Newsletter 9 April 2007
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This week Yavn has the 411 on 2 new outfits, plus Fantasyland in-game Quest, and the Tomorrowland Quest. Yavn Speaks starts right now...
Yavn Speaks!
Fantasyland Takes Flight
The dust has finally settled and things are getting back to normal here at VMK HQ – the first few days after an updated version of the game (what we call a 'build') goes live are always crazy. And even though we do extensive testing prior to a launch there are still some adjustments, fine-tuning and the occasional bug fix that need to be made. Alas, our moment of rest is brief as we're already busily working on what's on tap for the next build.
We have lots of exciting Fantasyland events planned for the month ahead though, with the release of Alice in Wonderland dark ride pieces kicking off with the Dark Ride-A-Thon at the end of the month.
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Make tracks to the Ride-A-Thon and win dark ride items like this Alice piece before they're released.
What to Wear While You Ride
Are you superstitious? Does Friday the 13th freak you out? Then why not stay home and play VMK? Maybe the fact that we've got 2 new outfits (that I'm sure you'll like) will convince you! Sure, you've got Alice's hair, but how about the rest of the costume? It's going on sale � and for the guys we've created a Mr. Smee outfit (a hat and shirt)! All 4 items will go on sale starting April 13th and will be sold at least through the month.
Do you want a pirates life or a hop down the rabbit hole?
So have watched Alice in Wonderland as I suggested? Then you should be ready for the Alice Quest! And by now you should already have your Peter Pan Quest Pin. But don't fill up your Pin collection just yet, we still have 2 more Fantasyland Game Quests, and on deck a Quest about that aeronautical pachyderm - or what you might call the flying elephant!
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Pin down those Quest answers and get these fancy Fantasyland Pins!
Quest Update
We haven't forgotten about the new Tomorrowland Quests and hope to launch it within 2 weeks. I know I've been saying soon for a while but this time I really mean it – and remember that we will be updated the in-game Tomorrowland Quests as well – get ready!
Red Inner-Space Suit Magic Spell - coming your way soon!
That's a Wrap!
Hope everyone is enjoying (or enjoyed) their Spring Break - now the countdown to Summer can officially begin. For us we'll be counting down until we get to the new Summer content - but I'll get into that later. Lastly, I do want to thank everyone for your kind notes and the concern for my ear. I'm happy to report I'm almost all better and will be able to travel again very soon. (My next trip will take me back to Orlando and WDW. In the meantime, I'll leave you one more peek at the VMK's new HQ.
We call it the 4th Moon of Yavin…
See you in VMK,
Yavn!
Community Reminder
From 13 MarchRemember, it's against the VMK Values to create or open ANY type of 'relationship' room (rooms that include words like 'meet,' 'pick,' 'get,' 'find,' 'have,' 'taken,' etc.) in VMK. You'll be warned and possibly banned for opening any type of room that promotes this activity.
For more information or a reminder of what's acceptable in VMK refer to the VMK Values page.
Event Info
Dark Ride-A-Thon April 27, 28, 29th
VMK Racing Days April 15th and April 29th
Room Makeovers Every Tuesday and Thursday
Check the Community Calendar for more events, details and event times.
Dark Ride-A-Thon
Celebrate the arrival of Peter Pan's Flight and Alice in Wonderland to VMK.
More details coming soon.
VMK Racing Days!
Strap on your helmet and kick those tires, it's the start of the race season and VMK is going to get your motor running! Join HOST_Sparky on select Saturdays and Sundays during the racing season for special VMK racing events!
These special racing games like Chase Race and Race to the Finish will take place during a real auto race - so you can watch the big race and race in VMK at the same time! And only on VMK Racing Days can you win the VMK Racing '07 Pin. Keep an eye on the Event Info box and the Community Calendar for more updates and a schedule of race events.
The next VMK Racing Days are April 15th and 29th.
