virtual magic kingdom
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Disney is planning to shut down the Virtual Magic Kingdom -- an online world around which thousands of people have made online friends and fortunes. I, IsadoraQ, as a regular of VMK, ask you to join with me in petitioning Disney to reconsider their decision. Please sign* the following petition:
Total Signatures to Date = 18739
*note: if you are under 13, please get your parents permission before signing this petition, or ask them to do it for you. This petition will be sent to Disney officials. Comments will be included, and will also be sent to the media. By posting on this site, you agree to this. If you don't want your name or comments sent to Disney or the media, please let us know.   |
UpdatesMore VFK ExcitementExcitement over the new Virtual Family Kingdom world has given us all hope that we don't have to lose all our friends just because Disney can't work out their contract with Sulake. VFK has posted a huge update to their site, which featues a Medieval Land walkthrough with Alpha Girl, exploring the lands of Camelot. It is so beautiful!! I can't wait!!! There are now several more unofficial VFK forums available. One is at www.vfkforums.com. A VMKer has started a forum of his own at vfkfs.forummotion.com. A very sincere effort. Here is another VFK Forum announcement: On May 22, vMksocial.tk will become vFksocial.tk. I think everyone is clear on this but please note that the various VFK forums are not formally affiliated with VFK. Further, VFK is not associated with Disney or with VMK. YouTube Videos There are hundreds of VMK closing videos on YouTube, including this one from Sammie. ClubPenguin Founder: Other Gaming Companies are Irresponsible; Not Disney Games Industry magazine has a shorter article here, and the full interview here, with Lane Merrifield -- co-founder and general manager of Club Penguin and executive VP of the Walt Disney Internet Group. Many feel that Merrifield is the key person responsible for closing VMK, outside of Sulake. In the interview, Merrifield offers the following observation: "I think one of the biggest challenges is the irresponsible nature with which our industry has taken care of kids for a long time - so there's a great cynicism out there, and understandably so," Merrifield told GamesIndustry.biz.Unbelievable. I am speechless. Mr. Merrifield, if you aren't the key person responsible for closing VMK, feel free to let us know. Protest Media We were sent the following image and email: "Hi! I have a picture of our virtual protest. I don't remember all their titles but I'm the one in blue princess top (angelagt) and boy next to me is marko. Thanks to all who participated!" 
Sarah sent this image: 
And Kelsea sent a link to her YouTube video here. Thank you!! New Lands and Features at VFK Wow! Check out all the new announcements at Virtual Family Kingdom. Be sure to click on the floating windows, and on the links to Lands and Features on the left. Exciting!! California Mother Shares Her Concerns: "Why is it that no one in any of the posts I have read has mentioned some sort of class action suit? To me it seems like a scam or fraud of some kind that happened.Thanks to VFK Disney continues to be difficult. It doesn't appear that they listened when people told them that they couldn't just pull the plug on a social network whenever they felt like it, back when VMK first started, and they don't seem to be listening now as we tell them what a terrible mistake this is. Just look at John Machen says in our comments today. The fans Disney will lose over offending so many of their truest believers is crazy. Many people are very concerned that they will do the same thing for Pirates of the Caribbean, ToonTown and any others they may come up with. But even though Disney doesn't seem to be following the example of its founder, it doesn't mean there aren't wonderful people out there who are willing to work and sacrifice to make children, and their families, happy. We especially want to thank everyone at Virtual Family Kingdom. They are working very, very, very hard to try to be ready for their beta testers by May 22. VFK will have lots of new features that VMK never did and it sounds like it will be so much fun. I think it is great that they are letting us use our VMK names so we can meet our old friends and keep those friendships. We look forward to seeing many familiar "faces" inside VFK. Thank you, VFK! You are saving VMK (at least, the most important part, our friendships) and making it even better!! May 10 Protests Below (in the middle of the page) are "photos" from the