Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) is a free online multi-player game, designed to let players ages 8-14 experience Disney Theme Parks from their home. Players can create their own character and explore all the (well-known) lands such as Frontierland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Mainstreet and New Orleans Square. Each land offers different minigames, unlockables and accessories to decorate the player’s own personal room. VMK offers a safe chat. Conversation in the Kingdom is limited to a pre-defined dictionary of acceptable words and is monitored on a periodic basis. Only words that appear in the VMK dictionary are useable by Players. This only includes words considered suitable for the game. This filters out swearing, racist and sexist terms and other words unsuitable for children. It also filters out e-mail addresses, phone numbers and city and state names. Players who use approved words as substitutions for numbers and other disallowed words to convey personal information will be banned from VMK for their own protection. Virtual Magic Kingdom even has pre-defined opening hours: 10:00 a.m. — 1:00 a.m. EST, and 7:00 a.m. — 10:00 p.m. PST. The bottom line is that VMK is a very smart and effective way to “brainwash” your kids. It’s safe and fun – but your kids are likely to start asking for that trip to Disneyland.
