VMK Central Closing in Disneyland New Update Yavn Speaks!!

[aliceblue]

But I may never have met them in person if it wasn't for the VMK Quests and VMK Central. It gave us a safe place to meet with a fun activity to do.

While considering the implications of the VMK kiosk being removed, I've been thinking of other places to meet, for players who still want to do that.

One largely unused spot with lots of seating is the area under the awning behind the turkey leg stand, at the very edge of Tomorrowland and close to Small World. (There is water on each side of it; I believe it's where the motorboats used to be long ago.)

So without VMK Central, I guess we will be needing to do some in-park "Cazalet's Quests".

What a great idea! No reason we can't make our own "in-park" VMK fun.

BTW, add me to the list of those that were in the park (and at VMK central) on Tuesday. We should have had a meet! (and yes, the CM's were actually happy that the VMK booth was going away. They have taken much abuse at the hands of adult VMK players )

Add me to the list of people who were there on Tuesday as well!

After reading about cast member reactions here, I asked a CM yesterday (yes, I went back!) if she was looking forward to it closing. Refreshingly, she said no; that she was actually going to miss it. I was glad to hear that at least some of them have enjoyed it. I can think of certain CMs in particular who have been real shining stars while working there.

 

[Loves Disney]

I hope I am wrong but after this announcement I am scared the days left for VMK are numbered.

The closing of vmk central has me thinking about the end of VMK also...but then again, hearing them speak of future advancements to the game make me think vmk itself isn't as temporary as the central itself. The bans go from 2 hours to ten years to permanent. I suppose if they didn't plan to stick around, the 10 year ban wouldn't be there. I don't know

I know it was fun being at the VMK Central in WDW and it would be nice if they kept the central at DLR, I mean, I always enjoyed meeting people from the game there but it's not the end of the world for me if they take both away.

But what does make me wonder...the one in DLR looked VERY nice -- why would they spend so much money on something they figured would be temporary anyway? I sounds weird to me. Maybe there is something about this we don't know about. Why would the one in WDW continue to stay? It isn't as nice, I hear (and wouldn't doubt), as the one in DLR...

 

[jeffgwins]

But what does make me wonder...the one in DLR looked VERY nice -- why would they spend so much money on something they figured would be temporary anyway? I sounds weird to me. Maybe there is something about this we don't know about. Why would the one in WDW continue to stay? It isn't as nice, I hear (and wouldn't doubt), as the one in DLR...

It just goes to show us how fast things can change. One day they are updating the look of something and the next they are taking it away. So be ready for anything to happen at anytime. Remember, the only permanent thing, is change.

 

[Goofy_Bob]

...Remember, the only permanent thing, is change.

Except from a vending machine. LOL



Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[jeffgwins]

Except from a vending machine. LOL



Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Goofy, that was great! I got a good chuckle out of that one.

Something i thought about today about this VMK Central thing. Those of us that play VMK wouldn't care if they put the quest cards in a small corner somewhere in Disneyland. We would find it! We don't need a big "VMK Central". Just give us a small desk somewhere in the back of a shop on Main Street and we will find it to get our quest cards. LOL, i guess its my way of making a desperate attempt to keep it going.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

The closing of vmk central has me thinking about the end of VMK also...but then again, hearing them speak of future advancements to the game make me think vmk itself isn't as temporary as the central itself. The bans go from 2 hours to ten years to permanent. I suppose if they didn't plan to stick around, the 10 year ban wouldn't be there. I don't know

Well, I hope I'm wrong. But, they tend to make everything seem OK and say they plan on things right before they end up shutting down. This is true for not only Disney, but for many other companies.

Keep up appearances to the very end.

 

[Goofy_Bob]

Well, I hope I'm wrong. But, they tend to make everything seem OK and say they plan on things right before they end up shutting down. This is true for not only Disney, but for many other companies.

Keep up appearances to the very end.

Very true. I worked for the corp offices of a 180-store retail chain that went bankrupt and was closed up. Everyone was told all was still going fine, that it was just a "restructuring", etc. Then the day after Christmas many employees were laid off and over a 1/3 of those stores were told they were closing in a couple weeks. (The remainding stores/assets were purchased by another company.)

