first=Terry M.|inventor3-first=Roger S.|inventor4-first=Jeff|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US7396281B2/en}}</ref>
*Playing games. The games that are currently available are:
**], where two teams of up to four players each try to sink the opponents ships by sailing around and firing cannons.
**Castle ], where fireworks are launched into the sky and the player must click on each one with the correct symbol to detonate it.
**The ] Photo Safari, where points are given for taking photos of interesting things.
**The Street Party Music Game, where a player can ] ]s into a song for avatars to dance to.


===Closure===
*Searching for "]"; see below.
Disney closed VMK on May 21, 2008, at 1:00 AM EST. Immediately after the press release, changes were made to prevent the creation of any new accounts.


Online petitions were created to attempt to change Disney's decision, and some players attempted to arrange a protest outside of the entrance to Disneyland, and approximately a dozen people showed up. On Thanksgiving weekend of 2008, suspicion arose when emails from VMK's server were sent out saying they were testing the player's account. These emails were proved to be false.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522125148/http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/2008/05/10/fans-protest-end-of-virtual-disney-site-in-front-of-disneyland/|date=May 22, 2008}}</ref> Ultimately, these actions had no effect, and VMK was shut down as scheduled. The VMK website was updated with information to quell repeated rumors that the game would be resurrected (and at one point, provided promotional subscriptions for other Disney Online games), but was taken down entirely in November; the VMK URL currently directs users to the "Games" section of Disney.com instead of the VMK homepage.
*Searching for hidden characters such as Shrunken Ned and Captain Blackheart. Clicking on a hidden character awards credits and pins.


Holzberg claimed in 2021 that ''VMK'' was "cannibalizing" the activity of '']'' and other Disney-related online services.<ref name=":0" />
]
An avatar can "wear" up to eight pins at a time so that other players can see them in his profile. "Magic pins" can also be found which, when activated, create a brief visual effect.


A fan-made recreation of the game launched in 2013 as ''MyVMK'' has amassed a community of former players and is still presently operating. It has no affiliation with the Walt Disney Company.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.myvmk.com |title=MyVMK}}</ref>
In conversations, room descriptions, and other places where players are allowed to enter freeform text, the game uses an undisclosed list of allowed words. If a player types a word not on the list, it flashes in red to warn him that it will not be accepted; and if he tries to use it anyway, it appears to other players as "###". Some of the more notable words missing from the allowed list are all numbers, names of states, and names of major cities, presumably to protect players by preventing them from divulging their ages or locations. Rooms in the game are monitored by administrators; any attempt to outwit the safeguards and reveal personal information will result in a warning from an administrator.


==Gameplay==
A visitor to ] or the ] can create an avatar at a special VMK kiosk. An avatar created in a park will start off with additional credits and items, and its profile (visible to other players) has a special "Born in the Park" icon in it. A park visitor can go on "Quests" in these two theme parks to win trading cards with codes on them which award in-game items. The purchase of certain items (such as a gold mouse ears hat or a collectible pin) will grant a collectible card with a code to obtain an item in the game.
]
The ''Virtual Magic Kingdom'' consisted of "Disney Lands", each depicted in ], and each with a distinct theme.


No more than 15 characters could occupy a room at any time. If a player tried to enter a guest room which already contained fifteen characters, they would be put into a queue to wait to enter. A player could request a free "VMK pass" if there were more than five people in the queue for a room; this allowed them to walk around freely in other rooms until it was their turn to enter. The public rooms all had multiple "instances", named after compass directions (such as the "North-East-East" instance), and each instance could have up to fifteen characters in it. When moving around the public rooms, a character would be randomly placed in an instance of a room unless the player checked the "Advanced Mode" box, in which they could select a specific instance for their character to enter.
The game is only in operation between 10:00am to 1:00am ] (7:00am-10:00pm ]).


During October, all the rooms along Main Street were decorated for ]. In 2005, the decorations were left up until December; in 2006 and 2007, ] décor appeared immediately after Halloween.
The ] uses ]. Virtual Magic Kingdom was created by ], the company that also created the online multiplayer game ], and it bears several similarities to that game.


Players whose characters met in the same room at the same time could become "friends": one issued an invitation to the other, and if the other accepted, then each player would always be able to see when the other was online and in what game location, and would be able to jump instantly to the other character's location (unless blocked by a 'friends only' flag on the room, the presence of the friend's character within a game, or a 'special entrance' room). Either player could remove someone from their friends list at any time.
==Layout==


==Guest rooms and awards==
The Virtual Magic Kingdom consists of "rooms", each depicted in ], and each with a distinct theme. Each room has at least one exit which leads to another room.
When a player first created their character in the game, they were given one free "guest room", which they could name and decorate with items. If the player was creating their character in a real-life park, then they were given another room (one of each available choice), as a bonus. Several other kinds of rooms were also available; a player could purchase/get them in the game. Players could set some of their items to be movable by their guests, a feature added sometime in late 2007 or early 2008.


In-game shops sold a wide variety of items, such as posters, couches, water fountains, and rugs, which could be used to decorate guest rooms. Some of these items were sold only for a limited time, and some could only be obtained as prizes for completed quests. Pictures taken with the in-game camera could be hung on guest room walls, or put into a photo book for public view.
No more than fifteen avatars can occupy a room at any one time. If a player tries to enter someone's guest room which already contains fifteen avatars, he will be put into a queue to wait to enter. The public rooms all have multiple "instances", named after compass directions (such as the "North-East-East" instance), and each instance can have up to fifteen avatars in it. When moving around the public rooms, an avatar will be randomly placed in an instance of a room unless the player selects "Advanced Mode," in which he can select an instance for his avatar to enter.


Players could also create games in their rooms (as long as the games followed VMK guidelines of appropriateness), and award some of their own items to players. Among the most popular of these were "Cute or Boot", best described as a beauty pageant/fashion contest, "Falling Chairs", a game where the owner of the room dropped chairs while other players raced to them, and "Don't Hit the Floor!" in which a maximum of six contestants stood on boxes. Two variations of "Cute or Boot" were "Dress Like Me!", a game where players tried to dress like the game's owner, and "Wear that hat!", where players wore the same hat as the owner. Another popular game was "Design a Room!", where the owner filled rooms with items that could be moved, and the object was for players to design the best room. A less popular one was "Survivor", where the owner asked a question and the first person to answer it correctly wins a point.
{{Solution}}


Guest room owners had the ability to remove ("boot") a player from their room if the player was causing problems. Players that were "booted" had to wait set period of time before returning to the room.
==Quests==


If a character was in their own room, then they could be found by the Guest Rooms "search" button (which searched on the names of room owners as well as the names of rooms). Other than this, there was no way within the game to find out whether a particular other character not on a player's friends list was online or where they were located.
Five in-park "quests" are currently available at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. (The specific questions in the quests are different in each park.)


In the ] land, there was an exclusive room based on the VIP Exclusive Disney Club, located in the real New Orleans Square, ]. This room was used for staff events and open to some guests who had won the best guest room award.
A location on ] in the Magic Kingdom or Tomorrowland in Disneyland provides quest handouts containing multiple-choice questions for the Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland quests, and a Tomorrowland quest is available online to print out and bring to a park. A player explores the park to find answers, then returns to his starting point so his answers can be checked and prizes can be awarded. The questions require the player to spot details in the park, such as counting the number of keys on the keyring being held by the dog in ]. Upon completing these quests, the player is awarded prize cards (with codes for in-game items) depending on what answers he or she got right, as well as a glow-in-the-dark ] for getting all correct answers in any one quest.


Each week, VMK staff awarded a Best Guest Room Award, Best Game Room Award, and a Best Quest Award pin to the owners of guest rooms chosen to be superlative in originality and creativity. Winners of Best Guest Room not only got the Best Guest Room Award, but they also were allowed to "rent" Club 33 for a party, which a VMK host helped the winner organize. Several players earned the Best Guest Room, Best Game Room, or Best Quest award more than once; the VMK staff awarded the VIP pin to these outstanding players.
If the player completes the quests successfully, he is eligible for a special VMK Insider Tour, which includes the ] quest and the opportunity to win more prizes. The exact rules for winning the Insider Tour don't appear to be consistent or well-understood among the cast members staffing the VMK counter. Some give the card upon completion of the original three quests (Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland); some give it upon completion of any three quests (of the original three plus Tomorrowland); some give it only upon completion of all four quests.


A player could set their guest rooms so that only people on their friends list could enter. On January 8, 2007, "tickets" were added; a room owner was then able to sell (for 10 credits) or trade tickets to allow entry to their rooms. The tickets appeared as single-use pins.
A player must wait thirty days before being awarded any particular prize (including the wristband) again.