Virtual Protest at VMK Esplanade and Castle Forecourt. Thanks, mizmouse!!!! Here is an account of the day's protest at Disneyland. Thanks to everyone who participated!! And no thanks to the Disney security people, who suggested Disney is already planning on shutting down Pirates of the Carribbean online, ToonTown, and other games!! Thanks to Protestors Thanks to everyone who attended the protests -- at Disneyland and in VMK today!!! If anyone has photos or video links, please let me know. Save VMK!!! Associated Press covering Disneyland Protest Thanks to Ryan Nakashima, a reporter for news syndicate Associate Press has written an article called "Players protest closing of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom" which talks about the protest tomorrow at Disneyland. The Associated Press, or "AP," writes articles which show up in thousands of publications across the globe. The article tells about how Disney wants to break our hearts and gets the facts right on how we will lose our friendships since we can't share contact info. Thanks to Andrew from Sun City also for his support! No thanks to Disney, who just list the same meaningless answers, then tell how everyone should just move over to their other games. Why would we do that, when it is obvious Disney does not value the trust we gave to them? Disney also seems to be saying that VMK players don't matter since Disney has soooo many other woooonnderful games out there. Why play -- or watch, or listen, or read, or visit -- anything from Disney when it's clear they'll pull the rug out from under us without so much as an honest response? Some angry discussion about the AP article is over at DisBoards. Jasonbobdude says, "If it was a promotion they shouldn't have had any social aspect to the game. It's just wrong to start a community as a 'promotion.'" Save VMK + Media Attention = ? Save VMK Today reports: "We are still working very hard to Save VMK, I just did a major national magazine interview last night and am scheduled to do two more this week. One is with a major national news network. I'll post more soon but can't say much now!"Thank you, we are looking forward to the articles!! Thanks Tyler! Thanks Tyler, for asking your dad to post links to SaveVMK and Save VMK Today on his great [and insightful] article! Save VMK!!! VMKer Sammie Protests (Everywhere!) Sammie emailed to tell us: "In VMK i have hosted a few protests ( You may have heard of at least two of them ):Thanks, Sammie. Save VMK!! New VFK Forums site Xiaolin wrote to tell us about another new VFK forums site. Thank you! New: VFK Forums There is a new Virtual Family Kingdom Forums web site to talk all about VFK!! Click here or on the new square banner at the left and sign up today! MeiMei wants to Save VMK! A lot!! MeiMei sent me an email that said, "This is such an awesome site! I will admit, I come here like every 10 minutes looking for news on VMK. I love VMK! It's like a second life to me. When I'm having a bad day at school, my only comfort is thinking I can go on VMK when i get home."And then she wrote, "Save VMK!" -- 11,259 times! Save VMK!! Does Disney "Get" Virtual Worlds? Here is part of a great article about Disney's virtual worlds and their wanting to close VMK. Others have already pointed out that Disney says they want to make virtual worlds "like a theme park," which of course they already have (or could have) in VMK: "So here's my takeaway. From the interview, its clear that Disney understands the business opportunity in Virtual Worlds & Social Networks... On the other hand, Disney's decision to shut down VMK demonstrates that perhaps they don't really get the "social" component. In these social environments, Disney's role is to provide the frameworks (architectural, security and creative) and the context, but the real content is created by the participants. In shutting down VMK, they aren't just closing an amusement park attraction. They are throwing away the work of the thousands of dedicated, passionate kids who have spent countless hours building and sharing wonderfully imaginative experiences, and in the process, will be alienating many of their most dedicated and influential advocates." Talk about it Thanks to everyone who has written to me, and for your wonderful comments. I understand for many of us it is very upsetting that VMK might close. Some of us are so upset we are thinking about dying. If you are sad, please go talk to your parents, teachers or others you can trust. Don't wait, okay? Because your VMK friends want to help you too. Our world wouldn't be the same without you, and we care about you, and want to help. Things