Newsletter 3 March 2008 — Disneys Online Worlds

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Yavn Speaks!

See Newsletter 18 February 2008 for this section.

Esmeralda's Trivia

Test Your Knowledge of Disney Trivia!

Introducing the prophet of wisdom, the knower of all things and Disney trivia expert – Esmeralda!

On the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland, the two drop hills at the beginning of the ride do more than take guest down a waterfall. Besides providing a good thrill, what do the drop hills on the attraction do?

Know the answer?

Send your answer in using Contact Us. Be sure to have your VMK registration info with you and select Esmeralda Trivia from the drop down menu.

IMPORTANT: If you do not submit your answer by using the 'Esmeralda's Trivia' option in Contact Us your answer WILL NOT be considered.*

From the correct answers submitted using the Esmeralda's Trivia option, we randomly select three players as the winners and send them specially selected prizes that vary from week to week.

The three selected Trivia winners receive the Esmeralda Trivia Pin.

This week's prizes include:

Turn into Shark Magic (Single Use)

Fireworks Magic (Single Use)

Last week's question:

How many "Happy Haunts" are in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Park?

Answer:Officially, still 999.

Although the outside of the Haunted Mansion was completed in 1963, because Walt and the Imagineers were working on the World's Fair attractions in New York, time didn't permit for them to focus their attentions on the inside. During the time Walt was quoted to say, "We'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside." To let Guest know what they may expect from the mansion a sign was left on the door telling them Walt was out recruiting ghosts. The attraction opened to the public in 1969.

999 Happy Haunts make the Haunted Mansion home, but as our Ghost Host in the mansion reminds us, "there's always room for one more".

Did you know: Disneyland held an online auction for the right to be named the honorary 1000th "ghost." A doctor from Louisiana (who had only visited Disneyland once) was the winning bidder and paid $37,400 for the privilege. The money was donated to the Boys & Girls Club chapters of Anaheim, CA and Baton Rouge, LA. The winner is honored with a tombstone which appears in the attraction (it's near the end of the graveyard scene).

Winners:

mattyz
RealFinalFrog
Coasterfan

* Only entries submitted by using the Esmeralda's Trivia option in Contact Us and sent by close of game on Friday will be accepted.

Ned's Shop News

Go Shopping with Shrunken Ned

From 3 March 2008

Ahoy matey! We're swashbuckling into spring and devoting an entire month to our pillaging pals! Let's take a look at the pirate treasure I've dug up from our virtual stock rooms!

LIMITED PIN RELEASES!

These special Pirate pins are being re-released for a limited time! In fact, each is only available for one day only! Don't miss 'em matey!

Hurricane Bay Pin
(available only on 3/3/08)

Treasure Cave Pin
(available only on 3/4/08)

''Shrunken Ned's Shop

Check out these cool items available in Shrunken Ned's Shop starting on 3/1/08:

Pirate Costume
Hat, shirt, pants, and shoes
(each item sold separately.)

PPR Tiny Pirate Ship

PPR Skull Rock

Ariel's Treasure Chest

Jolly Roger T-Shirt
(available in 5 colors)
* Sold in Clothing.

Turn into Shark Magic
(Single & Unlimited Use)
* Sold in the Main Street Magic Shop

From 22 February 2008

See Newsletter 18 February 2008 for this section.

Event Info

Happenings this Month in VMK

Hannah Montana One in a Million Quest

February just got even sweeter! Watch the new Hannah Montana One in a Million Disney DVD, then play the NEW VMK Hannah Montana Quest!

Complete the Quest for an exclusive VMK Hannah Montana Gold Microphone virtual pin.

Check out Hannah Montana in stores now!

Twitches Too Magic Quest

What's more magical than a new Quest? How about a new magic-themed Quest to celebrate the release of Twitches Too on Disney DVD- in stores now.

That's right we're launching a brand new Twitches Too Quest. PLAY NOW!

Check out Twitches Too in stores now!

March is Pirates month.

Check the Community Calendar for more events, details and event times.

Room Makeover

28 February 2008

Give Us a Room, You Get FREE Stuff!

Our HOST makeover a player's room and donate items to the player they get to keep.