In March 2007, VMK Staff began "Room Makeovers", where VMK staff would go into randomly selected guest rooms, or guest rooms submitted by online players, and give the room a makeover if it was in need of one. Before and after pictures of the players' room were then posted each week on the VMK Newsletter.
==Prizes==


During the month of April, VMK staff awarded a 'Best Pirate Room' award because April was 'Pirate Month'. Prizes included a "Seagull Nest Hat", a "Crow Barstool" and the seat that went with it, and a "Flaming Ransacked Window".
These cards are given out at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. Each has a single-use code printed on it; entering this code into the game will grant the named prize to the player.


Some rooms were available in the ''Virtual Magic Kingdom'' from the shop button, others were available from quests, and some had limited availability built-in. Players were encouraged to get guest rooms when quests came out, because that could be the only time they would ever be available. For example, the Tron Guest Room was from a quest that was available only for a time, so players who did not finish the quest by a certain date, never received the Tron Guest Room. There were also codes for certain guest rooms.
===Merchandise cards===


In June 2007, "pay-to-play" guest/game rooms were disallowed because it was considered scamming, though games like "Pirates of the Caribbean" were still allowed to ask for the minimum 21 credits.
These prize cards are given with the purchase of various items around the parks. The locations are different for Disneyland than they are for the Magic Kingdom. One of the six cards can not be obtained from Disneyland; another can not be obtained from the Magic Kingdom.


In January 2008, three new guest rooms were added to Main Street: Main Street Magic Shop in Central Plaza, Main Street Magic Shop Checkers (a new game at the Magic Shop), and the Penny Arcade on Main Street.
*1/6 Fantasyland Magic Mirror
**DL: buy any magic trick at the Main Street Magic Shop
**not available at MK
*2/6 Happiest Celebration On Earth Pin
**DL: buy any pin at Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland
**MK: buy any pin at Frontier Mercantile in Frontierland
*3/6 Golden Mickey Ears
**DL: buy any hat from any hat shop except Star Trader
**MK: buy any hat at Chapeau on Main Street
*4/6 Frontierland Wanted Poster
**not available at DL
**MK: buy a photo at ] or ]
*5/6 Retro Mickey T-Shirt
**DL: buy any shirt at Star Trader in Tomorrowland
**MK: buy any shirt at Sir Mickey's in Fantasyland
*6/6 Disneyland Retro Penny Press
**DL: buy any candy at Pooh Corner Honey Spot in Critter Country
**MK: buy any candy at Prairie Outpost & Supply in Frontierland


===Award cards=== ==Mini-games==
The following ]s were available to play throughout the lands in the ''Virtual Magic Kingdom'':
* Magic Checkers: Revealed to the VMK public in January 2008, this game was essentially ] and was playable by two players at a time per room. Like most other games in VMK, Magic Checkers offered a reward of credits and items. The amount of credits awarded by this game increased depending on the amounts won. The players were able to buy single use Magic Pins for this game to get an advantage over the other players.
* ]: Two to eight players, on two teams, either played a game of "Ship Battle" where one team must sink the other, or a game of "Capture the Flag" where one team must bring the opposing team's flag to their base before the other team. Once the game was over, both teams were rewarded with credits for their efforts. After every three wins on one level, a player received a treasure chest magic key that would open a chest corresponding to the level on which the player won the key. The prizes the player was awarded were from a list of randomly chosen pirate-related prizes that corresponded to the level the key was awarded in.
* Castle Fireworks Remixed: Fireworks were launched into the sky and the player had to click on each one with the correct symbol to detonate it. Pins and credits were awarded based on a player's performance.
* ] Photo Safari: The player piloted a safari boat and took photos of animals while avoiding obstacles. After the first time playing the game, 20 credits are awarded per game, no matter what the player's score.
* Street Party Music Game/Monorail Music Game: A player could ] ]s into a song for characters to dance to. Credits were awarded for editing songs and for playing them.
* ] Game: The Purple team and the Green team, with up to four players each, competed to capture ghosts in the mansion.
* The VMK ]: The basic version of the VMK Trading Card Game was released on August 17, 2007. In this version, the player began with a random deck of cards and played a computer opponent in a sort of ] game. Other versions, along with customizable decks and rewards for winning, were released later as time went on. The game was never fully released due to technical issues and the game closing.


There were also several places in Tomorrowland where credits could be earned. In Nautilus Grotto and Shipwreck Graveyard, a player could collect shells that randomly popped up under water and receive one credit for every pearl they found. This game required the Diving Suit magic pin, which could be obtained from an in-game quest. Another place to earn credits was the Autopia Space Race and the Mars race tracks. In this game, a player drove over trophies to collect them, while also driving over gas cans to keep from running out of gas. For every trophy collected, a player received one credit. This game required one of the four available Autopia car magic pins, which could be obtained from an in-game quest. It also required an Autopia Driver's License.
These prize cards are awarded in the parks for successful completion of quests. The complete set of cards is on display at VMK Central in the parks; not all cards are currently available to players.


The following minigames were available to play in the Tomorrowland Arcade until waterpark overlay:
*1/30 Disneyland Golden Show Designer Collection
* Airlock Escape: A ] with some similarity to '']''; successful completion of all fifteen levels rewarded the player with Deep Sea Diving Boots, Deep Sea Diving Jacket, and Deep Sea Diving Trousers (Deep Sea Diving Helmet could be purchased in the Inner-Space store).
*2/30 Madame Leota's Crystal Ball Collection (Haunted Mansion question 1 prize)
* Blast in Space: An ] similar to '']''; the player piloted a spaceship to shoot rocks, and then received awards for passing all sixteen levels.
*3/30 Aladdin's Flying Carpet Chair (Adventureland quest level 1 prize)
* Hyperspace Mountain: An action game where the player collected six "modules" throughout nine sectors and received the awards.
*4/30 Haunted Mansion Ghostly Organ (Haunted Mansion question 5 prize)
*5/30 Invisibility Magic Spell (Haunted Mansion question 2 prize)
*6/30 Haunted Mansion Conservatory Guest Room (Haunted Mansion quest completion prize)
*7/30 Stitch's Tomorrowland Teleporter (Tomorrowland quest level 2 prize)
*8/30 Tomorrowland Rocketship Couch (Tomorrowland quest level 1 prize)
*9/30 Tomorrowland Teleportation Magic Spell (Tomorrowland quest level 3 prize)
*10/30 Captain Nemo's Nautilus Chair
*11/30 Adventureland Retro Pin (Adventureland quest level 2 prize)
*12/30 Adventureland Explorer's Suitcase Sofa (Adventureland quest level 3 prize)
*13/30 Master Gracey's Grandfather Clock (Haunted Mansion question 4 prize)
*14/30 Jungle Cruise Explorer's Tent Guest Room
*15/30 Adventureland Jungle Cruise Hippo Rug
*16/30 Adventureland Safari Lifestyle Collection
*17/30 Adventureland Explorer's Safari Carpet
*18/30 Gorilla Jungle Cruise Photo Safari Poster
*19/30 Rhino Jungle Cruise Photo Safari Poster
*20/30 Frontierland Ace of Spade ''(sic)'' Carpet (Frontierland quest level 1 prize)
*21/30 Frontierland Cactus Armchair (Frontierland quest level 2 prize)
*22/30 Frontierland Saddle Seats Sofa (Frontierland quest level 3 prize)
*23/30 Big Thunder Mountain Teleporter
*24/30 Haunted Mansion Rocking Chair (Haunted Mansion question 3 prize)
*25/30 Fantasyland Castle Retro Pin (Fantasyland quest level 1 prize)
*26/30 Prince Phillip's Briarstone (Fantasyland quest level 2 prize)
*27/30 Huntsman's Heartless Hamper (Fantasyland quest level 3 prize)
*28/30 Haunted Mansion Graveyard Tree (Haunted Mansion question 6 prize)
*29/30 Virtual Magic Kingdom Credits
*30/30 VMK Insider Tour (prize for completing the in-park quests (see ''Quests'' above); awards a VIP badge)


