HELP SAVE VMK.

Please 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.

Sites to visit:

SaveVMKToday.com
SaveVMK.com
VMKKidsUnite.com

Here's some information from other sites on who to contact at Disney:

Links:

http://corporate.disney.go.com/wdig/contact_form.html

http://www2.virtualmagickingdom.com/iot/go...&country=US

http://www.disneyland.com/contact

Email:

vmk@disneyonline.com
robert.a.iger@disney.com
robert.iger@disney.com
roger.s.holzberg@disney.com
wdw.guestcommunications@disneyworld.com
zenia.mucha@disney.com
lane.merrifield@disney.com
steve.wadsworth@disney.com
brent.woodford@disney.com
larry.shapiro@disney.com
douglas.parrish@disney.com
paul.yanover@disney.com
brad.davis@disney.com
jay.rasulo@disney.com
Steve.Parkis@disney.com
Brandy.Phillips@disney.com
brandy.phillips@dig.com
wdig.communications@dig.com

Write:

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, LLC
1375 E. Buena Vista Dr.
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-8402

Walt Disney Internet Group
5161 Lankershim Blvd., 4th Fl.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

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

Call/Fax:

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, LLC
+1-407-828-1750 (Phone)
407-934-8889 (Fax)

Walt Disney Internet Group
+1-818-623-3200 (Phone)
+1-866-993-6263 (Phone)
818-623-3577 (Fax)

Brandy Phillips
818-623-3764 (Phone)

Roger S. Holzberg
818-623-3424 (Phone)

Rebecca Metz
818-623-3313 (Phone)

Walt Disney Corp.
818-560-1000 (Phone)

Petitions:

Save VMK From Closing
SaveVMK.com
Keep VMK Open


I think if a lot of people send out emails/letters/phone calls each day and encourage their friends and family to as well, we just might be able to save VMK. I'm going to work on getting more information on who to contact and post here. If anyone has any information, please post or send me a PM and I'll add it to the list. Thanks.

P.S. Please let us know if you get any responses.

I sent my email, and copied everyone on the list provided by Last.

Response from Steve Parkis:

QUOTE

I am currently out of the office on vacation and will not be checking email. I will be returning Wednesday, April 9th. Please call my assistant Rebecca Metz at 818-623-3313 with any issues that need immediate attention.

Response from Brandy Phillips:

QUOTE

I'm currently out of the office on vacation and do not have access to email. If your matter is urgent please contact Zayda Vidal at zayda.vidal@disney.com, otherwise I will get back to you when I return on Tuesday, April 8.

Thank you.

I have forwarded my email to zayda.vidal@disney.com, and Ms. Metz is on my to-call list. I encourage everyone to keep sending messages and calling as much as possible. Also do not forget to share this information with your friends and family on other VMK fan sites. Many things can be changed by a good email campaign. Let's see if us addicts can get our little game saved.

We definitely should make sure that Steve Wadsworth, President of Walt Disney Internet Group, and Paul Yanover, Vice President and managing director of Disney Online, are copied on all messages, as well as Brandy Phillips and Zayda Vidal.

Ok I added their information to the first post. Thanks, Fish.

Here is some more info I found on another site:

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
EMAIL:
Disneyland Resort - http://www.disneyland.com/contact

--------------------

Walt Disney Corp.
818-560-1000

Walt Disney Corp.
500 So. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, Ca. 91521

This is a great idea, Fairy (and Fish). Even if we don't get VMK to stay open, at least we go out with a bang. Disney doesn't know what's coming.

I'll start right after school.

Message Sent, I sure hope this works

Thanks, Believe and Jennings. I think if we all band together, we might be able to make a difference.

Here's a link to a petition someone started to save VMK:

Click here to sign.

Click here to visit Save VMK Today!

Both links have been added to the first post.

I signed the petition, and I’m going to sign with my other characters (spares) as well.

This closing of vmk makes me think that Disney is just like a politician. They promise to something, like they said vmk isn’t closing anytime soon, and then they break it. They do it to get publicity, and they would keep it up until they don’t need it anymore. (Usually they don’t need it anymore right after the elections or when they get into office) In this case, vmk uses it to reel people in, bringing them to their other sites and getting them to go to the parks to do the quests and buy items for virtual codes. Then, they stop when they think they’ve gotten enough money from that promotion, so that we are forced to go to their not as fun pay sites. They won’t care if people get upset over it, because they were able to get what they wanted. Also, whenever you ask them something, usually they don’t respond or they don’t answer the question directly. (Example: I asked what had happened to the gold stars, for I haven’t seen anyone with a gold star. They answered with telling me what a gold star was, which didn’t help me, for I ALLREADY knew what the pin was.) They only made vmk for money, not for they people to enjoy it. So, maybe writing to Disney and all of these other things will help Disney to realize there are people out there whom actually CARE about the game, unlike some of them, and they will keep it. If they do keep vmk and they don’t close it, then I would think differently of Disney, and not as Disney being just one big hook, reeling us in, taking our money, and throwing us back, as if they only cared for the money. (just something I had to say….)