Room Makeovers
Two lucky players are selected randomly each week for a Room Makeover by our talented team of Room Designers. Join us weekly as we post their story (including before and after pictures) here in the Event Info section of the Newsletter. Submit your room for a Makeover through the Contact Us Tool.
Winners this week are Sanika and Mizna, let's take a look at their rooms:
HOST_Lily
Well everyone, this has to be one of my favorite Room Makeovers yet! Sanika had an EPCOT room called 'The Cute Princess Room.' (What an interesting room title to build on!)
When I arrived in her room, Sanika was already in her blue dress and had that darling new Alice hairstyle! We talked a little about what she and her friends like to do (I should have guessed by the room title), they pretend they're princesses! She already had a Playing Hearts Rug and I thought it would be good to start to build a ballroom dance floor so she could entertain her guest.
Of course pretty princesses need pretty pink accessories, so I added the very royal looking Captain Nemo Chairs. I put these along the back wall where they would fit well and put nice palm trees behind them so that no one would get stuck behind the chairs.
Then I added some pink Hong Kong Disneyland Lanterns, and those worked well with our other colors. Next, Pink Candy Canes! And when you turn them toward each other they look like a heart! (How cute!) Then a row of Blue Heart Chairs sitting on the rugs – they fit better with the layout of the room and friends can dance in front of the fountain or just sit facing the water for a bit of relaxation. A Dreams Princess Turret was the finishing touch!
The Princesses room before…
And after – now this is a royal court!
Well this is the Year of a Million Dreams, so I hope I granted Sanika's wish for a room fit for a princess!
See you next time, HOST_Lily
And now another Room Makeover courtesy of our pal HOST_Sparky, take away Mr. Sparkster!
HOST_Sparky
Howdy, ya'll! The other day while walking through The Kingdom, I came across a room that was definitely Room Makeover material! It was called 'Underwater Room… not one yet.'
I found Mizna, the room owner, sittin' and just watchin' her Tiki Tiki Tiki Fountain. After a bit of chattin' I found out what this room was all about. Mizna was saving up her credits to buy a bunch of water pieces to make some kind of giant water fountain! She likes to swim and ride boats, so she was hopin' to make a cool water room.
I took her great idea for a water fountain but instead added a twist by making it a great big waterfall! Well, all that water had to go somewhere (instead of all over the floor) so I used Asteroid Chairs to block it off. Then I added a few Captain Nemo Chairs and Madame Leota Tables in Mizna's favorite colors. Now the room was almost complete – but there was something missing, so we put down a few more Tiki Tiki Tiki Fountains and some Aquarium Water Coolers – that did the trick.
The Underwater Room… not done yet…
Yee haw! Now we're done like a rib eye steak!
The great thing about this room is that we used the hanging submarine on the wall as part of the room decoration – now it looks like it's floating on top of the waterfall! Thanks for sharing your room with us, Mizna.
Ya'll come back now, ya hear! HOST_Sparky
Top 5 FAQs
This week's Top 5 Frequently Asked Questions
For more answers to other Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the VMK FAQs.
1. I clicked on a piece of furniture in my Guest Room and I noticed a new button called 'Item Info' - what does it do?
By clicking the 'ITEM INFO' button you can display additional information about the item such as item name and status of the item, like if it's tradeable.
2. I've heard guests can now move my furniture? Is this true? And what items can be moved by my guests?
Guest can ONLY move furniture if you allow them to do so by setting the option on the item. They can't take or remove anything from your room, or take any item and put it in their own inventory. Only furniture and posters that are placed in a room can be moved by guests – and then ONLY if the Room Owner has allowed that item to be moved.
By default, furniture and posters can't be moved by guests, the Room Owner must select which items he/she wishes to be moved by Guests before they can move them. (To do this make sure the box beside the words, LET GUEST MOVE THIS ITEM is checked in the 'Item Info' window.)