==Badges== ==Events==
''Virtual Magic Kingdom'' occasionally held special events at which prizes were given out. Special events included:
* '''Parade and Scavenger Hunt (beta period)''': Players were told to gather on Main Street and "parade" along its length. Some parade "leaders" were awarded the ''Dancing Inferno Magic'' pin, later considered rare to other players. Then a few staff members "hid" themselves in some rooms in the game, and the first people to find each of them were awarded prizes.
* '''Room Decorating Event''': Players were told to decorate their rooms to be judged for prizes. For a Celebration theme, players commemorated Disneyland's 50th anniversary. For a Space theme, players offered an interpretation of what "space" meant to them. Prizes were also given for answering trivia questions.
* '''Dreams Month (September 2007)''': Hosts would be randomly walking around the park including guest rooms and handing out prizes. Some of these prizes included the Dreams room, which looks like Sleeping Beauty's castle, dream ears, dream pin, dream furniture, and many other items. Hosts would randomly walk around and players waiting in one room all day had difficulty finding them, therefore, players were encouraged to play VMK as they would normally to possibly win a prize.
* '''Haunted Maze Event (October 2005)''': An easy maze, a medium maze, and a difficult maze were available for players to find their way through. Successfully completing the maze would award a prize. However, the event was plagued by server problems, resulting in queues of half an hour or more to get into the mazes, and some players were not able to enter the mazes at all or were bumped offline in the middle of them.
* '''Gift-Giving Event (December 2005)''': A player could spend 500 credits to purchase a mystery gift which was given (in the game) to someone of their choosing on December 24. The gift turned out to be a green holiday wreath.
* '''Yeti Quest (February 2006)''': Players could visit designated rooms to find photos; by stringing together the first letter of each pictured item, a player could spell the location where the Yeti was hiding, and submit the location for prizes. The answer was "Injun Joe's Cave", and everyone who sent in a correct answer won a snow carpet.
* '''Ride-A-Thons''': VMK staff occasionally hosted "Ride-A-Thons", in which they prepared rides for players to enjoy. When a player reached the end of a ride, he was given a ride piece with which to create their own ride. Several rides usually ran at the same time to handle capacity. The more a player rode, the more of a single prize a player would receive, depending on the event.
* '''Make-A-Room''': VMK staff occasionally hosted "Make A Ride Rooms", which allowed players to go into a certain teleporter and design a room. The player with the best design got a prize, and soon many other players started the same game. A blue flag would be placed in the room once the ride was judged.
* '''Gingerbread Room Competition (December 2007)''': Players constructed a room using furniture items released during the month of December. The rooms were judged and the winners were given prizes that included a new shirt and hat that are different on boys than on girls.
* '''Captain Blackheart's Treasure Hunt Quest (March 29 - April 1, 2008)''': The biggest VMK quest ever. The quest consisted of 75 different tasks, and required the player to navigate VMK, answer Disney Pirates of the Caribbean-related questions, and play games. The prize awarded was 75,000 credits and some items that were not immediately obtainable. There was also a smaller version of the quest, called ''Captain Blackheart's Mini Treasure Hunt Quest''. The smaller quest awarded 1000 credits. Captain Blackheart, as he is called, also hosted a small quest, but still quite large with the prize of 56,000 credits and many valuable items.


==Quests==
Badges appear at the top of a player's information window visible to other players. Badges cannot be traded.
===In-game===

In-game quests involved a series of tasks for a player, such as finding a specific room or an item in the room, changing one's outfit, saying a specific word, or winning a certain number of points in a minigame. There were two types of in-game quests: 'Q Button' quests, which players could start from anywhere in the game by pressing a button marked 'Q' on the game's taskbar; and kiosk quests, which were linked to a 'quest kiosk' item owned by a particular player or staff member. Successful completion of a quest usually awarded a prize. Each character could only complete each quest once. The Quests were timed and whoever completed the quest fastest would win a prize.
*Born In Park: given to an avatar created at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom
*VIP: given via a prize card's code; the card is given after completing the in-park quests (see ''Quests'' above) to become eligible for the special park tour
*Here from Day 1: given to an avatar created prior to June 27, 2005
*VMK Staff: paid employees who help safeguard players; their names begin with "VMK_"
*Community Leader: volunteers who help with the game; their names begin with "CL_"

==Pins==

===Numbered pins===

*The Haunted Mansion (1/9): buy for 25 credits from Golden Horseshoe Saloon
*Fantasyland Castle (2/9): buy for 250 credits from "it's a small world" Imports, or in-park quest
*The Enchanted Tiki Room (3/9): buy for 25 credits from Shrunken Ned's Shop
*Adventureland (4/9): in-park quest
*Disneyland (5/9): in-park quest
*The Pirates of the Caribbean (6/9): buy for 25 credits from Shrunken Ned's Shop
*The Matterhorn (7/9): buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports
*Tomorrowland (8/9): buy for 250 credits from Star Traders
*It's A Small World (9/9): buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports

*Tomorrowland Flying Saucers retro pin (1/5) will be availible this weekend for a limited time from Star Traders
*Tomorrowland PeopleMover Retro Pin (2/5): was available for a limited time from Star Traders
*Tomorrowland Skyway Retro Pin (3/5): was available for a limited time from Star Traders
*Tomorrowland Motor Boat Retro Pin (4/5): was available for a limited time from Star Traders
*Tomorrowland Submarine Voyage Retro Pin (5/5): was available for a limited time from Star Traders

===Rewards===

*Bronze Mickey: photograph ten Hidden Mickeys
*Silver Mortimer: photograph thirty Hidden Mickeys
*Gold Oswald: photograph all fifty Hidden Mickeys

*Pirate Level 1 Bronze Doubloon: win ten Level 1 Pirates games
*Pirate Level 2 Silver Piece: visit Captain Blackheart after winning ten Level 2 Pirates games
*Pirate Level 3 Gold Sovereign: win ten Level 3 Pirates games

*Firework Level 1 Bronze: play four levels of Castle Fireworks, but get booted before reaching fifth level (one way to do this is to not score any points on the fourth level)
*Firework Level 2 Silver Rocket: play all five levels of Castle Fireworks
*Firework Level 3 Gold Spectacular: finish Castle Fireworks with a score above of 200,000, but do not win it

*Best Guest Room Award: a special pin occasionally awarded to the owner of a guest room chosen by VMK staff to be the best in originality and creativity

===Magic pins===

A magic pin must be worn to be activated. To activate it, either click the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen and then double-click the magic pin, or type the pin's magic word. If a player has two of the same kind of magic pin, they can be combined for a longer effect.

*Buried In Treasure ("BlingBling!"): makes the avatar appear to become buried in gold coins. Available via a code in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal.
*Cursed Storm ("BoomCrash!"): makes the avatar spin around in a cyclone. Available via a code in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal.
*Dancing Inferno ("Inferno!"): makes the avatar appear to be dancing in flames. It is only given out by staff members during special events.
*Fireworks magic ("Rocket!"): makes fireworks shower over the avatar's head. To obtain it, get a score of over 240,000 in the Castle Fireworks game, but do not come in first place. (The requirements for this pin may have changed recently.)
*Invisibility magic ("Spooky!"): makes the avatar translucent. To obtain it, win ten Level 3 Pirates games, or complete the in-park Haunted Mansion quest.
*Magic Carpet ("Whoosh!"): makes the avatar appear to be floating on a magic carpet. This pin is not yet available to players, but its effects can be tried in the Spell Room in Fantasyland.
*Pirate Costume ("YohoYoho!"): makes the avatar appear to be dressed as a pirate. Available via a code in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal.
*Teleportation magic ("Jump!"): relocates the avatar to any other location in the room. To obtain it, complete the in-park Tomorrowland quest.

===Character pins===

Visit the characters to obtain these pins; see "Characters" below.