i will surely be sending lots of emails today after school. if VMK goes, at least it will go out with a bang

I would just like to say if you are going to sign the petition, please write something that would make VMK pay attention to it. Writing a thousand exclamation points is not helping the problem.

Wow the petition now has over 450 signatures. I think I was number 64 when I signed lol. I think if it gets enough signatures, that may make Disney take notice.

Hopefully people will start getting responses sometime today from all the emails that have been sent out.

Let's keep adding more to that list.

I have signed the petition for each of my family members (It is over 770, BTW).

I included these points, and will use them in my letters -

1. While we do not pay for VMK itself, many of us have spent a great deal of money on extra park admissions, pins sets, DVD's that we didn't really need, so that we could enhance our VMK experience. Therefore, VMK is NOT free, and they are taking away more than virtual items.

2. The target audience is 7 - 14. These "children" have been allowed to make friends and form relationships, but were not allowed to share personal information. Now those children are being forced to sever those friendships rather abruptly. The lasting effects of this could be devastating for some.

3. There are many who would be willing to pay to play. I am one of them.

Keep those letters going!

I hope that this works...

I signed the petition. I think I'm going to call first, then email. I think it would make a bigger impact to hear an actual human voice than for them to read words on a screen. I haven't called yet, though. I haven't had a lot of free time, but I will call within the next couple of days.

I want to remind everyone NOT to give too much personal information on that petition! If you include your full name, DO NOT include your VMK name, and if you include your VMK name DO NOT include your full name. This is a safety measure and giving too much information here will unravel all the efforts VMK did make to keep everyone safe.

Shape I used your points in different words, hope you don't mind. I was 973.

I also mentioned that I will upset with the Disney company and therefore will be refraining from purchasing their products if they do so choose to close VMK.

Btw Fairy, your avatar is so cute.

Update: WOOT! The petition just received its 1,000th signature!

It may not change anything but I will keep updated... As for now I have stoped playing VMK.. Because I am heart broken and at the loss of all my frineds... From here and other places I can not bare to say GOODBYE! So GOODBYE!

I'm am infuriated this has happened! They can't just build something up to this extent and give us only a month's notice. I don't care if I have to pay, I can't bear to see VMK close its doors. What will happen to VMKaddict? I don't want to lose all of you guys as friends!

I'll get right on this campaign band wagon and I'll tell DisneyPrincess to as well. Something must be done!

EDIT: I sent a message to Disney via the link in Fairy's post. I'll send MANY more before I'm finally through. VMK will be sorry they messed with me and my AP English words

This Is Really Stinky. I Will Try My Best, And Send As Many Emails As I Can.

I thought it would be a good idea to mention that we have 44 days. (Including today and May 21st) That's a lot of time to get ourselves together. Come on addicts, lets show VMK what they are up against.

I think that, if we put a lot of effort into this, we really could win. There are at least 1/4 of a million active members (not including most people's mules and some people that only play a couple of times a month) and there are probably less than 100 people that work on vmk. If so, we are AT LEAST 2,500 times more people than they have, and we can be 2,500 times stronger if every person is able just to put in a little bit of effort. I'm thinking that, even though it might not make much of a difference, that we should all send letters (or paragraphs, as long as the paragraph is effective) to vmk at the same exact time. They would get a whole lot of letters all at once, showing them how much people actually LIKE vmk. Maybe that would change their mind about closing vmk....

I signed the petition.

Aww, I knew this was coming.

Well, count me in for the players who are willing to pay to play!

Vmk is the only game I would pay to play for.

I didn't spend those years making friends, playing games, building rooms, wasting time on the computer, begging my friends to join (and two of them joined a week ago.. and are now addicted to it! darn), and stressing over the quests and ride competitions, so I could be kicked off.

*coughcough I cried when I was banned coughcough*

This Christmas I finally convinced my parents to buy Disney movies so I could get the vmk entertainment system.

I was sad when they closed the in-park quests.. but closing VMK ALL TOGETHER?

Wow.. I'd hate to tell my friends and family about this..