3. My Trading Window looks different now - what did VMK change?
To address some trading concerns, we added new features to make trading easier. Now when you click on an item, information about the item is displayed on the right hand of the window. The information displayed includes the item name, the type of item it is (Furniture, Magic Pin, Single-Use Magic Pin, Clothing, etc.), who owns the items, whether or not it's tradeable, and the magic word you need to active the item (if a Magic Pin is highlighted).
In the Trading Window you can now view additional information about the other player's item. Simply, select the item and you'll receive information about it. (Now you'll know that Dancing Inferno really has as many stars as they claim by clicking on the pin in the offer window!)
4. How do I get the Fantasyland dark ride track pieces and furniture?
We're currently working on a release schedule for dark ride track pieces and select number of furniture pieces from both rides. Check the VMK Newsletter to stay up-to-date with new item releases.
5. I've sent in a problem using Contact Us but no one has replied - why haven't I heard from anyone?
We respond to every email we get within 24 hours - but some email providers (like AOL.com, Hotmail.com, msn.com, Comcast.net, Cox.net, rr.net and Earthlink) block our responses.
If you use any of the email providers listed above, or haven't gotten a response from us, this is the reason.
Some email providers have Spam Filters that automatically block email from an unknown source and you have to tell the program (the email application) to allow email from that source. To get email from VMK, go into the preferences for your mailbox and allow mail from: [email protected]. (Please note, this email address DOES NOT receive email except via the Contact Us form.)
You also have the option to submit an alternate email address in the 'Contact Us' tool (this option is under the Send Details box) if your provider won't take our replies. We suggest setting up another email account, like yahoo.com to get our replies.
Yeti's Tips & Tricks
You've got questions, Yeti has answers.
This week find out how to get to the Inner-Space Shop, how to build your bank account and using that IGNORE button. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present the furry fury, the King of 'Q & A' - Mr. Yeti!
Greetings gamers! I just flew in from Mount Everest - and boy are my arms tired! ;-) Seriously folks, we've got some great questions this week so let's get them!
Mr. Yeti, how do I get to the Inner-Space Shop?
Is it time to go shopping – in Inner-Space!? You betcha! But you're stuck looking for the location. Hmmm. The Yeti will help you find the Inner-Space Shop so you may purchase some quality goods!
To gain access to the Inner-Space Shop, first you will need the Inner-Space Suit Magic Pin (either Red or Blue).
There are two ways to get the Inner-Space Suit Magic Pin:
Option #1:
Complete the upcoming print-from-home Tomorrowland Quest at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. When you complete this Quest, you will be awarded Inner-Space Suit Red Magic Pin.
Option #2:
If you can't get to the parks, don't worry, you can still get to Inner-Space. But you'll have to complete the Adventure Through Inner-Space Quest which is located in the Space Mountain Quest Deck in Tomorrowland. When you complete the Quest you'll be awarded the Inner-Space Suit Blue Magic Pin!
Start at the Space Mountain Quest Deck…
When you get to the Space Mountain Quest Deck make your way up to the right of the window, and you'll find the computer control panel.
Double click on the computer control panel to start the Quest.
Once you complete the Quest, you will have your Inner-Space Suit Blue Magic Pin.
Return to the Space Mountain Quest Deck and take the exit between the four astronauts.
This exit will take you to the Inner-Space Shrinking Machine. Make sure you are wearing your Inner-Space Suit Blue Magic Pin and write 'space!' in the chat bar or double click the pin to activate the Inner-Space Blue Magic Pin!
Now cross the gate to make your way make your way over to the Inner-Space Shrinking Machine.
You will end up in the Inner-Space Ray Room. The Inner-Space Shop is in the upper right corner.
Click on the exit tile in the doorway and you will enter the Inner-Space Shop.
Congratulations! You made it to the Inner-Space Shop! I hope you brought some credits to go shopping!
How do I cancel the IGNORE button once I've pushed it?
Maybe someone was talking your ear off and you just wanted some peace and quiet – so you pushed the IGNORE button. Now you wish you hadn't, so now what?
Well there isn't a way to reverse the IGNORE button once used, however, it only lasts a short amount of time, and that player's words will be visible once again.
