Save VMK! : VMK Blog

Social Media is NOT an Experiment!!

"Bad move: Disney shutting down Virtual Magic Kingdom:

Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom to Close Doors

On May 21, Disney is closing down Virtual Magic Kindgom. Launched to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, the virtual attraction saw strong enough numbers to keep it running for three unexpected years, but, as producer Seth "Yavn" Mendelsohn explained in a newsletter earlier this week, "the game has lived well beyond the originally intended time it was planned to run."

"At Disney we're still committed to building communities and online virtual worlds – and we're looking forward to providing you the opportunity to enjoy other exciting new experiences," Mendelsohn continued..."
read entire post

Source: Laurel Papworth -Social Networks

VMK R.I.P. 05.21.08

LA Times: There's no Tomorrowland for the Virtual Magic Kingdom of Disney

"The online game created to celebrate Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2005 is to be closed today because it 'never achieved scale,' a company spokesman says. Thousands of loyal players are outraged.

By Dawn C. Chmielewski and Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
7:47 AM PDT, May 21, 2008

With the aid of a special mouse pad and on-screen keyboard, Madison Reed has found a way to venture beyond the protective confines of her home in suburban Columbus, Ohio, and play with other children in a Disney theme park.

Madison, who suffers from a severe neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy, gravitated to Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, an online game that re-creates aspects of the company's theme parks. It was in this online world that she took her first steps. She rode a ride without being held or sitting in a wheelchair. And, at the age of 11, she celebrated the first birthday party with friends in February..."
read entire article

Source: Los Angeles Times

Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom explained by virtual world expert: OC Register

This article is worth an entire read...

Parents with children VMK'ers...read the last question entitled "What do you suggest VMK people do when VMK ends? Why?"

Excerpt:
"Why do you think Walt Disney Co. is ending VMK? Do you agree that the site should end or do you think Disney should keep it going?

I believe VMK is being closed for a variety of reasons, although this is my professional conjecture. VMK represented an early entrant into virtual social worlds. Technology has advanced, as have business models, user expectations and “mainstream” acceptance. Disney is in the process of launching several new worlds in which they can capitalize on these new market conditions and realities.

VMK seems to have had about 15,000 people as active daily users at the time of its closing. With constant quests and activities, this represents a cost which is likely unsustainable at that level of use - especially since there is dedicated staff (cast members) who are in world at all times it is open for users.

Also, because VMK was originally conceived as a 50th anniversary promotion, there was likely no long-term strategy in place beyond an early “experiment” in these kinds of multi-user environments.

Disney’s decision to close VMK was a business decision - so it is difficult for me to assign a “should” factor to it. However, I do think it is enormously - enormously - unfortunate that Disney has provided such little support for this hugely engaged community in the closing. Disney has a perfect opportunity here to have strategically communicated with this community, helping them transition into one of the new Disney world perhaps or providing some way to somehow archive some of the personal artifacts - not the least of which are the avatars, assets and personal environments which users have spent untold hours building - maybe that would be simply a digital VMK memory scrapbook - something that communicated Disney was tuned into the angst of the community being disbanded.

I do think any organization that actively builds a community has some responsibility to manage the dismantling of that community if it should be necessary. But, in the long view, any company that builds a community should be doing so as a long term commitment and ought to be considering at the outset what the “exit strategy” is..."
read entire article

Source: Orange County Register

On Another Note: Nielsen: Club Penguin Growth Slows

"In Nielsen's social networking numbers for April, Club Penguin's growth slowed -7% compared to April 2007. Caroline McCarthy at CNET points out that last  August, Nielsen was showing   Penguin with 250% year-over-year growth, emphasizing the current slump. Perhaps coincidentally, that growth came the same month that Disney acquired the kids virtual world.  Club Penguin might have drawn its big blast of users then and is simply evening out now. Or, of course, there's the good chance that increasing competition from the wealth of other youth-focused virtual worlds is simply drawing away potential users..."
read entire article

Source: Virtual Worlds News

Maybe Disney should have built on something good...that they already had...hmm...let me think...VMK!

When Virtual Worlds Die: The Industry Standard

"Think pulling the plug on a relatively small and slightly aged social virtual world is easy? That's what Disney apparently thought, when it announced plans to shutter its free Virtual Magic Kingdom service. Even though the VMK userbase is small (just over one thousand were online when I checked this morning, and now almost 4000 are online at 7:30 in the evening, eastern time) they are extremely dedicated, and are taking news of the closure quite badly, according to the Wall Street Journal and other sources. There have been petitions, angry blog posts, and even a tiny real-world demonstration outside of Disney HQ.

I am not surprised. People don't just love social networks and virtual worlds, they come to depend on them, and the threat of losing access is extremely hard for some to bear..."
read entire article

Source: The Industry Standard

Los Angeles Business Journal: Media Coverage on VMK Closure

"

For Walt Disney Co., the task of opening a virtual version of Disneyland on the Web was relatively easy. Closing it, though, is proving to be quite a bit more difficult, thanks to the wrath of obsessive fans of Disney's theme parks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, Walt Disney launched a free online game called Virtual Magic Kingdom whose look and layout mimics Disneyland's. Users created avatars and explored the online park's various regions, such as Tomorrowland and Main Street; chatted with other users; and participated in online promotions that crossed over into real-life activities at the company's resorts in California and Florida..."
read entire article

Source: Los Angeles Business Journal

WSJ: Save VMK Article in Hardcopy

Here are pics from the hardcopy...this article took up a large portion of the WSJ Marketplace front page!

   

‘Casual Gamers’ Not So Relaxed If You Mess With Their Games (DIS): Silicon Valley Insider

"Way back in 2005, Disney (DIS) opened a free online game/virtual world called Virtual Magic Kingdom. The site, released primarily to celebrate Disneyland's 50th anniversary, took off, and within a year Disney announced that users had created 1 million avatars for the virtual playland.

Success story? No longer. Disney is shutting down the game tomorrow, and its users are not happy. And said users -- primarily parents and their kids -- are griping about it like a rabid Digg army. WSJ:..."
read entire post

Source: Silicon Valley Insider

WDW Newsletter: End of Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) near?

"How many of you know what VMK is?  I sure didn’t.  Yes I had seen ads for it but I never delved into it to actually experience it.  VMK is a free massively multiplayer online game run by Walt Disney Theme Parks and Resorts online.  It is a virtual representation of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, containing areas and mini games which are based on real park scenery and attractions.  It was launched as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth promotional campaign to commemorate fifty years of Disney theme parks.  The next question you are probably asking is why I am I blogging about it?  Disney has recently announced that they are planning to shut down the Virtual Magic Kingdom on May 21, 2008, due to VMK being meant as a limited time promotion for the Disneyland 50th Anniversary Celebration.    Since this decision was made there have been thousands of players who are upset at this decision..."
read entire article

Source: WDW Newsletter