Me and my sister would beg our dad to go to the library to play vmk when our computers' internet connections weren't working.

...

Wow, no I'm in a bad mood. I started off with an o.k. attitude thinking "Aww, that's horrible." and then I went to "What in the world am I going to do?? I'm going to die!! I'll be in my computer room rocking back and fourth on a chair, sulking, and very VERY confused."

Wow.. I might even forget a few acronyms!!

..

Well, lets stay positive! Maybe this is a late April Fool's Joke?

Where does it say it's going to close?

how did everyone know vmk was closing? i haven't been on in a while because of schoolwork

it says that vmk is closing in the newsletter, under yavn speaks. If you want to read it, we have on the front page of VMKaddict, and it is the second pinned topic on the front page.

Yavn Speaks 4/7/08 tells us that VMK is closing. Check it out, it's something you need to read as soon as possible.


I signed the petition. Hopefully it will do something...

HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO US!! I REALLY NEVER THOUGH THIS WOULD HAPPEN. I NEVER WANT TO FORGET THE BLACKHEART QUEST IF THEY DO CLOSE THOUGH.



YAVN HAS NO SYMPATHY FOR US IF YOU READ HIS POST IN THE PETITION!






PS- I HAVE SENT LIKE 100 EMAILS AND MAYBE 30 CALLS (I'M VERY UPSET AND WILL NEVER EVER FORGET VMK!!)

ahh okay i got it now. i signed the petition

I do not think that the posts made by Yavn and the hosts in this petition are by them. I think it is someone trying to be a wise guy. (to put it nicely)

well ya can never be to sure about yavn after all he does have his days.........

I just read the news and are totally appalled! If VMK was just a promotion for the 50th anniversiary, why let it go for 3 whole years and decide suddenly to shut it down? To me it's frustrating and uncalled for! I beg Disney to see that they are making the wrong decision. And if we fail, at least we went down with the pride of trying to save this great game.

BUT....knowing Disney, the only way VMK could stay is if it goes into a pay to play game, which is a game I would happily pay for in a heartbeat. But otherwise, stay with VMk until it ends...stay true and positive.

I was also planning to call and write, but I don't know what to do if I call. It asked me something like "where may we direct your call?" and I don't know what to say, so if anyone would be willing to help me, that would be great.

Until Next time....STAY WITH VMK UNTIL WORLD'S END!

I made my first call. I was kind of intimidated, and I wanted to record it but wasn't sure how.

818-623-3200

Someone picked up and when I said I was calling in reguards to VMK she said she would connect me to a voicemail that is checked daily. They give you a long message in a monotone voice about how they are saddened too. I wanted to say something mean, but I simply said:

"I think that you are making a poor marketing choice due to the fact that many people are planning to boycott the Disney Corporation due to the closing of VMK. It is unfair how this company is making us as players pay indirectly through the Disney Movie Rewards program as well as the Pirate q cards in Disney. Not to mention all of the countless hours spent trying to win Captain Blackheart's Quest. Thus, you are making a poor decision and if the VMK staff and whoever else is in charge of VMK's future did decide to make VMK a pay to play program, I would certaintly be interested in doing so."

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/07171955/petition.html

Hello, on behalf of VMK I would like to present to you why VMK should not close. On a first note VMK should not close, why because you are letting down probably about 10,000 people. You take 10,000 people and charge them five dollars a month to play, 50,000 dollars, a lot? No. VMK also promotes your other games pirates of the Caribbean online, toontown, heck why not even club penguin. Also VMK promoted in-park quests, people want to pay couple hundred for there family to go to the park JUST to do the QUEST for the item in VMK. Don't forget they will spend a hundred+ on snacks and souvenirs, oh and VMK cards for ITEMS in VMK. Oh did I forget you have to pay your designers, your staff, you QA's, everyone who works on VMK but that's possible with your other games no? So this would be bad to close this wonderful game young in childhood, three and a half years of age... CLOSING FOR GOOD, sad... MMORPG players (massive multi-player online game) consider this game a FAILURE. WWWD? (What Would Walt Do) Disappoint hundreds of teens-adults. Not to mention RUIN ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS! On a good note this game was a success in a marketing point of view. I had much fun playing it and now... I can say... R.I.P. VMK 2005-2008 A good companion and a good friend... goodbye...




That was my email I sent I'll notify ya'll of replies.