are always changing. And sometimes, it's hard. But remember that a lot of times, things get better! We are trying to do what we can with VMK, and we are happy to hear that there is a new site coming: Virtual Family Kingdom. You can use your VMK name and meet up with your friends there, no matter what. We have talked to the boss on the phone and he is really nice and trying to help all the kids out there that love VMK and want some place to go to be with our friends. The Big Question: Why? We have been asked hundreds of times -- by major stock holders, and by the very young -- the same, excellent question over and over: "Why would Disney want to close VMK?" Some say, simply, Disney is being "greedy." They want more money any way they can get it, they say, and Disney appears to think few players will stay on VMK if they begin charging for it. Judging from hundreds of comments we've received, this is an incorrect notion. The players love and live for VMK, and some would gladly pay. Further, if Disney is simply being greedy, why is Disney throwing away a $2 billion project? Especially when that value for VMK is calculated upon Disney's own valuation formula? Here is the formula: Club Penguin had 700,000 players. Disney bought it in what could be a $700 million deal. Thus, Disney counts each ClubPenguin user as being worth $1,000 dollars. Disney assigned this value even though each player only pays between $58 - $72 per year to play. That adds up to about $50 million per year, which is what they reported making from ClubPenguin last year. This brings up another question: how will Disney make money on the ClubPenguin deal? Perhaps Disney expects ClubPenguin to keep all their players signed up until the yearly amount equals the purchase price -- in another 14 years. This appears highly unlikely given the pace of technology. Or, it could be that Disney hopes to recoup their investment selling ClubPenguin-brand products on the side. That doesn't seem very likely either. Finally, Disney could be hoping to make back their money by getting many, many more people to sign up for Club Penguin. How can they accomplish this? The comments we've received suggest that the amount of people who can see themselves as penguins may be a limited number. So, Disney could be hoping to increase their Club Penguin (and other virtual worlds') membership by closing down other, free parts of their web sites, in hopes players will sign up for paid Disney sites instead. That sounds feasible. Except there are some problems with that approach which -- judging from the comments sent here -- are becoming big problems. Kids are realizing Disney is ready to pull the plug on virtual worlds at any time, which doesn't build the trust needed for a successful virtual community, which is something built as much by the players as by the corporate sponsor. Meanwhile, experts are claiming Disney is being irresponsible, immoral and damaging the psyche's of its young audience. Parents seem to agree, joining an ad-hoc boycott of all things Disney. And lets be clear here: this boycott is less out of expecting any real response from Disney corporate offices than it is based upon a growing dismay toward the Disney brand they once loved. They are cancelling their trips, throwing away their trip-planning DVDs, and changing the channel to Nick, because they are just sickened by the "whole, VMK-closing thing." So, while the Disney-is-being-greedy theory seems partially valid, it doesn't appear to be accurate or working. Disney remains focused on providing extraordinary quality within their brand. So maybe, as others say, Disney is just being "dumb." Look around VMK; the site has already lost it's many acquisition-minded players. Meanwhile, look at the other Disney virtual games: Are they suddenly busier? Overwhelmed with new players? Many say they are not. By comparison the Virtual Magic Kingdom -- unlike Club Penguin -- promotes all things Disney, specifically offering a convincing promotional tool to get people to the parks. Could VMK itself have been promoted better? Perhaps. Yet the promotional potential of VMK is still there, and according to the comments we've received, is working very, very well. Do people who play VMK want to go to the parks? And actually go there? Absolutely, see for yourself (e.g., in the final comment). Further, many agree that visiting the Disney parks is not cheap. So whatever their expenses for running VMK -- estimated at under $850,000 per year -- Disney has a clear way to recoup them in full, and then some. Here is where things take a surprising turn. Also unlike Club Penguin, VMK doesn't have 