*Captain Blackheart
*Esmeralda the Fortuneteller
*Malificent the Dragon
*Shrunken Ned
*The Yeti

===Other pins===

*Aladdin: buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports
*Alice in Wonderland: buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports
*Autopia: buy for 25 credits from Star Traders Shop
*Cinderella: buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports
*Disney's Animal Kingdom: buy for 25 credits from Emporium
*Disney's California Adventure: buy for 25 credits from Emporium
*Disney-MGM Studio: buy for 25 credits from Emporium
*Dumbo: buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports
*Epcot: buy for 25 credits from Emporium
*Happiest Celebration on Earth: available from a card given upon purchase of a pin at a park; see "Merchandise cards" above
*Jungle Cruise Lounging Lion: was available from trading staff during the special "Pin Trading" weekend event
*Jungle Cruise Talking Toucan: was available for a limited time for 250 credits from Shrunken Ned's
*Nightmare Before Christmas: buy for 25 credits from Emporium
*Rocketship: buy for 25 credits from Star Traders Shop
*Snow White: buy for 25 credits from "it's a small world" Imports

==Special costumes==

Occasionally, the VMK shops sell special clothing items (or entire costumes) which can only be purchased during a specific weekend. These items are usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon become valuable items in trading. Here are the items which have been made available thus far:

*Sorcerer Mickey Hat
*Baseball Cap
*Mission Space Helmet, Mission Space Vest, Mission Space Pants, Mission Space Shoes
*Princess Tiara, Princess Bodice Yellow, Princess Hooped Skirt Yellow, Princess Slippers Yellow (the Yellow items were also made available in Pink; all of these items are available to girls only)
*Explorer's Jacket Green, Explorer's Jacket With Camera Green, Explorer's Shorts Green, Explorer's Boots (these items are still available)

==Guest rooms==

When a player first creates his avatar in the game, he is given one free "guest room" which he can name and decorate with items. He is allowed to choose the style of his free room from these four:


===In-park===
*Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
For the first two years of the game, there was an in-park quest program which permitted players to earn special in-game prizes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. These quests were mostly eliminated in mid-2007, with the exception of an activity sheet and quest which was handed out to guests waiting in line at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland until around January 2008.
*Boot Hill Shooting Gallery
*Mad Hatter's Tea Party
*Nautilus Submarine Room


===Hidden Mickeys===
If the player is creating his character in a park, then he is given another four rooms (one of each of the above) as a bonus.
There were fifty ] in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms. Hunting for Hidden Mickeys could be a difficult task, as they were faint and rather difficult to see, and it could take time to earn enough credits to buy film to photograph the hidden Mickeys in-game. Almost every room had at least one, and some contained two.


Credits and pins were awarded after finding certain numbers of Hidden Mickeys (a Bronze Mickey pin for finding ten, a Silver Mortimer pin for finding thirty, and a Gold Oswald pin and 500 credits for finding all fifty). Completing this hunt originally awarded a printable PDF coupon with a code for the Gold Design set of items, which could be obtained by redeeming the coupon at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom.
The other rooms available are:


The locations of the Hidden Mickeys were changed on December 12, 2005. The new hunt was called "Hidden Mickey Quest Part II", and the new prize pins had "Part II" appended to their names.
*Maleficent's Evil Fortress: purchase for 500 credits
*Tomorrowland Outerspace: purchase for 500 credits
*Jungle Cruise Explorer's Tent: available from a card won during the VMK Insider Tour
*Haunted Mansion Conservatory: available from the Haunted Mansion quest during the VMK Insider Tour
*Skull Rock: earned from a code given in the Kellogg's "Conquer the Sea" online game; see "Codes" below


==Character profiles==
A pirate ship room has been seen, and according to a VMK object list circulated online it will be named Pirate Prison, but this room is not yet available to players.
A new player began by registering an account at . The player then set up a character (an ]) and selected the character's gender and appearance (shirt, shoes, pants, hair, hat, face, and colors for skin and hair). The player chose a name for the avatar, but until the VMK staff approved the name they requested, their name was "Guest" followed by the number of player that they are (e.g. Guest7402548). If the name was not approved, the VMK staff would let the player create another name. The player also selected a "guest room", their own themed area which could be decorated with furniture, posters, a boat canal, train tracks, game items, or other material. One room was provided for free, and additional rooms could be purchased later with in-game credits. The player could enter a few lines of text, known as a "signature", which were displayed in the character's publicly visible profile. The character was then given a few tradeable items (mostly ]s), and was placed in the game.


A player could also choose from a list of randomly selected "adjective-adjective-noun" names presented to them; if they chose one of these names, it did not need undergo staff approval.
==Characters==
The first time a player visits one of these characters (by double-clicking on him or her), they receive 40 credits and a pin. Another 20 credits are given each time the player revisits the same character, as long as at least twelve hours have passed since the last payout.


==Items==
*Captain Blackheart, in Pirate Treehouse
There were many in-game items which were buyable. Other could be won or gained from the parks. These items included furniture, clothing, and pins. Most were tradeable, some were not.
*Esmeralda the Fortuneteller, in Emporium
*Maleficent the Dragon, in Dungeon
*Shrunken Ned, in Shrunken Ned's Shop
*The Yeti, in Matterhorn


==Hidden Mickeys== ===Badges===
Badges were icons that appeared at the top of a player's information window and were visible to other players. Badges could not be traded:
* Born In Park: given to a character created at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. This was a green badge with a cutout silhouette of the Disneyland castle (this was also the symbol of VMK).
* VIP: given via a prize card's code; the card was given after completing the in-park quests to become eligible for the special park tour. This badge was sometimes received by winning a mini-game or Host event. Note that this is different from the VIP pin, which was given the second time a player won a Best Guest Room or Best Game Room award. The badge was purple with white VIP lettering in the middle.
* Here from Day 1: given to a character created during the "beta" stage (prior to June 27, 2005). This was a gold badge with a prominent "1" displayed in the middle.
* VMK Staff: paid employees who helped safeguard players and/or hosted VMK games and events. This badge was the quintessential smiling Mickey Mouse face as seen at the start of the old cartoons.
* Testers: VMK staff that tested out items, and were seen around with their name as "QA_". Testers also held the VMK Staff badge.
* Community Leader: volunteers who helped with the game; their names began with "CL_" (discontinued on October 24, 2007). This badge was a blue badge with Mickey's sorcerer hat. After it was discontinued, former community leaders did not have the badge or the CL_ at the beginning of their title.


<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] -->
There are fifty ] in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms. Hunting for Hidden Mickeys can be a difficult task, as they are faint and rather difficult to see, and it can take time to earn enough credits to buy film. Each room has at least one, and some contain two.


===Pins===
To begin the Hidden Mickey hunt, stop in to VMK Central and double-click on the camera sign. Buy a Camera and 3 Film for 200 credits. Additional packs of 5 Film are another 200 credits each. When you find a Hidden Mickey, photograph it with the camera icon at the bottom of the game window. Credits and pins are awarded after finding certain numbers of Hidden Mickeys.
A character could "wear" up to fifteen pins so that other players could see them in their profile. Some pins could be purchased from shops in the game; others could only be obtained by completing in-park or in-game quests, by winning host games, or from a Non-Playable Character (NPC) such as Esmeralda.


Usually a new pin was released on weekends of a certain month in the Emporium for a limited time. These pins usually cost 500 credits and were often a part of a set. For example, during October 2006 a set of Halloween themed pins came out, and a new pin was released every weekend. However, by Monday the pin was no longer available, making it high in value. The next weekend however, a new pin in the set was released and it started all over again.
These are the location descriptions given by the game as the Hidden Mickeys are found and photographed.


"Magic pins" could also be worn. When activated (from the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen, or by typing the pin's magic word), they displayed a visual effect, such as the character driving a car or turning into a snowman. Each effect had a duration of only a few seconds and had to be allowed to "recharge" for a minute or so before another use. If a player had two or more of the same kind of magic pin, they could be combined for a longer effect and shorter delay between uses. There were also single-use magic pins which disappeared after being used once (or after a specific "expiration date"). Some magic pins were very expensive and only available for a short period of time; for example, the "Turn Into Bat Magic Pin" (only available in October) was priced at 10,000 credits.
*Adventureland Bazaar, POTC entrance
*Banquet Hall, banner
*Banquet Hall, spiderweb
*Castle Fireworks Lobby, right turret
*Castle Fireworks Lobby, tallest turret
*Castle Forecourt, tower
*Castle Gardens, evil
*Castle Gardens, good
*Castle Spell Room, table
*Castle Spell Room, wall
*Central Plaza, brickwork
*Central Plaza, topiary
*Dungeon, dragon head
*Dungeon, dragon tail
*Elephant Bathing Pool, ruins
*Emporium, drapery
*Emporium, tarot card
*Explorer's Tent, rock
*Explorer's Tent, waterfall
*Fantasyland In the Sky, Matterhorn
*Forbidden Temple, chains
*Forbidden Temple, fallen column
*Gallery, Castle stained glass
*Gallery, Sleeping Beauty stained glass
*Golden Horseshoe Shop, balcony
*Golden Horseshoe Shop, wall
*Jungle Cruise Dock, pier
*Jungle Cruise Dock, wall
*Lost Safari Party, far shore
*Lost Safari Party, lion's den
*Main Street, VMK Central
*Matterhorn, stage entrance
*Matterhorn, waterfall
*Monorail Train, nose
*Music Game, rooftop
*Pirate Treehouse, sail
*Pirates of the Caribbean Game Lobby, sail
*Shrunken Ned's Shop, pirate flag
*Snow White's Hide n' Seek Forest, tree
*Star Trader's Shop, wall
*Storybookland, mine
*Storybookland, treetop
*Street Party Music Game, blinds
*Tiki Tiki Tiki Island, temple entrance
*Tiki Tiki Tiki Island, tunnel
*Town Square, Emporium
*Town Square, platform
*VMK Central, stage
*"it's a small world" Imports, crate
*"it's a small world" Imports, thrones


Some pins were not tradeable and could only be obtained through quests or host events. These pins included all single-use magic pins and all Tomorrowland quest pins. Any award pin, such as the best guest room award or the VIP pin, was also not tradeable. A player could check if a pin was tradeable by clicking the pin on a player's profile, which not only revealed whether a certain pin is available for trade or not, but also revealed who owned the pin and what effects (if any) the pin might have.
==Codes==


<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->
A player can enter codes to obtain items and credits. Each code consists of sixteen letters and numbers. They are provided on cards and wristbands given as prizes for quests at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, in certain issues of Disney Adventure Magazine, and in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal (], ], ], and ]).