Like she says "Keep up appearances to the very end."

 

[Laurabearz]

I asked Yavn point blank if those with a 10 year ban ever had hopes of VMK being around long enough for them to come back. First thing he said is all those with a 10 year ban are really banned for life... Second thing he said was... as long as VMK can stay current it will be around. ( whatever that means lol)

And I have been thinking aobut the big uproar on DLR VMK central closing.. (and this applies to WDW VMK Central too, if it closes) My guess is that 80- 90% of those playing dont live close enough to either park make a difference in their lives, and they all have to trade for anything from either park regardless.

 

[Berry Princess]

After reading about cast member reactions here, I asked a CM yesterday (yes, I went back!) if she was looking forward to it closing. Refreshingly, she said no; that she was actually going to miss it. I was glad to hear that at least some of them have enjoyed it. I can think of certain CMs in particular who have been real shining stars while working there.

Glad to see that. Of course maybe she realizes that she will be one of those forced to work over at Nemo and deal with the guests that could end up cranky in the long lines. But really I can imagine there are a few other CMs that aren't looking forward to it closing too. Sadly it is probably a very small number of them.

But what does make me wonder...the one in DLR looked VERY nice -- why would they spend so much money on something they figured would be temporary anyway? I sounds weird to me. Maybe there is something about this we don't know about. Why would the one in WDW continue to stay? It isn't as nice, I hear (and wouldn't doubt), as the one in DLR...

I asked this as well. I don't understand it either but then they have done this sort of thing in the past as well where they did whatever to something and put lots of money into it and then its gone. Not something new with Disney. But it was a waste of money that could have gone into something else there if they knew they were getting rid of it and it was temporary.

The closing of vmk central has me thinking about the end of VMK also...but then again, hearing them speak of future advancements to the game make me think vmk itself isn't as temporary as the central itself. The bans go from 2 hours to ten years to permanent. I suppose if they didn't plan to stick around, the 10 year ban wouldn't be there. I don't know

Really with something like this you can't tell how long it will be around. You just don't know what will happen. Especially when its a free game. I feel the amount of time they say for a ban doesn't much matter. They could pull the plug on the game today if they wanted and not say a word on why. It would suck but we just don't know what will happen. And even if future things are planned for the game it doesn't mean much. We could see the game go before those things were to happen.

Second thing he said was... as long as VMK can stay current it will be around. ( whatever that means lol)

What I think it means is, as long as Disney allows it to be around it will be around. I'm not sure if it will matter how many are playing the game but that could have something to do with things too. If it was to ever drop in numbers it could be pulled. We just never know what reason there could be to pull it. So its just a wait and see thing now. And have fun while its still around.

 

[Disney Dreams]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!

Okay, I realize I am WAY behind on this, but this is the first time I have been on the boards in a week.

And I love how Yavn's explanation explains absolutely nothing at all. How about a "why"? And if you are ending VMK, tell us.

And didn't they just get us all excited about the new furniture quest set? This seems like a very disjointed decision. "Hey all, new seasonal quests coming soon!" "Oh, wait, never mind!"

Oh, and I guess this FINALLY puts to rest the WDW vs. DLR better quest item debate, huh? That's the part I REALLY don't get. Why end it at 1 park and not the other? Oh, wait, could it possibly be summer travel dollars for WDW?!?! (Revenue driven? Nah!)

I feel like the end of vmk is just around that corner. Bummer. Here's to still getting together with VMK friends IRL.

 

[tinkcollector]

Well, I too have not been on alot lately, and I am very sadden by this news. I sure hope we are wrong about the out come. Could it just be a temporary closing for VMK at DLR, since the Nemo opening is so close to the VMK stand? Well, anywho I have met alot of really nice people because of VMK. And I hope no matter what happens we will all stay life long friends. I hope we are all wrong here and VMK stays up and running.