700,000 players. Rather, VMK is said to have over 2 million registered players. Over. Two. Million. Players. And make no mistake, for many of these players, VMK is their primary entertainment, Internet and recreational avenue. They may have "Hannah Montana" playing in the background, but VMKers are leaning forward, focused on their real friends and real interactions within the virtual world of VMK. So, going by Disney's own valuation -- with each player being worth $1,000 a piece -- VMK is worth $2 billion dollars. That's billion, with a "b." Who would have thought Disney was doing so well that they could throw away a successful, growing, $2 billion dollar project? Meanwhile, every year, Disney avoids a potential $144 million dollars per year of profit, simply by not charging $6 per month to play VMK, which could, over time, push VMK to exceed it's $2 billion value, just as Disney expects ClubPenguin to surpass its $700 million value. Perhaps Disney doesn't think VMK players are worth as much as ClubPenguin players. The rejected players seem to feel that way. Ask the seriously ill Madison Reed or any of the millions of other "fired," former VMK players. Let's say VMKers are worth only half the original amount, or $500 each. That still makes VMK worth $1 billion. So VMK is clearly a very, very valuable social network, virtual world, brand-builder, Internet property, and money-maker. So, given the brilliance that is VMK (and its revenue-generating potential), the Disney-is-being-dumb theory doesn't hold water, either. Which leaves one theory left. Some speculate that Sulake, the company which developed the underlying (outdated) technology VMK is based on, are the real ones closing VMK because they just signed a deal with Paramount. Plus, the contract had already run out and was merely being extended. Lastly, Sulake needs the staff to create the sure-to-be-uplifting "Mean Girls" world at today's presumably higher rates. So Sulake appears to be playing the cards it was dealt wisely and carefully. Noted. After all, what does Sulake care about Disney? Or fans of the Disney brand? They're all just another client, as far as Sulake's concerned. And bonus points to Paramount for out-witting Disney (although they better be very careful in their own dealings with Sulake!). And why did Disney sponsor a virtual world -- where children were supposed to grow and develop their (and Disney's) presence, property, and social networks -- by contracting with Sulake for such a limited time? The 10-year olds playing VMK all knew VMK was supposed to go on forever, so why didn't anyone at Disney appear to know this too? Which leads back to the original question, one which, it turns out, no one but Disney can answer: "Why would Disney want to close VMK?" SaveVMK.com has a petition of over 16,460 people who would like to know. And it suggests another, yet-to-be-answered question: Why are the Disney stockholders standing by while such a tragic mistake is made if VMK were to be closed forever? The world may never know the answer. Or care, since other, non-Disney virtual worlds are likely to pick up that $2 billion value, while gaining the gratitude of millions of former VMK players and their families (formerly known as Disney customers) on May 22. Some Find Hope in POTC Survey Disney sent out a survey to players of Pirates of the Caribbean Online game. One of the questions read: "Which of the following online games do you currently pay to play or have paid a subscription to? Please select all that apply. Posters on several forums are speculating that this could indicate Disney is considering switching VMK to pay-to-play. Based on the comments we have gotten, VMK would be a great gateway for Disney to convert many of it's free Internet customers over to pay-for-play subscribers. Disney Boycott over VMK Closing Nate, Chan, Scott Morgan, William Spangler, Meg Penn, PrincessPixiePop, Andrea, and GeneralBirdman wrote to say they are boycotting Disney -- no longer buying any Disney products, or visiting the parks -- over their closing VMK. As FISHKars told Disney, "With this website probably already lots of people are going to boycotting Disney products. So to save your company, save VMK." And they are not alone!! According to Central Florida News 13, many parents across the country are starting to boycott all things Disney over the planned closing of VMK. Be sure to click on the "Video: Online Disney Dilemma" to watch the segment. Thanks very much to Shelly, Elaine, and William Amato for speaking out and standing up to Disney!! Share with your parents and friends how you feel, ask them to sign the petition, and