===Clothing===
There are two kinds of codes. ''Single-use'' codes are unique and are only valid for one use by a single player; these are the ones given on prize cards. ''Multi-use'' codes are good for one use by any player; the same code is provided in each cereal box, for example. (An avatar can not use a multi-use code more than once. If he buys three boxes of cereal and gets the same code in all three, he can still only use the code once.)
When a player joined the kingdom, they received a pack of clothing along with a room and some furniture. Players that signed up at a Disney park sometimes received extra rewards.


Occasionally, the VMK shops sold special clothing items (or entire costumes). Some of these were seasonal, and some could only be purchased during a specific weekend. These items were usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon became valuable items in trading.
There is a Kellogg's "Conquer the Sea" game online which will dispense one single-use code to a player. This code will award a few pirate-themed prizes including the Skull Rock room.


Some clothing items were only available to one gender. For example, boys could not have princess outfits (excluding the Princess Minnie hat), and girls could not have the Wildcats outfit.
Below is a list of known multi-use codes.


Full costumes included spacesuits, princess outfits,(came in blue, yellow, pink) ] dress clothes, an ] hiking outfit, baseball uniforms, and football uniforms.
*<tt>LAB9-RR3K-EBSK-B9D3</tt>: Awards a VMK T-shirt. Printed on the inside of the glow-in-the-dark wristband given as a reward for in-park quests.
*<tt>KLS9-R569-9RJK-CLUG</tt>: Awards a Cursed Storm magic pin. Available in boxes of Kellogg's cereal. (Before June 27, 2005, this code awarded a Buried in Treasure magic pin.)
*<tt>EUF8-B5BL-9RKC-Y9ZW</tt>: Awards a Buried in Treasure magic pin. Available in boxes of Kellogg's cereal. (Before June 27, 2005, this code awarded a Pirate Costume magic pin.)
*<tt>MTNQ-JDL9-AKT7-99BE</tt>: Awards a Pirate Costume magic pin. Available in boxes of Kellogg's cereal.
*<tt>QNEL-NTBW-KLDU-GB2C</tt>: Awards 500 credits. Provided in the June 2005 Disney Adventure magazine.
*<tt>WBRK-LBAG-KQNL-B9N9</tt>: Awards 500 credits. Provided in the Summer 2005 Disney Adventure magazine.
*<tt>62RH-TFR5-773V-AEYM</tt>: Awards 100 credits. Distributed in a VMK email advertisement sent by Disney.
*<tt>L55H-VB5U-L6JY-68CA</tt>: Awards 50 credits. Printed on a VMK advertising flyer distributed at Downtown Disney.


Costume items included Mickey ears, and a variety of caps including ] and a Sorcerer Mickey hat and more.
Magic pins acquired through codes cannot be traded to other avatars. This prevents a player from getting lots of magic pins by creating several avatars, using codes to give them pins, and trading the pins to his main avatar.


==Community== ==Credits==
A player could earn credits, purchase them in one of Disney's Parks (the game's currency) also by visiting the Disney Characters or by playing minigames.


Another popular way to amass credits was called "Nedding". It consisted of playing the Shrunken Ned's Jungle Cruise game but trying to end the game as quickly as possible by crashing repeatedly and running out of fuel. Each time the game was played it awards 20 credits, so the credits that could be gotten from this game were limited only by the length of time someone wanted to put into it.
Players whose avatars meet in the same room at the same time can become "friends": one issues an invitation to the other, and if the other accepts, then each player will always be able to see if the other is online and in what game location, and will be able to jump instantly to the other avatar's location. Either player can cancel this "friends" connection at any time. Outside of friends, there is no way within the game to find out whether a particular other avatar is online or in what room.


Accounts used specifically for getting credits and items, known in other games as ]s, were called "mules" (sometimes called "]"). Since the game let a player create new accounts freely, players created mules (named after the ]) to enter multi-use codes and collect credits by visiting Disney Characters. Players could buy items with a mule's credits, and then trade these items from the mules to their main characters. Players who used mules were said to be "muling", and in the game mules were called "done keys" (donkeys) due to the limited vocabulary.
Disney prohibits sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also adds a technical obstacle to this). Disney's stated intent is to protect the safety and privacy of its members, but this also prevents members from having a legitimate way of reaching each other outside the game.


Purchased items could be "sold back" for 20% of their purchase price, but some items were not able to be sold. For example, a quest kiosk could not be sold back or traded.
Players have found a way around this by putting certain phrases in their public signatures, a short bit of text which is visible to any other player who clicks on the avatar.


==Trading==
*The use of "Dis member" or "Dis board member" means that the player is a member of the web site.
Players could trade various items. Each player could put a maximum of fifteen items into a trade.
*The use of "Disney ears" means that the player is a member of the web site.
*The use of "Enter Caught" means that the player is a member of the web site, but VMK now prohibits this phrase from being used in signatures and room names, so Intercot members use "WDW inside and out" instead.
*The use of "VMK fan site . (thing to catch fish)" means that the player is a member of the web site.


Clothing items that were only available for boys or girls could not be traded to the other gender. For example, a girl could not trade her princess outfit to a boy.
=="yavn"==


Some players tried to take advantage of the trading window to scam other players, but most of the trading window scams were short-circuited by game developers adding confirmation notices. VMK stated that if a person agreed to all of these notices, any issues a player might have with the trade were due to their own negligence.
At least one of the game's developers is active in the game; he goes by the name "yavn". He often shows off pins, clothing, and rooms that are not yet publicly available, and he will on very rare occasion grant rare items to players. When yavn appears in the game he is usually surrounded by people trying to obtain items and information from him. His "Tent Room" is usually full of people waiting for him in the hopes of receiving handouts.


A player could report a scammer with the "Report" button in the game, or by using the "Contact Us" link on the web site.
==Trading and scamming==


==Safety==
Players can trade pins and room furnishings. One player clicks on someone's avatar to show an info window, then clicks 'Trade'. The other player will be asked if he wants to trade, and if he does, both players will see a trading window. Each player can double-click on his items to place them in the "offer" area, and once both players are satisfied, they each click an "accept" checkbox and that completes the trade. (Any change to either person's offer will clear both "accept" checkboxes and require both players to accept again.)
The game's rules were posted on the VMK web site as "VMK Values", which were intended to help the game stay "a safe, non-threatening environment" for the many players between the ages of eight and fourteen. The rules prohibited sexual or racist language, harassment, divulging personal information, and attempts to ] the system. Violations could result in a permanent ban, which prevented users from using VMK from the ISP the violation occurred on. Despite this, attempted violations were quite common, and people attempted to get around the edited speech by formulating single words out of multiple words (e.g.: saying "I'm Tree Ears Hold").


Every player had a report button on their profile. If one player thought of something that another player did as against the VMK values, that player could report them. The report was immediately sent to the VMK staff for review, and any necessary actions were taken against that player's account. Players could also send "emergency" messages to staff without clicking the report button on another player. The main reason for this was if something was wrong with the game (e.g.: "I logged in the morning, and all my credits were gone"). Action would be taken against a player's account for sending false or unnecessary reports. These were usually made in an attempt to bring a VMK staff member to their room, or in an effort for revenge.
Some clothing items are only available for boys or girls, and cannot be traded to the other gender. For example, a girl can not give her princess outfit to a boy.


Disney prohibited sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also added a technical obstacle to this). Disney's stated intent was to protect the safety and privacy of its members, but this also prevented members from having a legitimate way of reaching each other outside the game. Members of some Disney internet discussion forums got around this by indicating in their in-game signature a discussion board through which they could be reached.
Some players are taking advantage of the trading window to scam other players. What usually happens is that a scammer will offer a valuable item for trade, he will ask someone else to put lots of good items into the offer area, and then he will quickly withdraw his valuable item and replace it with a cheap item and click "accept", hoping the other person won't notice the switch. A scammer can be reported by clicking the "Help" button at the bottom of the VMK window then clicking the "Call for Help" tab, but VMK staff does not appear to be often successful at returning lost items.