 

[Loves Disney]

As I was reading posts around this thread and from what Yavn has said -- I hate to say this, but I'm starting to think the future of vmk will not last longer than maybe 2 years tops at this point...maybe go as far as a year longer. It seems the care and attention to it has been slowly diminishing and I think the promotion is becoming less and less necessary. I tend to think that because they are taking away the VMK Central in DLR and that was a much useful promotional piece. I think now that that aspect of the game is going down, since the game is free, that too will be going down.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!

Okay, I realize I am WAY behind on this, but this is the first time I have been on the boards in a week.

And I love how Yavn's explanation explains absolutely nothing at all. How about a "why"? And if you are ending VMK, tell us.

Just because he is head of this "project", it doesn't mean that he know's what Disney's plans are.

A few years ago, I worked part time in a video store. Everything was doing great. Of the 4 stores the owner had, we were the most profitable. My manager made sure of that. We had gotten the movies to be released on Tuesday and had them all prepped. The schedule was all done. I worked and closed the night before Halloween and knew I had to be there the next night. It was business as usual.
The next morning, when my manager showed up to open the store, the owner was there and said "Give me your keys. I'm closing down the store right now".

No one, including the store manager, knew that was going to happen. The owner decided that he no longer wanted stores in cities. He wanted to explore the small towns.

Bottom line, Anything can happen at any moment. Yavn, even in his position, doesn't have to be told anything by Disney until after the fact.

 

[VMKaddict]

This is too weird @_@
At least there is still WDW

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

I paid my last visit to the VMK Kiosk at Disneyland on Tuesday.

It's interesting (considering the supposed "lack of guest interest") that there were 10 people in line to turn in quests when I first got there.

I noticed one boy in line only had the POTC and Animation Quests in his hand. Since I had an extra Tomorrowland Quest with me, I gave it to him and helped him fill it out. As a result, he got Red Space Suit Magic, as well as the Mickey TV Set and 2 bonus Fast Passes for turning in the 3 quests.

He was so happy that his eyes were sparkling; and I felt really good that I was able to do this for him. Too bad TPTB have decided to deprive us of future opportunities to share the VMK magic with others at Disneyland...

 

[Disney Dreams]

And dont you just love that they are still promoting the new cards?

"Check out these special cards."
Where's the rest of that sentence? "... that we teased you with but you will never get a chance to received."

"oh, and we will never give you a real reason why even after you have helped our game become successful and sent unknown amounts of money doing so."

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I paid my last visit to the VMK Kiosk at Disneyland on Tuesday.

It's interesting (considering the supposed "lack of guest interest") that there were 10 people in line to turn in quests when I first got there.

I noticed one boy in line only had the POTC and Animation Quests in his hand. Since I had an extra Tomorrowland Quest with me, I gave it to him and helped him fill it out. As a result, he got Red Space Suit Magic, as well as the Mickey TV Set and 2 bonus Fast Passes for turning in the 3 quests.

He was so happy that his eyes were sparkling; and I felt really good that I was able to do this for him. Too bad TPTB have decided to deprive us of future opportunities to share the VMK magic with others at Disneyland...

I love reading stories like these.

It is too bad that we won't be hearing about these from DLR anymore.

Another opportunity to spread more Disney Magic gone.

 

[Goofy_Bob]

...I noticed one boy in line only had the POTC and Animation Quests in his hand. Since I had an extra Tomorrowland Quest ... He was so happy that his eyes were sparkling; and I felt really good that I was able to do this for him. Too bad TPTB have decided to deprive us of future opportunities to share the VMK magic with others at Disneyland...

I would often bring extra printable at home quests and/or answer sheets with me to help other VMKers. And you're right, there's something special about helping a kid get extra cards. They really do light up. Way to go LWH!

 

[DCA_MillionaireFreak]

Ridiculous!

Last two times we went to DLR, my whole family had fun hunting for the quest answers.

My Mom was convinced before that I was going to be wasting time doing it, but she saw that it was really just a cool seek and find and she even did some of it too.

We loved it. We even got my uncle and his kids doing the quests in WDW.

It's absolutely ridiculous, I didn't see a reason to close it during my last trip, there were lines sometimes.

 

[milliepie]

Here is what has become of VMK Disneyland..

Nemo souvies...