together let's save VMK!! Hundreds protest inside VMK on Wednesday Previously, Mizmouse emailed about having a protest inside VMK. Many of you went to protest -- thank you!!! Mizmouse wrote, "Thanks for your help telling people about the first Save VMK Walk...we had a huge queue to get into the room...I will be organizing more of them in the future! We had hundreds show up for the Save VMK Walk today!" Will Dr. Phil help? Cazz wrote with a great suggestion... Why not ask Dr. Phil to do a show on VMK closing, and how it is important to disabled and lonely kids who are trying to learn how to grow up by playing together on VMK?? Click here to contact Dr. Phil! Thanks, superpixkid! Superpixkid wrote and told us: "i have told most of the teachers in my school about vmk and how its closing down then i asked about 7 teachers to sign the petition they all did and in a couple of weeks i will ask every body in the school to!!" Thanks, Superpixkid (and your teachers)!! What a great idea!! Thank you! SaveVMK.com: 100,000 page views lizzie_magic wrote to congratulate us all on getting 100,000 page views on this site. Thank you all for visiting! Save VMK!!! VMK Addict: Help Save VMK. From VMK Addict's web site: "I seriously advise everyone to send in as many emails/letters as possible to anyone at Disney about this. It may not make a difference, but we'll never know unless we try. I think if they add a pay-to-play option (like with POTC Online) they could make a nice profit, not to mention how much money they would make with selling VMK merchandise, especially if you get codes with them. I know Fish and I would buy tons of VMK stuff for birthdays, Christmas and just because. I'm sure we're not the only people out there who would. I also know that several people would be willing to pay to play, as long as VMK doesn't close. I know VMK didn't intend for it to stay open this long, but sometimes great things happen on accident. VMK was a great accidental success. There truly is no other game out there like it." We need more signatures! We have a lot of signatures -- but we need more! Please ask your parents, family members, and friends to sign our petition. Save VMK!! Submit comments to Disney Interactive Disney Interactive Studios has a comment box on their site asking "What do you want to do in DGamer?" Some VMKers have written to suggest we tell them we want to play VMK!! AcePirateLouie loves VMK. Today I got a message from AcePirateLouie, which repeated a single sentence for 31,680 times. Exactly. What was the sentence? "I LOVE VMK." Thanks Ace, we all feel just like you do!!! Virtual Family Kingdom Trailer Virtual Family Kingdom has a preview video up on their site now -- along with an early, "alpha" test of a colonial room, where you can click and move Alpha Girl around the room. Be sure to read the letter below the test. Check it out now! Even more Disney Contact Info MagicMontey posted this great YouTube video about her letters to Disney, and sent us this contact information: Mr. Stephen H. Wadsworth President Walt Disney Internet Group 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Floor North Hollywood, CA 91601 Miss. Brandy Phillips Walt Disney Internet Group 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Floor North Hollywood, CA 91601 Mr. Robert Iger President and CEO Walt Disney Company 500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA 91521-9722 Mr. Tony Baxter Senior Vice President, Creative Development Walt Disney Imagineering 1401 Flower St P.O. Box 25020 Glendale, CA 91221 Mr. Ed Grier President Disneyland Resort 1313 South Harbor Blvd Anaheim, CA 92802 Mr. Steve Jobs CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder of Apple Inc. Apple Computer, Inc. 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 Mr. Steve Parkis Vice President of premium content Disney Online Studios 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Floor North Hollywood, CA 91601 Mr. Paul Yanover Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Online Disney Online Studios 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Floor North Hollywood, CA 91601 Mr. Edward Kummer Head of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online 1025 Grand Central Ave. Glendale, CA 91201 Mr. Roy Disney (nephew of Walt Disney) c/o Shamrock Holdings, Inc. 4444 Lakeside Drive Burbank, CA 91505 Mr. John Lasseter Chief Creative Officer and co-founder Pixar Animation Studios 1200 Park Avenue Emeryville, CA 94608 Send Avatars: Zenia Mucha, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, The Walt Disney Company Andy Bird, Chairman, Walt Disney International Seth "Yavn" Mendelsohn, VMK Producer Director Of Product Development for international mobile Walt Disney Internet Group 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Floor North Hollywood, CA 91601 More Disney Contact Info WDMountie posted the following info about contacting Disney: "Please contact the Disney company and tell them how you feel about VMK closing. It is your opinion that is valued. Write to Keep VMK open: http://corporate.disney.go.com/wdig/contact_form.html Not good with a pen??? CALL THEM! Disney Internet Services: (866) 993-6263 {POTC Online Support} Disney Internet Group Phone Number 818-623-3200 Address: 5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Fl. North Hollywood, CA 91601 President: Stephen H. (Steve) Wadsworth Steve Parkis to lead Disney Online Studios Please call his assistant Rebecca Metz at 818-623-3313 Steve.Parkis@disney.com wdw.guestcommunications@disneyworld.com, robert.a.iger@disney.com, steve.wadsworth@disney.com, brent.woodford@disney.com, jay.rasulo@disney.com, john.lasseter@disney.com, paul.yanover@disney.com, zenia.mucha@disney.com, larry.shapiro@disney.com, brad.davis@disney.com, lane.merrifield@disney.com Walt Disney Internet Group Brandy Phillips, 818-623-3764 Brandy.Phillips@disney.com wdig.communications@dig.com Walt Disney Company Attn: Robert Iger 500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA 91521-9722 Walt Disney Imagineering Attn: Tony Baxter 1401 Flower Street P.O. Box 25020 Glendale, CA 91221-502 Disneyland Resort Attn: Ed Grier 1313 South Harbor Blvd. Anaheim , CA 92802 E-mail Disneyland Resort Walt Disney Corp. 818-560-1000 Walt Disney Corp. 500 So. Buena Vista Street Burbank, Ca. 91521 VMK Art Club We got an email from Kiki: "Hello, my name is Kiki. Just like everyone else here, I love VMK and am totally devoted to saving my home away from home. I am also an active artist, mostly posting my art on a website called DeviantART. On DeviantART, people are allowed to start clubs in which artists may share their work. Now, I was wondering if it would be all right with you if I could start a Save VMK club on DeviantART. All artwork dedicated to the preservation of VMK would be submitted to the club and I could put it all together to make a collage. That collage could be sent around for publicity for the Save VMK cause." Thanks, Kiki! The VMK Art Club has some great art already, and is located here! Save VMK!! Thanks to VMK Hosts First, we want to say thank you to all the VMK staff. They have been great!! Second, we have gotten some comments supposedly from VMK staff, but now it looks like they weren't. We're sorry for the errors, and hope they didn't cause anyone any problems. Thanks, Madison The story of VMKer Madison Reed was covered in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, saying this is "a reminder of what games can mean to people, and how virtual worlds can provide powerful and unique experiences. How digital playgrounds can help people break free of their real-world shackles, with freedom to express themselves, forge identity and feel what it is like to step into another's shoes." Thanks to Madison, and the author Jason Hill. Save VMK!! VMKBlog.com Mizmouse emailed to suggest their blog that is tracking VMK: VMKBlog.com. Thank you! Save VMK!! VMK Giveaway VMK gave 3,000 credits to everyone who logged on Tuesday, April 22. It sounds like a lot of players have stopped playing VMK, because they don't want to work any harder on something that Disney plans on just trashing. I think Disney hoped to move VMK players over to their other worlds, but a lot of the players may not trust Disney after this. Meanwhile, Virtual Family Kingdom has over 15,000 beta testers. Can't wait to see you there!! Contacting Disney Today is April 21, one month from when Disney says they are closing VMK forever. :( On Friday, April 18, my dad talked to Clifford Miller at Shamrock Holdings, which is Roy Disney's company. The company is the third largest shareholder of the Walt Disney Company. They talked for a long time and Mr. Miller asked my dad lots of questions. He told him to contact Bob Iger, head of Disney, and to tell Bob just the same things they had talked about. Mr. Miller suggested using email because he says Bob checks his email everyday. So he sent an email to Bob Iger, and copied Jay Rasulo and John Lasseter also. You can read it here. There are so many things to say, it was hard to narrow it down! A special thanks to those whose comments we included in the email as examples of how strongly we all feel that VMK should be saved: Megan, Jack Johnson, cool_briarrosequeen5543976, Gammy, Melanie