==In popular culture==
==Future==
VMK has been a frequently used ] in '']'' series, written by ]. It serves as a ] point for the main characters, as well as a communication device as the kids venture through the Disney parks. After VMK closed down in real life, Pearson incorporated the closing into the books.


==References==
] and ] are currently listed as "Coming Soon." According to information given on the VMK Insider Tour, these lands will be available in December. Frontierland will include the "Haunted Mansion Ghost Chasers" game; Tomorrowland will be visually inspired by the stories of ].
{{Reflist}}


==External link== ==External links==
* * at
* website


] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 22:08, 15 January 2024

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Find sources: "Virtual Magic Kingdom" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
2005 video game
Virtual Magic Kingdom
Virtual Magic Kingdom official logo
Developer(s)Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Sulake Corporation
Publisher(s)Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Designer(s)Fiona Romeo, Seth Mendelsohn, Jeremy Malillin
EngineAdobe Shockwave
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseMay 23, 2005
Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online game
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Virtual Magic Kingdom, also known as VMK, was a massively multiplayer online game developed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Sulake and published by The Walt Disney Company. It was a virtual representation of the Disneyland-style theme parks, containing areas and minigames which were based on real park scenery and attractions. The beta version opened publicly on May 23, 2005, with new lands opening up through 2007.

VMK initially launched as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth promotional campaign, commemorating Disneyland's 50th anniversary. Despite no long-term intentions, it gained popularity and eventually became a long-term venture on its own. The target audience of the game was children between the ages of 8 and 14, although VMK was designed to be enjoyed by guests of all ages. Due to the young age of the game's target users, it was patrolled by paid staff who watched out for inappropriate behavior and language. Because of the need for human monitors, the time that the game was open had to be limited; it was open to the public daily between 7:00am–10:00pm PST (10:00am–1:00am EST, 3:00pm–6:00am UTC).

Virtual Magic Kingdom was closed by Disney on May 21, 2008. Many fans asked Disney if VMK was going to reopen. This prompted Disney to post a message on the VMK homepage that the game was a promotion, and was closed, and that there were "no plans" to reopen VMK in any form. The VMK homepage now redirects to the main Disney games site. An unofficial fan recreation named MyVMK was launched in 2013.

History

Early history (1995–2004)

In 1995, Disney Interactive greenlit a pitch from Imagineering art director Terry Dobson to create a CD-ROM adventure game set at a Disney theme park. In this iteration, which was the first to be called Virtual Magic Kingdom, a stylized park would be overrun by villains during a special after-hours visit. The project was overseen by Roger Holzberg. The game was developed from 1996 to 1998, but was ultimately cancelled. The work on the Fantasyland portion was repurposed into the 1999 game Disney's Villains' Revenge.

Holzberg and Dobson reunited at Imagineering, then were recruited separately for a new Parks and Resorts Online unit around 2003. After being introduced to Sulake, who were attempting to expand beyond their breakout service Habbo Hotel (now Habbo), they collaborated on a pitch demo set in Adventureland. According to Holzberg, the new pitch leaned heavily on its value to sell tickets to Disney parks.

Launch (2005–2008)

The beta version opened publicly on May 23, 2005, with three virtual lands to explore: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, and Adventureland. This "beta" designation was removed on June 27. The Tomorrowland game area was made available on October 5, and Frontierland opened on December 12. The rest of Tomorrowland opened on April 4, 2006, and New Orleans Square, the final land added, opened on January 8, 2007.

On June 24, 2005, the Parks and Resorts Online team filed a patent for their integration of real-life and virtual theme park rewards in VMK.

Closure

Disney closed VMK on May 21, 2008, at 1:00 AM EST. Immediately after the press release, changes were made to prevent the creation of any new accounts.

Online petitions were created to attempt to change Disney's decision, and some players attempted to arrange a protest outside of the entrance to Disneyland, and approximately a dozen people showed up. On Thanksgiving weekend of 2008, suspicion arose when emails from VMK's server were sent out saying they were testing the player's account. These emails were proved to be false. Ultimately, these actions had no effect, and VMK was shut down as scheduled. The VMK website was updated with information to quell repeated rumors that the game would be resurrected (and at one point, provided promotional subscriptions for other Disney Online games), but was taken down entirely in November; the VMK URL currently directs users to the "Games" section of Disney.com instead of the VMK homepage.

Holzberg claimed in 2021 that VMK was "cannibalizing" the activity of Toontown Online and other Disney-related online services.

A fan-made recreation of the game launched in 2013 as MyVMK has amassed a community of former players and is still presently operating. It has no affiliation with the Walt Disney Company.

Gameplay

Central Plaza in January 2008, 4 months before the whole game closed.

The Virtual Magic Kingdom consisted of "Disney Lands", each depicted in isometric projection, and each with a distinct theme.

No more than 15 characters could occupy a room at any time. If a player tried to enter a guest room which already contained fifteen characters, they would be put into a queue to wait to enter. A player could request a free "VMK pass" if there were more than five people in the queue for a room; this allowed them to walk around freely in other rooms until it was their turn to enter. The public rooms all had multiple "instances", named after compass directions (such as the "North-East-East" instance), and each instance could have up to fifteen characters in it. When moving around the public rooms, a character would be randomly placed in an instance of a room unless the player checked the "Advanced Mode" box, in which they could select a specific instance for their character to enter.

During October, all the rooms along Main Street were decorated for Halloween. In 2005, the decorations were left up until December; in 2006 and 2007, Christmas décor appeared immediately after Halloween.

Players whose characters met in the same room at the same time could become "friends": one issued an invitation to the other, and if the other accepted, then each player would always be able to see when the other was online and in what game location, and would be able to jump instantly to the other character's location (unless blocked by a 'friends only' flag on the room, the presence of the friend's character within a game, or a 'special entrance' room). Either player could remove someone from their friends list at any time.

Guest rooms and awards

When a player first created their character in the game, they were given one free "guest room", which they could name and decorate with items. If the player was creating their character in a real-life park, then they were given another room (one of each available choice), as a bonus. Several other kinds of rooms were also available; a player could purchase/get them in the game. Players could set some of their items to be movable by their guests, a feature added sometime in late 2007 or early 2008.

In-game shops sold a wide variety of items, such as posters, couches, water fountains, and rugs, which could be used to decorate guest rooms. Some of these items were sold only for a limited time, and some could only be obtained as prizes for completed quests. Pictures taken with the in-game camera could be hung on guest room walls, or put into a photo book for public view.

Players could also create games in their rooms (as long as the games followed VMK guidelines of appropriateness), and award some of their own items to players. Among the most popular of these were "Cute or Boot", best described as a beauty pageant/fashion contest, "Falling Chairs", a game where the owner of the room dropped chairs while other players raced to them, and "Don't Hit the Floor!" in which a maximum of six contestants stood on boxes. Two variations of "Cute or Boot" were "Dress Like Me!", a game where players tried to dress like the game's owner, and "Wear that hat!", where players wore the same hat as the owner. Another popular game was "Design a Room!", where the owner filled rooms with items that could be moved, and the object was for players to design the best room. A less popular one was "Survivor", where the owner asked a question and the first person to answer it correctly wins a point.

Guest room owners had the ability to remove ("boot") a player from their room if the player was causing problems. Players that were "booted" had to wait set period of time before returning to the room.

If a character was in their own room, then they could be found by the Guest Rooms "search" button (which searched on the names of room owners as well as the names of rooms). Other than this, there was no way within the game to find out whether a particular other character not on a player's friends list was online or where they were located.

In the New Orleans Square land, there was an exclusive room based on the VIP Exclusive Disney Club, located in the real New Orleans Square, Club 33. This room was used for staff events and open to some guests who had won the best guest room award.

Each week, VMK staff awarded a Best Guest Room Award, Best Game Room Award, and a Best Quest Award pin to the owners of guest rooms chosen to be superlative in originality and creativity. Winners of Best Guest Room not only got the Best Guest Room Award, but they also were allowed to "rent" Club 33 for a party, which a VMK host helped the winner organize. Several players earned the Best Guest Room, Best Game Room, or Best Quest award more than once; the VMK staff awarded the VIP pin to these outstanding players.

A player could set their guest rooms so that only people on their friends list could enter. On January 8, 2007, "tickets" were added; a room owner was then able to sell (for 10 credits) or trade tickets to allow entry to their rooms. The tickets appeared as single-use pins.

