Yavn's Final Message from VMK

Live and direct from VMK Central, here's Yavn with a final mesage to the Kingdom...

Not Goodbye...

Well here we are, at the end of a long journey. First, I'd like to say thank you for your notes, emails and letters – they have all made their way to me. I too have many great memories, and like you, I have a great appreciation of VMK.

I wish I could list out my favorite VMK memories and moments, but there are so many it's impossible to list them all. Of course something that I get asked over and over again is what inspired you to make VMK. For each of us it started with a love of the Disney Parks, and in my case it was a book...

The Big Blue Book

I was 11 years old when I went to see a Disney stage show. I don't remember the details of the show, only that each family that attended received a big blue book. In my family, I ended up with the book and spent many, many nights reading it. Over and over again.

The book was called "Disneyland, The First Quarter Century."

The book showcased the first 25 years of the Park with a few pages of the then upcoming Big Thunder Mountain. Many of the attractions shown were still in the Park, but a few that caught my eye (Flying Saucers, Phantom Boats and Carousel of Progress) made me wish I could turn back the clock.

Yavn took inspiration for VMK from this book about Disneyland.

I spent so much time visiting and reading about Disneyland that I started to know every inch of it, past and present. But Disneyland wasn't my only passion, I was also a huge fan of video games, and I always thought it would be cool to make a computerized version of Disneyland. Of course I had no idea what that would mean until much later...

What amazes me now is the way that Disneyland found its way to the internet, and again is showing the world an exciting new frontier – a digital frontier, that lives on the internet.

Now VMK is going away. Just like several attractions at Disneyland that have come and gone, VMK was just the first step in a new age of online attractions. However unlike Disneyland, VMK was never built to run forever. VMK was just the beginning – who knows what we will imagine next!

Still we've had a great time, shared some great memories – and years from now, someone will mention VMK in a conversation and you can smile and say proudly "Yeah, I played it."

Thank You!

Finally, we'd like to give all our players 30 days of unlimited access to both Pirates of the Caribbean Online and Toontown Online. If you're interested in this offer, email us at: vmk@disneyonline.com.

Important: Please make sure you provide your VMK character name to be eligible (this is the character name you played as in VMK -- we don't need your login, password or other info, just your character name).

And Thank YOU!

It takes a great many people to create, build and run a virtual Park. I'd like to thank Team VMK, all of our friends and partners at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom – but most of all, you.

I ask one last favor of all of you – remember VMK as one step along the journey. Like I said, in the history of the Disney Parks, we've seen attractions go away to be replaced by better experiences. Still those older attractions are talked about today just as fondly as they were when they were opened (Flying Saucers, House Of The Future, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Walt Disney World, America Sings).

Let's keep a special place in our hearts and minds for VMK and remember the fun, friends and fantasy while we keep an eye toward the great things to come.

Remember this is farewell, not goodbye! After some much needed rest you'll probably catch me sailing the virtual seas in Pirates, or flying around in Pixie Hollow.

Thanks for playing VMK,
Yavn

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Comments

[John Benducci]

Hello Yavn/VMK,

If you are reading this please respond as soon as possible. I would just like to know what comes next. Is there another Virtual Kingdom that will be soon opening? Please let me know because I absolutely loved VMK and was heartbroken when the game was closed. Thank you.

[Rebekah]

Hey Yavn is vmk coming back?? Or no

[Tayseth]

K. Ill wait till pirates online closes. Maybe Toontown closing? You made me and 70000 other kids emotionally scarred. Thanks man.

[LuckyRealFriend]

hello if yavn is reading this then please respond. I am not mad a yavn. Yavn you are the best thankyou so much for your virtual world. But please I am tired of people saying that I can play the other games. It just that.. There was something about vmk. The friends I met were like true friends... And the game felt like magic.. It is confusing but i could spend a whole 24 hours (which i did) and not get bored. Sometimes I could walk around it doing nothing and still be amazed at ehe magic on my screen it felt like i was somewhere else other than in front of my computer. I am just a kid but the feeling of magic made me look forward to playing vmk. I miss vmk everyday. I am not mad at anyone. I am sad and a little annoyed. The other games do not feel like magic.... Will vmk ever come back? That is the only game i will ever play. I have tried the other games its just not the same...