Duckworth, Jennifer (Zacharina) Horton, Momof6, TiredNewMango, Marsea, alex (again), dzu, AwesomeSpeaker, RocketJena, pikcdust, Littlesweetlil, Maximum_Magic, FireNimph, StarzofRavenclaw, Arielle, Molly Hayden, FeTTiBell, Greenry, DiamondKelly, Chris McManus, LoisAlene, and mykitty_istiger12. A VMK Link Party emailed to suggest a link here. Thanks, Party. Motley Fool article on VMK - Read this!! The Motley Fool, a financial advice site, wonders what could possibly be going on at Disney to make them want to close VMK in this article. Thanks to the Author, Mr. Munarriz, and to the Motley Fool! Save VMK!! St. Louis Post-Dispatch article on VMK This is from Tim Barker, the reporter we mentioned earlier, who has posted this article about VMK and what happens when a virtual world is closed. Thank you, Tim! Radio show on VMK Closure VMK Addict has a NewsTalk 710 KIRO (Seattle, WA) radio talk show presented online available here. Thank you for your show! Save VMK!! One correction: During the radio show, they say there are a few thousand players on VMK. ForeverWDW emailed and suggested linking to this press release, from February 2006, which stated that VMK had registered over 1 million players. What is the total count now? It makes you wonder what would have happened if Disney had kept advertising VMK - on Disney Channel, ABC, and other places. Thanks, ForeverWDW! YouTube videos to Save VMK! Many of you have been making You Tube videos about VMK closing. Now, the Orange County Register newspaper has an article about them. Thanks to JimCake and others for posting their videos!!! We CAN make a difference! We got this exciting comment tonight from Kenny G.: "I am Kenny. I am the father of two girls and the reason LOCAL6 aired their story. If there ever was a time to stand up in the face of a Corporate giant now is the time! Act now VMKers! It only took one phone call to get an interview on TV. I called on Friday afternoon to my local CBS Station and they came out on Monday the 14th of April to film our family taking a stand. Stand up for what you believe in. Do Not Delay! Now is the Time! We Can make a difference!You heard him! Get your parents and get on that telephone! Call your local TV station, newspaper, and radio stations! Save VMK!! Update: Video for the news story is now available on the Local6 Orlando web site, and on YouTube! Great story!! Remember! We heard that many people with serious diseases, including some who are staying in hospitals, play VMK so they can talk with their friends and play in a "germ free" environment. We searched and found this post from Yavn, who talks about CL_Slinkyman, a long time player of VMK, who had a form of cancer called Hodgkins Lymphoma and whose Make-a-Wish Foundation's gift was for them to visit together. We hope Yavn, and other Disney officials, can remember players like CL_Slinkyman and save VMK! Media Coverage Orlando's Local6 posted this story, which mentions our 11,000 signatures (so far)! ForeverWDW sent a link to an article in the Orange County Register. The Register is one of the nation's largest newspapers. The story includes an online poll. We encourage you to visit their site and vote now! Thanks to the OC Register for the mention and link to SaveVMK.com! And, thanks to ForeverWDW for the email. Save VMK! Here is a Google search for more news on VMK. A thread on the topic has started on Yahoo's Stock Message Boards. Saving VMK Anna wrote, "how do you save vmk?" I don't know for sure that we can. Disney people don't want to be forced, just like we don't like it either. So we are going to try to persuade the bosses at Disney that they underestimated how important VMK is to their audience -- and that's us! So please tell your family and friends to sign the petition (get your parent's permission first), and together WE will try to save VMK! Thank you! Thank you for your support in working together to save VMK! Click the "View Signatures" page to see our current number of signatures. Your heart-felt comments are appreciated! SaveVMKtoday has a list of contact information to reach Disney directly. Thank you ! Tell your friends & family to Save VMK! Virtual Family Kingdom We have called the head of a new virtual world and confirmed that will be opening on May 22. Virtual Family Kingdom is having their site finished and tested now (they started on the underlying technology a long time ago). It sounds like a wonderful experience traveling through history, playing fun games, making new friends, and preserving old ones -- including friends from VMK! Check it out at: Virtual Family Kingdom!  |
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