The Happiest Celebration on Earth, AKA Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, is regarded as one of Disney’s best anniversary events ever. Not only were there exciting additions at Disneyland, but Disney Parks around the world all opened new attractions in celebration of the park that started it all. Disney even opened a brand new resort in Hong Kong to bring the magic of the Disney Parks to more guests. But did you know Disney opened an online version of Disneyland to allow fans from around the world to join in on the celebration? Let’s take a look back at Virtual Magic Kingdom.
Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) was an online massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created to be a virtual hangout for Disney Parks fans around the world. The 2D game, which allowed players to explore a virtual version of Disneyland, had games, quests, shops, the ability to create your own guest rooms, pin trading, and so much more. VMK was released for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, which allowed the company to hype up their new attractions as well as offer in park quests and pin sets that gave players virtual items from visiting both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The incredibly popular online game operated for around 3 years before shutting down.
While the unique game had a relatively short existence, the idea for the game dates back 30 years. In 1995, Imagineering art director Terry Dobson pitched an idea to Disney Interactive to develop an adventure game set within a Disney theme park. Dubbed Virtual Magic Kingdom, the game would have taken place in an after-hours Disney park that had been overrun by villains. Developed between 1996 and 1998 and overseen by Roger Holzberg, the game was eventually scrapped. However, the Fantasyland portion of the game was reused for 1999’s Disney’s Villains’ Revenge.
In 2003, Disney released its first multiplayer online game Toontown Online. The massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) ushered in a new era of Disney gaming. Players were able to create their own toons, team up with friends, and embark on missions to stop the Cogs from taking over Toontown and turning it into a boring and lifeless business. The successful, premium game made experiencing the magic of Disney accessible in a way never seen before.
As Disney began planning for the celebration of Disneyland’s 50th birthday, Holzberg and Dobson were recruited to help bring a new Parks and Resorts Online experience to life. Teaming up with Sulake, creators of Habbo Hotel, they pitched an online game themed around Adventureland that’s purpose was to help sell tickets to the parks. As the idea grew, the pair revisited their Virtual Magic Kingdom idea from a new angle, and thus VMK was born.
Opening in “beta” on May, 21, 2005, Disney fans were welcomed into the multiplayer online park. Originally, fans were able to explore Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, and Fantasyland. While originally set to be a limited time offering for the Happiest Celebration on Earth, the game quickly found success, with Disney’s Parks and Resorts Online team filing a patent for both real-life and virtual rewards for the game on June 24, 2005. The game exited its “beta” period on June 27th, 2005. As the player base continued to grow, so did VMK’s offerings. On October 5, Tomorrowland opened in the game with Frontierland opening on December 12. Tomorrowland was expanded on April 4, 2006 and the game’s final land, New Orleans Square, launched on January 8, 2007.
Just like Disney’s in-person parks, VMK had operating hours. From 10AM to 1AM ET, VMK would allow players to join in on the action of the game, which saw weekly releases of new virtual clothing, pins, furniture, guest rooms, and more. Each room, both guest rooms made by players and the game’s official areas, had a limit of 15 players per room. Within, players could chat with one another, trade items, and play games to earn credits. While the game did have a family-friendly chat filter, it allowed players to type freely with banned words being marked out with ###.
Many iconic character’s could be found throughout the game, including Matterhorn’s Yeti, Madame Leota, and Shrunken Ned, as well as references to many iconic past and present Disney Parks attractions, including more obscure rides like Adventures Thru Inner Space.
Throughout the game, players would find minigames themed to some of Disney’s biggest attractions like Haunted Mansion, which allowed teams to compete on collecting ghosts; Jungle Cruise, which had players step into the role of a wildlife photographer; Pirates of the Caribbean, where teams would face off in an epic pirate battle; and Castle Fireworks, where players would have to set off fireworks in a rhythm style game.
Another fun feature were VMK’s quests. Players would be sent out on missions to different places throughout VMK, which included games, interacting with characters, answering trivia, and more. Finishing these quests would unlock special pins, magic, and other items. No matter where you visited, there were characters to interact with and places to explore.
![Photo: noodlebgolfin2 on ebay](https://www.laughingplace.com/w/wp-content/uploads/ddimages/2025/01/27/a-look-back-at-disneys-online-theme-park-virtual-magic-kingdom-5.jpg/w375)
In the Disney Parks, players could embark on in-person quests similar to those found in the games. Finishing those would provide players with a code to redeem in-game items, such as the highly sought after Kali River Rapids couch and Stitch hat. Pin sets were also sold that were themed to the game. Within the boxes, a code could also be found to unlock exclusive items. I still have my “Bird Hat” pin from their Pirates of the Caribbean VMK pin set.
![Photo: SorcererGoofy on YouTube](https://www.laughingplace.com/w/wp-content/uploads/ddimages/2025/01/27/a-look-back-at-disneys-online-theme-park-virtual-magic-kingdom-6.jpg/w451)
While the game seemed to be performing incredibly well, rumors began swirling that the online park would shutter. Unfortunately, in April of 2008, VMK announced they would close their virtual gates on May 21, 2008.
A huge outcry poured throughout the community, with news stations covering the reactions to the closure.
While there were online petitions to save the game and unfounded rumors the game would return, Disney closed VMK as intended and no guests were invited to walk through the virtual turnstyles again. Fans tried to develop their own versions of the game, like VFK (Virtual Family Kingdom), but none were able to capture the magic of VMK. Many players eventually moved onto other online games, especially Club Penguin. However, the far more limited MMORPG didn’t offer the same excitement as the online Disney park.
For me, even 17 years later, I still miss jumping on VMK and riding fan-made rides, playing “cute or boot,” and earning credits from the Pirates of the Caribbean game. While Disney has mostly forgotten about VMK, Holzberg shared in 2021 that the free MMORPG had begun taking players away from their premium online game Toontown, resulting in a main factor of its closure. Ironically, VMK’s closure was only the first of many for Disney’s MMORPGs. Disney went on to buy Club Penguin and create Pirates Online, The World of Cars, and Pixie Hollow, with all of them eventually ceasing operations. Unfortunately, with Disney ending all of its MMORPGs, we probably will never see an experience like VMK again, but for now, gamers can visit Disneyland anytime they want with Disneyland Adventures for Xbox and PC.
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