In March 2007, VMK Staff began "Room Makeovers", where VMK staff would go into randomly selected guest rooms, or guest rooms submitted by online players, and give the room a makeover if it was in need of one. Before and after pictures of the players' room were then posted each week on the VMK Newsletter.

During the month of April, VMK staff awarded a 'Best Pirate Room' award because April was 'Pirate Month'. Prizes included a "Seagull Nest Hat", a "Crow Barstool" and the seat that went with it, and a "Flaming Ransacked Window".

Some rooms were available in the Virtual Magic Kingdom from the shop button, others were available from quests, and some had limited availability built-in. Players were encouraged to get guest rooms when quests came out, because that could be the only time they would ever be available. For example, the Tron Guest Room was from a quest that was available only for a time, so players who did not finish the quest by a certain date, never received the Tron Guest Room. There were also codes for certain guest rooms.

In June 2007, "pay-to-play" guest/game rooms were disallowed because it was considered scamming, though games like "Pirates of the Caribbean" were still allowed to ask for the minimum 21 credits.

In January 2008, three new guest rooms were added to Main Street: Main Street Magic Shop in Central Plaza, Main Street Magic Shop Checkers (a new game at the Magic Shop), and the Penny Arcade on Main Street.

Mini-games

The following minigames were available to play throughout the lands in the Virtual Magic Kingdom:

  • Magic Checkers: Revealed to the VMK public in January 2008, this game was essentially checkers and was playable by two players at a time per room. Like most other games in VMK, Magic Checkers offered a reward of credits and items. The amount of credits awarded by this game increased depending on the amounts won. The players were able to buy single use Magic Pins for this game to get an advantage over the other players.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Two to eight players, on two teams, either played a game of "Ship Battle" where one team must sink the other, or a game of "Capture the Flag" where one team must bring the opposing team's flag to their base before the other team. Once the game was over, both teams were rewarded with credits for their efforts. After every three wins on one level, a player received a treasure chest magic key that would open a chest corresponding to the level on which the player won the key. The prizes the player was awarded were from a list of randomly chosen pirate-related prizes that corresponded to the level the key was awarded in.
  • Castle Fireworks Remixed: Fireworks were launched into the sky and the player had to click on each one with the correct symbol to detonate it. Pins and credits were awarded based on a player's performance.
  • Jungle Cruise Photo Safari: The player piloted a safari boat and took photos of animals while avoiding obstacles. After the first time playing the game, 20 credits are awarded per game, no matter what the player's score.
  • Street Party Music Game/Monorail Music Game: A player could sequence music loops into a song for characters to dance to. Credits were awarded for editing songs and for playing them.
  • The Haunted Mansion Game: The Purple team and the Green team, with up to four players each, competed to capture ghosts in the mansion.
  • The VMK Trading Card Game: The basic version of the VMK Trading Card Game was released on August 17, 2007. In this version, the player began with a random deck of cards and played a computer opponent in a sort of Rock, Paper, Scissors game. Other versions, along with customizable decks and rewards for winning, were released later as time went on. The game was never fully released due to technical issues and the game closing.

There were also several places in Tomorrowland where credits could be earned. In Nautilus Grotto and Shipwreck Graveyard, a player could collect shells that randomly popped up under water and receive one credit for every pearl they found. This game required the Diving Suit magic pin, which could be obtained from an in-game quest. Another place to earn credits was the Autopia Space Race and the Mars race tracks. In this game, a player drove over trophies to collect them, while also driving over gas cans to keep from running out of gas. For every trophy collected, a player received one credit. This game required one of the four available Autopia car magic pins, which could be obtained from an in-game quest. It also required an Autopia Driver's License.

The following minigames were available to play in the Tomorrowland Arcade until waterpark overlay:

  • Airlock Escape: A puzzle game with some similarity to ChuChu Rocket!; successful completion of all fifteen levels rewarded the player with Deep Sea Diving Boots, Deep Sea Diving Jacket, and Deep Sea Diving Trousers (Deep Sea Diving Helmet could be purchased in the Inner-Space store).
  • Blast in Space: An action game similar to Asteroids; the player piloted a spaceship to shoot rocks, and then received awards for passing all sixteen levels.
  • Hyperspace Mountain: An action game where the player collected six "modules" throughout nine sectors and received the awards.

Events

Virtual Magic Kingdom occasionally held special events at which prizes were given out. Special events included:

  • Parade and Scavenger Hunt (beta period): Players were told to gather on Main Street and "parade" along its length. Some parade "leaders" were awarded the Dancing Inferno Magic pin, later considered rare to other players. Then a few staff members "hid" themselves in some rooms in the game, and the first people to find each of them were awarded prizes.
  • Room Decorating Event: Players were told to decorate their rooms to be judged for prizes. For a Celebration theme, players commemorated Disneyland's 50th anniversary. For a Space theme, players offered an interpretation of what "space" meant to them. Prizes were also given for answering trivia questions.
  • Dreams Month (September 2007): Hosts would be randomly walking around the park including guest rooms and handing out prizes. Some of these prizes included the Dreams room, which looks like Sleeping Beauty's castle, dream ears, dream pin, dream furniture, and many other items. Hosts would randomly walk around and players waiting in one room all day had difficulty finding them, therefore, players were encouraged to play VMK as they would normally to possibly win a prize.
  • Haunted Maze Event (October 2005): An easy maze, a medium maze, and a difficult maze were available for players to find their way through. Successfully completing the maze would award a prize. However, the event was plagued by server problems, resulting in queues of half an hour or more to get into the mazes, and some players were not able to enter the mazes at all or were bumped offline in the middle of them.
  • Gift-Giving Event (December 2005): A player could spend 500 credits to purchase a mystery gift which was given (in the game) to someone of their choosing on December 24. The gift turned out to be a green holiday wreath.
  • Yeti Quest (February 2006): Players could visit designated rooms to find photos; by stringing together the first letter of each pictured item, a player could spell the location where the Yeti was hiding, and submit the location for prizes. The answer was "Injun Joe's Cave", and everyone who sent in a correct answer won a snow carpet.
  • Ride-A-Thons: VMK staff occasionally hosted "Ride-A-Thons", in which they prepared rides for players to enjoy. When a player reached the end of a ride, he was given a ride piece with which to create their own ride. Several rides usually ran at the same time to handle capacity. The more a player rode, the more of a single prize a player would receive, depending on the event.
  • Make-A-Room: VMK staff occasionally hosted "Make A Ride Rooms", which allowed players to go into a certain teleporter and design a room. The player with the best design got a prize, and soon many other players started the same game. A blue flag would be placed in the room once the ride was judged.
  • Gingerbread Room Competition (December 2007): Players constructed a room using furniture items released during the month of December. The rooms were judged and the winners were given prizes that included a new shirt and hat that are different on boys than on girls.
  • Captain Blackheart's Treasure Hunt Quest (March 29 - April 1, 2008): The biggest VMK quest ever. The quest consisted of 75 different tasks, and required the player to navigate VMK, answer Disney Pirates of the Caribbean-related questions, and play games. The prize awarded was 75,000 credits and some items that were not immediately obtainable. There was also a smaller version of the quest, called Captain Blackheart's Mini Treasure Hunt Quest. The smaller quest awarded 1000 credits. Captain Blackheart, as he is called, also hosted a small quest, but still quite large with the prize of 56,000 credits and many valuable items.

Quests

In-game

In-game quests involved a series of tasks for a player, such as finding a specific room or an item in the room, changing one's outfit, saying a specific word, or winning a certain number of points in a minigame. There were two types of in-game quests: 'Q Button' quests, which players could start from anywhere in the game by pressing a button marked 'Q' on the game's taskbar; and kiosk quests, which were linked to a 'quest kiosk' item owned by a particular player or staff member. Successful completion of a quest usually awarded a prize. Each character could only complete each quest once. The Quests were timed and whoever completed the quest fastest would win a prize.

In-park

For the first two years of the game, there was an in-park quest program which permitted players to earn special in-game prizes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. These quests were mostly eliminated in mid-2007, with the exception of an activity sheet and quest which was handed out to guests waiting in line at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland until around January 2008.

Hidden Mickeys

There were fifty Hidden Mickeys in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms. Hunting for Hidden Mickeys could be a difficult task, as they were faint and rather difficult to see, and it could take time to earn enough credits to buy film to photograph the hidden Mickeys in-game. Almost every room had at least one, and some contained two.

