VMK was created and launched as part of a promotion to celebrate Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. In part due to VMK's success, the game/promotion was extended, however the time has come to end the promotion.

As many of you know, Virtual Magic Kingdom was created and launched back in 2005 as part of the Disneyland 50th Anniversary Celebration. VMK exceeded expectations in terms of performance, and as a result we extended the promotion (that is, VMK, the game) well beyond the 50th Celebration.

Eventually though, all promotions must come to an end, so I'm announcing today that on May 21, 2008, VMK will open our virtual gates for the last time. You read that right: VMK was never intended to last forever – we'll close the game for good at the end of day on May 21st, 2008.

This is not an April Fool's joke.

Now we understand this news may be upsetting to you but let me explain. Again, VMK was launched as part of Disneyland's 50th Celebration in 2005 and the game has lived well beyond the originally intended time it was planned to run.

Over time you've seen our in-Park presence and other parts of VMK go away. You may remember our V.I.P Tours at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, or our in-Park Quest. We didn't stop doing those things because we don't love the game or our Guests, but because the time to run those promotions ended.

At Disney we're still committed to building communities and online virtual worlds – and we're looking forward to providing you the opportunity to enjoy other exciting new experiences.

Don't look at VMK ending as a bad thing – think of it as a new beginning, a chance to explore something fresh and new! Think of it like school: You don't want to leave your old friends, but still, the time has come to graduate and move onto another great adventure.

In the time since we've launched VMK, we've seen many players come and go, and we're hoping you will graduate from VMK too – in particular, to games like Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney's ToonTown Online, Club Penguin and the upcoming Fairies and Cars online virtual worlds. We think you'll find you enjoy those just as much as VMK – if not more.