See the results here, including BEFORE and AFTER pics and tips you can use to make better rooms.

This week:

RoyalFushiaMask's
Leota Séance Room

RoyalFushiaMask was busy contemplating her next decorating decision when I took a seat in her room. He favorite attraction, she told me, is the Haunted Mansion and her favorite scene is the Séance Room, home to everyone's favorite spectral speaker, Madame Leota.

RoyalFushiaMask wanted to design a room that featured Madame Leota's Crystal Ball but also wanted to include a lot of purple. Hmmm. This sounds like a job for HOST_Bella! Roommakover powers activate!

BEFORE:

Our first step was to take a good look at what she already had in the room and how that might work with our new design. The Magic Show Blocks that RoyalFushiaMask had already placed in the room were great but needed to be turned to show off the purple curtain and stars.

Creating a dozen columns would allow guests to enter freely while adding a lot of color to the room – if we had placed the blocks right next to each other, it would have blocked the entrance and hid the purple curtains

Now it's time to decorate the floor. Even though this is a Haunted Mansion room, we decided to use a lot of Magic Show items, like the Magic Show Carpets we used to create a really fun design.

TIP: Don't be afraid to use items from other themes to enhance your rooms.

We created six séance stations using Madame Leota Tables, Crysal Balls and Books. Some Haunted Mansion Rocking Chairs and Candelabras were also placed in the room, all in a perfect shade of purple. Every room should have a centerpiece, we made sure to highlight one table by placing it right in the middle of the room. To add a bit more lighting, we added Hong Kong Paper Lanterns in magenta along the sides of the rooms.

AFTER: The spirits are assembling for a swinging wake!

Now with our room colete it was time for a lively party with some silly spooks! Be sure to join RoyalFushiaMask in her Madam Leota Séance Room! (You never know what just might be conjured up!)

I'm going to disappear back into the Kingdom, I hope you all have a magical day!

HOST_Bella

Each week VMK's HOST_Bella selects a lucky player from the Kingdom (at random) for a Room Makeover! HOST_Bella then remakes the room – for free – using items that are donated to the players and they get to keep!

Submit your room for a Makeover using Contact Us.

Top Players

Create a Great Guest Room!

Get Recognized!

Seeing Stars by Prediction is our pick for this week's Best Guest Room.

Do you have a cool Guest Room you want to tell the Kingdom about? Do you know someone with a great hangout spot or game? Then nominate yourself or someone else for Best Game Room, Best Guest Room or Best Quest Room!

To nominate a player for consideration, click the Contact Us link at the bottom of any VMK webpage and then follow the prompts. You must select Nominate the Best from the list of options to have your nomination considered.

The weekly Best Guest Room Winner wins a party in Club 33!

Send in your nomination now!

Player created Guest, Quest or Game Rooms demonstrate originality in concept and design. Our judges are looking for creativity, so try using traditional items in different and unique ways. Rooms are judged by VMK Staff and selected from player submitted rooms and Quest.

New winners are posted here every week.

Game rooms that get the nod offer a new game idea or a new twist on an old favorite. In all rooms we look for room owners who welcome everyone with a smile and show a willingness to answer questions about their room.

Check out this week's Best Guest Rooms and Best Game Rooms.

Best Guest Rooms

Have a seat in this spacey guest room and you'll definitely be Seeing Stars! Prediction's room makes great use of the new Magic Show Blocks and Tower of Terror Starry Carpets. Stars, stars, everywhere stars!
When you visit, you can pull up a seat in the Asteroid Chair field, hop aboard a Rocketship Couch, or land on a shooting star! No matter what you decide to do on your visit to this cosmic room will be out-of-this-world!
The Best Guest Room Winner receives:

- 2000 credits

- A free room (Haunted Mansion Conservatory)

- Best Guest Room Award Pin

- Plus! A party in Club 33!