Where can I find places to get credits?
There are a lot of great places in VMK to get some credits. Visiting NPC's (which means Non-Playable Character) is one of them. The very first time you enter VMK and visit an NPC you are awarded 40 credits. Each time you visit thereafter, the NPC will award 20 credits once every 12 hours.
The other NPC's are:
Esmeralda – located in the Emporium on Main Street
Shrunken Ned – located in Shrunken Ned's Shop in Adventureland.
Captain Blackheart – located in Pirate Treehouse in Adventureland.
Dragon – located in the Dungeon in Fantasyland.
Ghosts – located in the Haunted Mansion Stretching Room in the Haunted Mansion lobby which is in New Orleans Square.
Yeti – located in the Matterhorn in Fantasyland (that's right I give you a few credits to swing by each day and say hello).
Gator Waiter – located in Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square.
The Gator Waiter serves up more than Mint Juleps at the Blue Bayou – you can get credits everyday!
If you were to visit all the NPC's in a given day you would get a total of 180 credits. Not too shabby for just walking around!
MORE CREDITS
You can also get credits by playing any of VMK's great games:
Castle Fireworks remixed – located in Fantasyland.
Haunted Mansion – located in New Orleans Square.
Pirates of the Caribbean – located in Adventureland.
Jungle Cruise – located in Adventureland.
The credits for the games are calculated by your final score, and the amount of credits varies.
Well, that's all for this week! Check back next week when I'll have tips for Questing and the new features in VMK! Stay cool!
Push's Trash Trivia
What does Peter Pan leave behind in the Darlings' nursery?
Know the answer?
Send your answer using Contact Us at the bottom of this or the main VMK webpage. Be sure to have your VMK registration info with you and select Push's Trash Trivia from the drop down menu.
Out of all the correct answers, three players will be randomly drawn as the winners and sent a cool prize. But hurry! Only entries submitted by the close of game on Friday will be accepted.
Last week Push's Trivia asked, Where in the Park? is this location:
Answer: Snow White's Scary Adventures in Disneyland Park.
Look closely and you might just spot the Evil Queen looking down on the Fantasyland Courtyard from the window above the entrance to the ride.
Did you know: The ride vehicles are actually mine cars and each one is named after one of the Seven Dwarfs.
The original attraction poster invites Guest to 'Venture into the Dark Forest.'
Based on the Oscar-winning film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (which was the first film ever to have a soundtrack released for it) Snow White's Scary Adventures was one of the original Fantasyland attractions.
Snow White's Scary Adventures opened with Disneyland on July 17, 1955. Until 1983 Snow White didn't appear anywhere on the ride – the reason? Walt Disney and the Imagineers wanted Guest to experience the ride as if they were 'walking in Snow White's footsteps.'
Congratulations to the 3 lucky (and randomly picked) players that sent in the correct answer for last week's question!
By getting the answer correct, they win a limited edition Push Trivia Pin!
smurfy
PxeeDust
WaveOfLife
Your prize is on its way!
Top Players
What makes a Guest Room award-worthy?
Guest or Game Rooms that stand out show originality in concept and design. It could be a use of conventional furniture in unconventional ways, the use of a theme or color, or humor.
Disvaclub wins top honors this week in the Best Guest Room category.
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
 | It's time to party! Check out the fun atmosphere in disvaclub's Dis Caribbean Town Square room. Put on your dancin' shoes and get ready for a great time! |
Best Game Rooms
 | Do you like playing the game Connect Four™? Then you will love playing BrainyBird's game, Connect! A Game. Very similar to Connect Four™, just be sure to read the rules in the album! |
Best Player Quests
 | Grab a mic and head on over to StitchMad's Stitch's Sing Along Quest! This is a great Quest where players sing along to their favorite Disney songs. |
Players who have been previously recognized for their design talents will receive the VIP award.
VMK Cards
The first card from Series 3 is here!