~LuckyRealFriend

[kayla]

hey dude ok lets get to the point im mad that vmk closed, but that's to be expected i was on this game as soon as i got home from school, on the weekends, whenever i had the chance i was on there. on vmk you can make friendships that you cant anywhere else. it's fun to not be jugded on how you look, and i loved finding people i can relate to. Please bring VMK back? not just for me, but for everyone, this is a big deal i know it's just a video game but i want it back. Please? for US the KIDS!!!!!

[Brave_Bloom]

Yavn,
please reopen vmk! i miss it so much. i like Virtual Family Kingdom but it wont replace vmk. we all had great times on vmk and we dont want them to be known as an old memory. Please do it for us!

please reply! (winxbabe1@yahoo.com)

[Jasmine]

Hi Yavn. I am Aileen Ligacion. My daughter repeats this statement "WHY DID VMK CLOSED?". I'm sorry to disturb you and all but why are the reasons that VMK closed? It meant so much to the kids. Meeting friends all over the world, playing games and quests, and experiencing Magic Kingdom. Please reply back:

lyce94@hotmail.com

[Caitlin]

Hi Yavn,
Now I know who to thank for 3 years of magic. Like you I'm a gamer who loves Disney. I was always fascinated by the magic of Disney, and when it was virtualized, I couldn't have been happier. Like everyone else I'm very sad that VMK closed--I loved playing it, and the game never stopped feeling like a magic getaway, but I truly and deeply want to thank you for the most amazing virtual gaming experience I've ever had. Thank you, Yavn.

Caitlin

[MagicSkyDream]

I cry every time Ithink of VMK. And thats every day. It keeps getting more often that I tink about it. I was MagicSkyDream in VMK. when Disney decided to shut it down, they took away the magic. My friends stopped calling me Magic, instead they called me Sky. All the magic is lost now.
I MISS VMK SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alec]

Deere yavn and all my vmk friends I'm husky husky please email me if you know me yavn I know you r a great guy but I though you would be smarter then to close vmk u have depressed the world adpoma ...alec

[Jessica Taylor]

Yavn, do you know how many kids are hurt because vmk is closed? I'm one of those kids. It's not fair! This was the only place where kids could be themselves and express themselves and have fun. Me and my friends loved vmk so much we would talk on the phone while playing it. We loved the new rooms and clothes and furniture and new pins. We even loved the cars. Like another person said on here. Virtual Family Kingdom is cool but Virtual Magic Kingdom was better. It was like a second home to people. The modeartors were cool too. They helped us and played with us and also had fun with us. The Yeti was like my best friend. He gave us info. And then there is you. You made vmk so awesome in so many ways. So all of us are asking.....PLEASE OPEN VMK'S GATES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Hollywooddd. (:]

I would just to say that the first time I played this game,I didn't have to know everything about it, I just had to know how to think and play. And what's really weird about it after it closed I gained 6 pounds.Like you know... when you sit and play it, you would think you would gain, but I really gained pounds after it closed.And the first week or so that I played I got my grades up to a D- to an A+. Because I think it teases your brain and you usually win then you just keep playing.. well for me. And I got smarter and smarter. So I thank everyone that played and loved the game as much as me.
VMK was not just a game it was people's life . I almost wanted to wake up in the morning and play it after school. I miss it so much!
I hope it re-opens soon. Those people should have never closed it! Thank-you!
-

Hollywoodd (: Life of the game, and world of the live!
Live on!*

[My vmk name was: Davanna . . .]

I used to play this game every weekend and every day after school. And the last day it was so lagged that I told my best friend on there ( i didn't know her in real)that even though our 2nd life was ending, we had a good friendship and i'd always remember her. Then i said: Cry cry. . . .
I'm okay now, i don't think: I wonder if BlueStar will be on Vmk today, maybe we can play pirates or something . . .
I miss those days . . .
Is it coming back, i actually FORGOT my password and username . . . i'm so upset with myself!
Oh Yavn, i don't blame you. But at the end of vmk there was all this cool, new stuff and i was crying my heart out for a MONTH.
Don't feel bad, i just really want it back . . .