I just left a message to Disney saying how could they let a 50th anniversiary promotion go on for 3 years and just suddenly decide to close the game. I also mentioned that VMK has turned into a daily routine for most people. I also wanted to say on the subject of money, I am also making the assumption that you are closing VMK because of the money you have spent and the money you haven't gotten back, but that would've been mean. Instead, I mentioned how poor this decision is and how many peoples computers can't hold Tonntown or POTCO, so they chose VMK instead. I wrapped it up saying that if VMK is certainly closing, then I really don't want much more to do with Disney except for it's movies and parks.

Nice... did you like mine? Since it's joke month... they better tell us ASAP if it is...

if they are just fooling with us, i'm gonna kill them!

Found this on that petition:

I am sorry for the unfortunate announcement of VMK closing forever. VMK has also been a day to day life experience for hosts and staff at Disney. If there was something we could do about this inconvenient choice, we would. But simply, if we tried, we would more or less be ignored. Disney has made up their mind. I'm sure that if they see how many people have signed this petition, they will make something simliar to VMK, but their decision as of now is final. Again, I am terribly sorry to all of you gamers. We truly only wish for the best in hopes of VMK remaining open, but we also doubt the decision. Now, I must bid this petition signing adeu to catch the monorail before it leaves. -Yavn

i am i love with vmk there is no doubt i would hate for it to close but a pay-to-play access i hope vmk will not do that because my mom is not going to let me play vmk if i have to pay for it because my mom does not like vmk as it is but it would be cool if ( like on POTC online and toon town ) you could play without paying but not get all the great benefits. Also i do not think this would be a good idea because many people play vmk because it is the only free online multi player game ( in English ) out there. But please do not post any nasty replies back to me it is just an opinion.

-sigh- looks like i'm joining pirates...but i'm not giving up till the end

looks like i might be joining that too.

but i will NOT go out without a fight!

keep VMK alive keep VMK alive

FIGHT TILL WORLD'S END!!!!

I have sent numerous things to Disney. For now i will be angry and call them and tell them this is a big mistake with everyone doing this I am hoping to see VMK stay open. Disney I have to say is making a HUGE mistake.

~Disney

All you have to do to make VMK stay open is to send pixie dust to Disney so they see they are wrong

I "glove" pixie dust

people there is also another Petiton to save vmk you should sign you can find it at:

savevmk.com

There is slim to no chance that that is the real Yavn. Anyone can sign their name to the petition and it's very likely some jerk decided to fake a Yavn comment. Unless it's on the VMK homepage, I wouldn't trust it.

Okay: Here are a few of my suggestions. I will have to get off after this for about an hour so I can do some English homework that I didn't start; so here it is.

1. I think that even though VMK refuses to listen, we need to show them something that will catch their attention. After all, actions do speak louder than words. I have been pondering if we should boycott Disney all together, so they can see their profits suffer. But, I'm not exactly sure if that would work. We would need a large group of people and a lot of stamina to do so which I don't think is in supply atm.
2. I think that quitting VMK early is letting them win. Your showing weakness! (LOL Not to sound rude) I think that if we are going to play VMK, we play until there is no more. Quitting because we are upset won't help the cause. Let's go out with a bang.

Therefore, I have come up with these simple steps to getting VMK and Disney's attention.
a) I think that even though they say that staff cannot help, its worth a shot on VMK to spend time in those "Save VMK rooms." It can't hurt to win best guest, either. Since we would be able to talk to Hosts directly and not have to worry about them leaving. They might have some info that can help us.
I think that we should bombard Disney so that they are intimidated in a sense by the VMK players. We have a right to this game now, since, we did pay for it indirectly. Not only through money, (DMR codes, pin sets, booking trips, etc.) but also we have paid our dues in time. We were dedicated and helped to pay tribute to Walt and the Walt Disney Company and Corporation. How do we bombard them, you ask? Petitions, phone calls, emails, letters. Make sure to include key points. Not just how sad you are.
c) Advertise! I for one will be making signatures and avatars (copying Fairy's idea, sorry about that! I'll credit ya, lol!) which I will try my best to make attractive. Use them, make your own. Advertise and let VMK know we mean business.
d) We have to pull together and stay strong. If all else fails, we move together. Whatever happens, happens. We'll pull through because honestly, I love you guys. We can do this. I'd like to see us make it, but if we don't there is always other things.

But that doesn't mean we give up.

Believe, Perfectly said. I am with you all the way. I will do whatever will Help to VMK and I will agree with you ever step of the way.

~Disney

Has anyone gotten a REAL response??

I haven't all i junk. We are sad you are sad. Still waiting for a REAL PERSON response.

I want to make calls, but I don't really know what to expect. I'm kind of afraid lol. Did anyone make a phone call? What did they say?