Get the Animation Viewer by playing the Animation Quest at Disneyland or Walt Disney World – redeem the code on your card for this cool virtual prize.
Check out the VMK Rewards Card Checklist and make sure you have all the VMK bling! What cards do you have in your collection?
Scam Alert
DO NOT loan out your items!
It's not a good idea to have ANYONE, hold your stuff for you. If you want to set up a trade, but don't have enough room for all your items in the trade screen, set up two trades.It's always safer to keep all your items in your own (virtual) hands.
If you promise Players a prize - you must award it!
If you're running a game in your room – play fair. If you promise an item to a winner, you must award that winner the item. Failure to do so is considered a scam by VMK Staff and you will be BANNED for this type of activity. If you're a player that was supposed to win an item and didn't receive it – use the HELP button and report the scam.
Remember, if you are ever have a question about fair play you can always check the VMK Values or the FAQs – your question will probably be answered there.
Staff impersonation is NOT allowed in VMK!
Impersonation is never allowed in VMK. If a player says they are VMK Staff, make sure they're wearing the orange Mickey Pin and wearing either red (for Staff and HOSTS) or blue (for QA) Mickey ears.
VMK Staff will always wear the orange Mickey Pin.
You can always spot STAFF and HOSTS because they wear red Mickey ears.
You can identify a Community Leader by the 'CL_' at the beginning of their name and their blue wizard hat pin.
Remember, VMK Staff will never ask you to trade any items. If you have other questions check out the FAQs page!
Safety Corner
Enter 'pay to play' rooms at your own risk!
In some rooms you must 'pay' the room owner to stay in that room. If you choose to do this, you are doing so at your own risk. Once you 'pay' (credits or give items to the owner) – if you're booted from that room – VMK will NOT be able to get your stuff back. Why? Because you entered the room at your own risk and you (not VMK) are responsible for your actions while in the game.Adult subjects are NEVER appropriate in VMK!
Adult subjects are never allowed in VMK. If you need a reminder of what is and isn't acceptable, read over the VMK Values.
If you spot a player in VMK that is not following the VMK Values and guidelines (especially if they're using adult subjects in chat) – report them. This also applies to players chatting about violence and/or engaging in a violent act – report these players (and any who violate the rules) immediately!
VMK does not tolerate violent language of any type. Engaging in this type of behavior is inappropriate and will get you banned, in most cases permanently. Help keep VMK a safe and fun virtual place for everyone! :-)
Keep your information private in VMK!
Never, under any circumstances give your VMK user name and password to any other player or post it on a forum on another website.
Some surveys have been going around on the internet claiming they have free offers if you give out your VMK information – this is a SCAM!
Never give your information to these surveys or anyone else, and always keep your password private. VMK will never ask you for your information unless you contact us about a problem with your account. Keep your VMK, and all the great items you've earned, safe!
Please spend some time reviewing the VMK Values, and remember to keep your information private.
Quests
In-Park Quests!
PLAY THE DISNEY ANIMATION QUEST!
Play the latest VMK In-Park Quest now at The Magic Kingdom® and Disneyland® - put your knowledge of Disney animated films to the test!
Going to Disneyland® Park or Magic Kingdom® Park? Play the in-Park Quests! Learn more here.
<strong>High School Musical Quest</strong>! Watch the movie, visit the Parks and answer all the questions to win cool stuff!
Get the <strong>Thrill Seekers Ques</strong>t for the Walt Disney World® Resort here!
The Tomorrowland Quest is still available: Download it here.
Contact Us Tips
Problems? Contact Us!
When you use Contact Us to ask a question or report an issue, please be aware of the following:
If you use AOL or EarthLink for e-mail, you won't receive our response, as AOL e-mail filters block our replies. Please provide an alternative e-mail in the Contact Us form where it asks for your e-mail address.
Some Spam Filters will automatically block e-mail from an unknown source unless you tell the program to allow it: To get email from VMK, allow mail from [email protected]. (Please note this email address does not receive e-mail except via the Contact Us form.)