[Robert Fischer]

Yavn,

how could you close vmk after all the time and MONEY we spent on it?!

[Griffin]

Yavn, if you are reading this i have to say something. Virtual Family kingdom and virtual MAGIC Kingdom. There is the word MAGIC in vmk. That was the best part about it. I know you will never open it again, but im just saying, you have broken hearts. None of the kids care if its the beginning, or a farewell. Please open it then kids wont be mad at you everywhere you go.
thegoldies@shaw.ca

[Griffin]

Yavn, remember the yeti, and frontierland and the ghost game, and you could use magic, and you could visit with anybody close to you, because they loved VMK. You could take pictures, go in a space suit, to the space place, play a diving game, go on the monorail and make music. There was Tom Sawyer, and the Yeti, and all the guest rooms. Kids Created games and one was " Falling Chairs" The other game was " Cute or Boot"

You could buy rooms, and there was so many to choose from. You could climb up a ladder to the clouds,
You could change what your character looks like to anything you want.
You could buy items, like herbie suits, space suits, fancy suits and pirate hats and chicken hats and SO many other things.

You could type in codes and win a special prize.
You could buy a mad hatter tea party room, a space room, a beach room, and alot of other ones. you could buy furniture, and decorations. And Wreaths and mickeys.
You could go to the court area and go on a ride and maybe win a key, thing, and you could try pulling the sword in the stone.

There is also WAY MORE stuff to do in VMK.
All those things, plus more is what the kids are sad that they cant to anymore. Wont you re-open VMK and let kids LIVE the magic!!!! Don't you wanna host a game that probably 10000 kids love, and they would also love you for re-opening it :)
So why dont you?
Releash The Magic.
That is a VMK saying.

Yours truly, a person you visited with you once in your room on VMK,
GrifBean.

[alexis cardona]

dear yavn,im not mad at you but i am heart broken that vmk is gone i loved vmk when i payed it felt like i was there not at home at the computer it was pretty addicting but lots of fun too i played for hours and hours i wouldent let my sister on to play hers even when she was on i counted the minitues til she was off it felt like for ever why did u have to take it away why couldent u just cept it on and made us pay bills for months or wat ever please bring it back u will be hearing from me agin i promise you!!!!!

[AshleyT of VMK]

Yavn is hated by many kids and families. Serves him right..

THIS TOTALLY SUCKS THAT VMK IS GONE! WHY CANT IT JUST RE OPEN FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAD ACCOUNTS? AND ALL OUR STUFF COULD BE ON THERE! I BET YOU ANYTHING THAT DISNEY STILL HAS OUR ACCOUND INFO AND OUR VMK CHARACTERS ARE SAVED ON SOME SACRED COMPUTER. THIS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS! COME ON DISNEY! AND YOU THOUGHT THAT CLUB PENGUIN WOULD MAKE UP FOR THIS?? CLUB PENGUIN IS FOR PRESCHOOLERS! NOT FOR US! RE OPEN VMK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[THE REAL AshleyT of VMK]

Ok, now this is the real AshleyT of VMK. My friend put that. I would never say something that mean!

VMK stood for Virtual Magic Kingdom. It was absolutely the best thing ever put on the internet.
Kids from all over the world would log on daily to expirience the Disney magic. This was great because some families did not have enough money to take their kids to Disney world or Disney Land. This is one reason why VMK was so great. Kids could get an expirence of Disney while sitting at their own house! And all for free!

Another reason VMK was so special was because you could personalize it just the way you wanted to. You could change your character to look just like you and give it a nick name that you have always wanted. You could buy clothes from your favorite movies and be anything you wanted to be. Whether you wanted to be a pirate or a princess, a singer or just an average kid, you could do anything!

MAGIC. That was really big in VMK. In fact, it was in the title! Virtual MAGIC Kingdom. Magic was everywhere in VMK.. especially in the magic shop :). You could walk from splash mountain to Main Street in less than a minute! You could turn into a bat and fly around. You could Climb a bean stalk to the top of the clouds! You cant do any of that in real life!! Like I said before, Anything was possible in VMK.