Best Game Rooms

On your mark, get set, go! The Magical Stage Race Game! will have you racing to the top of the stage to perform a magic trick!
DarthJLC didn't just create any old race, he used our Magic Show items to their full potential by including magic pins into his game! When he gives the signal, off players go, straight to the top of the stage. The magician who activates their magic the fastest wins a great prize!
The Best Game Room Winner receives:

- 2000 credits

- A free room

- Best Game Room Award Pin

Best Quest Rooms

Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya? KrazyLuke is gearing up for St. Patrick's Day with his The Luck of VMK: Quests!
You can try your luck at not one but TWO Quest adventures! If you choose the left Quest, you're in for more challenging tasks than if you pick the Quest on the right.
No matter which Quest you choose, you'll be roaming the Kingdom in search of elusive four-leaf clovers – and of course we'd be just downright silly to not tell you good luck! ;-)
The Best Quest Room Winner receives:

- 2000 credits

- A free room

- Best Quest Room Award Pin

New players are selected weekly in each category depending on number of nominations/submissions.

Players who have previously won as a Top Player do not receive the Room Award Pin twice, instead, they receive a VIP Award Pin.

Room awards offered may change without notice. VMK reserves the right to subtitute or change awards at any time.

Yeti's Tips & Tricks

You've got questions, Yeti has answers.

Mr. Yeti, I hear there's a new game called Magic Shop Checkers – can you tell me more about it?

Why certainly! Magic Shop Checkers is VMK's version of Checkers, but we added a special ingredient – Magic! Now the game features special powers like Magic Hats and Magic Tricks. You are gonna love it!

Checkers! Magic! Oh my!

Where can I find the game?

Just click the VMK World Map, go to Main Street and you'll see the Main Street Magic Shop just a few steps away from the entrance to Tomorrowland, right there on Main Street!

Once inside the Magic Shop walk to the Gamerooms in the back of the Shop to play Magic Shop Checkers.

Can you tell me more about these Checkers Magic Tricks?

Magic Shop Checkers Tricks are special moves that you can use to win the game! Use the tricks carefully though, you can only use 8 Magic Tricks per game! Buy Magic Shop Checkers Magic Tricks in the Magic Shop, just remember to use the tricks during a game of Checkers you have to buy them before you start playing.

What Checkers Magic Tricks are available?

You want to learn all the tricks? Ugh, it's so hard for me to keep a secret...

OK, there are currently two Magic Shop Checkers Magic Tricks:

Levitation

When you use this trick you can jump two of your opponent's checkers on the same jump. How cool is that?

Sleight of Hand

This trick lets you swap places with your opponent when one their checkers is next to yours. Use the trick to get yourself out of a tight corner!

What is a Magic Hat Checker?

Magic Hats are what "kings" are called in Magic Shop Checkers. Kings are the only pieces that can move forward and backwards. Magic Hats can do the same thing, but they get TWO separate moves per turn. Think of the possibilities!

A Magic Hat

Magic Hats can:

Move two squares (so long as they don't return to the square they left from).

Move one square and jump (including multiple jumps).

Jump (including multiple jumps) and then move.

Not use Magic Tricks.

Mr. Yeti, can you explain the High Scores?

High Scores rank VMK Magic Shop Checkers players. Your level is calculated like this: we take the number of new players against whom you have won a game and give you a point. In other words, each pair of players plays for 1 possible point. The winner of the game played between these players wins the point.

Once you have won a game of Magic Shop Checkers against someone, winning future games against the same opponent won't increase your level. You must play and win against new opponents to increase your level. If you lose to someone who won the point in a previous game, they keep the point.

So any secrets or tips on winning?

Absolutely! I've schooled Yavn on more games than I can count. Here's now are the Yeti's top tips:

1. Practice. The more you play, the more ways you'll find to win, practicing will also help you develop strategies to use against other players.

2. Wait. Try not to use Checkers Magic Tricks too quickly – remember you're only allowed to use 8 Magic Shop Magic Tricks per game. Also try and have a few Checkers Magic Tricks in your back pocket in case of an emergency. For example, if your opponent has you trapped in a corner, you could use Magic.

3. Give 'em one occasionally. Don't be afraid to lose a few checkers. Experienced players will often sacrifice a checker in order to set up their opponent. If you lose one of your checkers but capture two of your opponent's checkers in return, that is a good thing.

Good Luck!

Your pal, Yeti