Credits and pins were awarded after finding certain numbers of Hidden Mickeys (a Bronze Mickey pin for finding ten, a Silver Mortimer pin for finding thirty, and a Gold Oswald pin and 500 credits for finding all fifty). Completing this hunt originally awarded a printable PDF coupon with a code for the Gold Design set of items, which could be obtained by redeeming the coupon at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom.

The locations of the Hidden Mickeys were changed on December 12, 2005. The new hunt was called "Hidden Mickey Quest Part II", and the new prize pins had "Part II" appended to their names.

Character profiles

A new player began by registering an account at the VMK website. The player then set up a character (an avatar) and selected the character's gender and appearance (shirt, shoes, pants, hair, hat, face, and colors for skin and hair). The player chose a name for the avatar, but until the VMK staff approved the name they requested, their name was "Guest" followed by the number of player that they are (e.g. Guest7402548). If the name was not approved, the VMK staff would let the player create another name. The player also selected a "guest room", their own themed area which could be decorated with furniture, posters, a boat canal, train tracks, game items, or other material. One room was provided for free, and additional rooms could be purchased later with in-game credits. The player could enter a few lines of text, known as a "signature", which were displayed in the character's publicly visible profile. The character was then given a few tradeable items (mostly T-shirts), and was placed in the game.

A player could also choose from a list of randomly selected "adjective-adjective-noun" names presented to them; if they chose one of these names, it did not need undergo staff approval.

Items

There were many in-game items which were buyable. Other could be won or gained from the parks. These items included furniture, clothing, and pins. Most were tradeable, some were not.

Badges

Badges were icons that appeared at the top of a player's information window and were visible to other players. Badges could not be traded:

  • Born In Park: given to a character created at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. This was a green badge with a cutout silhouette of the Disneyland castle (this was also the symbol of VMK).
  • VIP: given via a prize card's code; the card was given after completing the in-park quests to become eligible for the special park tour. This badge was sometimes received by winning a mini-game or Host event. Note that this is different from the VIP pin, which was given the second time a player won a Best Guest Room or Best Game Room award. The badge was purple with white VIP lettering in the middle.
  • Here from Day 1: given to a character created during the "beta" stage (prior to June 27, 2005). This was a gold badge with a prominent "1" displayed in the middle.
  • VMK Staff: paid employees who helped safeguard players and/or hosted VMK games and events. This badge was the quintessential smiling Mickey Mouse face as seen at the start of the old cartoons.
  • Testers: VMK staff that tested out items, and were seen around with their name as "QA_". Testers also held the VMK Staff badge.
  • Community Leader: volunteers who helped with the game; their names began with "CL_" (discontinued on October 24, 2007). This badge was a blue badge with Mickey's sorcerer hat. After it was discontinued, former community leaders did not have the badge or the CL_ at the beginning of their title.


Pins

A character could "wear" up to fifteen pins so that other players could see them in their profile. Some pins could be purchased from shops in the game; others could only be obtained by completing in-park or in-game quests, by winning host games, or from a Non-Playable Character (NPC) such as Esmeralda.

Usually a new pin was released on weekends of a certain month in the Emporium for a limited time. These pins usually cost 500 credits and were often a part of a set. For example, during October 2006 a set of Halloween themed pins came out, and a new pin was released every weekend. However, by Monday the pin was no longer available, making it high in value. The next weekend however, a new pin in the set was released and it started all over again.

"Magic pins" could also be worn. When activated (from the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen, or by typing the pin's magic word), they displayed a visual effect, such as the character driving a car or turning into a snowman. Each effect had a duration of only a few seconds and had to be allowed to "recharge" for a minute or so before another use. If a player had two or more of the same kind of magic pin, they could be combined for a longer effect and shorter delay between uses. There were also single-use magic pins which disappeared after being used once (or after a specific "expiration date"). Some magic pins were very expensive and only available for a short period of time; for example, the "Turn Into Bat Magic Pin" (only available in October) was priced at 10,000 credits.

Some pins were not tradeable and could only be obtained through quests or host events. These pins included all single-use magic pins and all Tomorrowland quest pins. Any award pin, such as the best guest room award or the VIP pin, was also not tradeable. A player could check if a pin was tradeable by clicking the pin on a player's profile, which not only revealed whether a certain pin is available for trade or not, but also revealed who owned the pin and what effects (if any) the pin might have.


Clothing

When a player joined the kingdom, they received a pack of clothing along with a room and some furniture. Players that signed up at a Disney park sometimes received extra rewards.

Occasionally, the VMK shops sold special clothing items (or entire costumes). Some of these were seasonal, and some could only be purchased during a specific weekend. These items were usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon became valuable items in trading.

Some clothing items were only available to one gender. For example, boys could not have princess outfits (excluding the Princess Minnie hat), and girls could not have the Wildcats outfit.

Full costumes included spacesuits, princess outfits,(came in blue, yellow, pink) Haunted Mansion dress clothes, an Expedition Everest hiking outfit, baseball uniforms, and football uniforms.

Costume items included Mickey ears, and a variety of caps including baseball caps and a Sorcerer Mickey hat and more.

Credits

A player could earn credits, purchase them in one of Disney's Parks (the game's currency) also by visiting the Disney Characters or by playing minigames.

Another popular way to amass credits was called "Nedding". It consisted of playing the Shrunken Ned's Jungle Cruise game but trying to end the game as quickly as possible by crashing repeatedly and running out of fuel. Each time the game was played it awards 20 credits, so the credits that could be gotten from this game were limited only by the length of time someone wanted to put into it.

Accounts used specifically for getting credits and items, known in other games as multis, were called "mules" (sometimes called "clones"). Since the game let a player create new accounts freely, players created mules (named after the beast of burden) to enter multi-use codes and collect credits by visiting Disney Characters. Players could buy items with a mule's credits, and then trade these items from the mules to their main characters. Players who used mules were said to be "muling", and in the game mules were called "done keys" (donkeys) due to the limited vocabulary.

Purchased items could be "sold back" for 20% of their purchase price, but some items were not able to be sold. For example, a quest kiosk could not be sold back or traded.

Trading

Players could trade various items. Each player could put a maximum of fifteen items into a trade.

Clothing items that were only available for boys or girls could not be traded to the other gender. For example, a girl could not trade her princess outfit to a boy.

Some players tried to take advantage of the trading window to scam other players, but most of the trading window scams were short-circuited by game developers adding confirmation notices. VMK stated that if a person agreed to all of these notices, any issues a player might have with the trade were due to their own negligence.

A player could report a scammer with the "Report" button in the game, or by using the "Contact Us" link on the web site.

Safety

The game's rules were posted on the VMK web site as "VMK Values", which were intended to help the game stay "a safe, non-threatening environment" for the many players between the ages of eight and fourteen. The rules prohibited sexual or racist language, harassment, divulging personal information, and attempts to hack the system. Violations could result in a permanent ban, which prevented users from using VMK from the ISP the violation occurred on. Despite this, attempted violations were quite common, and people attempted to get around the edited speech by formulating single words out of multiple words (e.g.: saying "I'm Tree Ears Hold").

Every player had a report button on their profile. If one player thought of something that another player did as against the VMK values, that player could report them. The report was immediately sent to the VMK staff for review, and any necessary actions were taken against that player's account. Players could also send "emergency" messages to staff without clicking the report button on another player. The main reason for this was if something was wrong with the game (e.g.: "I logged in the morning, and all my credits were gone"). Action would be taken against a player's account for sending false or unnecessary reports. These were usually made in an attempt to bring a VMK staff member to their room, or in an effort for revenge.

Disney prohibited sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also added a technical obstacle to this). Disney's stated intent was to protect the safety and privacy of its members, but this also prevented members from having a legitimate way of reaching each other outside the game. Members of some Disney internet discussion forums got around this by indicating in their in-game signature a discussion board through which they could be reached.

In popular culture

VMK has been a frequently used device in The Kingdom Keepers series, written by Ridley Pearson. It serves as a rendezvous point for the main characters, as well as a communication device as the kids venture through the Disney parks. After VMK closed down in real life, Pearson incorporated the closing into the books.

References

  1. Cornish, David (February 24, 2013). "Organizing a museum can take a lesson from design and digital media". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. Tuckey, Tammy (2018-08-25). "Interview with Roger Holzberg, Senior Producer for the EPCOT "MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION"". The Tiara Talk Show (Podcast). Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  3. ^ Salas, Jacob (2021-10-21). "One Name, Two Games: Virtual Magic Kingdom". Pop History.
  4. US7396281B2, Mendelsohn, Seth; Dobson, Terry M. & Holzberg, Roger S. et al., "Participant interaction with entertainment in real and virtual environments", issued 2008-07-08 
  5. Protesters Archived May 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "MyVMK".

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