Another cool thing about VMK was the actual learning that happened while you were playing. Yes! Some people were actually learning things! Some stupid things such as what "lol" or "brb" means, or learning about a book! Seriously, TOM SAYWER! He was in The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn! And there was that Tom Saywer island, and the River boat! Those are examples from actual literature in this world! So VMK wasnt all a waste!

VMK was a free gaming website too! That ROCKED! You didnt have to pay to buy clothes or special items like on Club Penguin, and you didnt have to pay at all like on Toon Town! And VMK was WAY better than both of those anyway!

Friendship was a big part of VMK. Kids made new friends daily and when VMK shut down, they lost those friends forever. They most likely will NEVER see those people again! How sad!!! Imagine if you had lost one of your friends because there was this big curtain that closed off you from them. Ok, bad example but kids were devistated!!!

VMK was also one of the safest gaming/chat websites ever! You couldn't say any foul language, numbers, names, states/citys, countries, ect. That was for the protection of kids. Disney did a good job of that on VMK. On Club Penguin, you can still type numbers (one,two,three..) THats not safe at all is it?!

Games.. Oh the games on VMK! Pirates of the Carribean (POTC) was My personal Favorite!! And I'm not just talking about those games that give you money.. I'm also talking about the ones that Players made up and would play in their "house." Two of the most popular ones were "Cute or Boot" and "Falling Chairs" In Cute or Boot, the master of the game "most likely the rooms owner) would give the players a category and the players would have to dress up in the clothes that they had to fit that category. Some of the most popular categories were: food, princess, pirate, and colors. The last person standing won! In falling chairs, the master of the room (again, the owner) would block off part of their room and players would step inside. The master would then start putting random chairs somewhere in that space and the players would have to scramble to get in a chair. The last person standing was out. (kinda like Musical Chairs)

Well, it's up to you now disney.
The things I listed above were just a few of the magical things kids did on VMK.
So what do ya think?
Keep kids' spirits down?
Or "Releash the Magic" as we would say on VMK.
So?
what do ya think?
I would say open it back up! and let the magic spread!
Think about this..
WHAT WOULD WALT DISNEY HAVE DONE??
i think he would want to have kids happy and safe!
He would not want kids to be unhappy!
So why not reopen VMK and make Walt happy?
And you would also be making lots of kids all around the world happy too!

Hope to see all of my VMK family soon!
SEE YA REAL SOON!

VMK forever in my heart,
AshleyT

[Superflyguys]

Just think about this would walt want you to do this?
Walt ment for the magic to last forever in memories and phsyically (virtualy)
I was superflyguys i had the best friends ever on there
I was a proud vmker NOW I WANT MY HOME BACK I HAD MONO AND NOW I HAVE HYPO THYROIDISM
MY VMK FRIENDS WERE WITH ME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY UNTIL MAY I WAS LEFT TO SUFFER ALL ALONE

[lavendersparkfairy]

omg all my friends and i played.!!!!!! wat were u thinking wen u closed it it waz RETARDED soooo plz plz plz bring it back i cry almost every time i think of it!!!!!!!!!!! u ruined my life my grades have dropped since u closed it. plz bring it back im cring as i write this. I <3 VMK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRING VMK BACK LISTEN TO US WE NO BEST i waz lavendersparkfairy aka my hair matches my clothes

[blueberrygal]

YAVN i cant belive u can ever close down a game like vmk. for many people hopes and dreams gone. this game for many of us was something to us. and it got taken away. most of us have heard the truth from host. that it wont re-open but we are trying our best to try to change your mind. we need the truth will it re-open or are we trying for something that will never come back??

[Stokerson]

I personally do not like VFK at all... sorry D: but VMK was amazing! I loved it so much :) I didnt have any fancy rare stuff or nothin i just liked playing the game and the graphics in my opinion looked way better in vmk.... i wish youd re open it!

[Username:AddySinger]

My parents and grandparents like VMK!!!!!
I had so many friends on there and we were all really close !!!!!!!!!!!! I AM 15 NOW AND I STILL WANT TO PLAY VMK!!!!!!!!!!!!