VMK initially launched as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth promotional campaign, commemorating Disneyland's 50th anniversary.

Due to the young age of the game's target users, it was patrolled by paid staff who watched out for inappropriate behavior and language.

In this iteration, which was the first to be called Virtual Magic Kingdom, a stylized park would be overrun by villains during a special after-hours visit.

[3] Holzberg and Dobson reunited at Imagineering, then were recruited separately for a new Parks and Resorts Online unit around 2003.

[3] The beta version opened publicly on May 23, 2005, with three virtual lands to explore: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, and Adventureland.

On Thanksgiving weekend of 2008, suspicion arose when emails from VMK's server were sent out saying they were testing the player's account.

[3] A fan-made recreation of the game launched in 2013 as MyVMK has amassed a community of former players and is still presently operating.

[3][6] The Virtual Magic Kingdom consisted of "Disney Lands", each depicted in isometric projection, and each with a distinct theme.

When a player first created their character in the game, they were given one free "guest room", which they could name and decorate with items.

In-game shops sold a wide variety of items, such as posters, couches, water fountains, and rugs, which could be used to decorate guest rooms.

Pictures taken with the in-game camera could be hung on guest room walls, or put into a photo book for public view.

A less popular one was "Survivor", where the owner asked a question and the first person to answer it correctly wins a point.

Prizes included a "Seagull Nest Hat", a "Crow Barstool" and the seat that went with it, and a "Flaming Ransacked Window".

In June 2007, "pay-to-play" guest/game rooms were disallowed because it was considered scamming, though games like "Pirates of the Caribbean" were still allowed to ask for the minimum 21 credits.

The following minigames were available to play throughout the lands in the Virtual Magic Kingdom: There were also several places in Tomorrowland where credits could be earned.

In Nautilus Grotto and Shipwreck Graveyard, a player could collect shells that randomly popped up under water and receive one credit for every pearl they found.

This game required the Diving Suit magic pin, which could be obtained from an in-game quest.

This game required one of the four available Autopia car magic pins, which could be obtained from an in-game quest.

The following minigames were available to play in the Tomorrowland Arcade until waterpark overlay: Virtual Magic Kingdom occasionally held special events at which prizes were given out.

Special events included: In-game quests involved a series of tasks for a player, such as finding a specific room or an item in the room, changing one's outfit, saying a specific word, or winning a certain number of points in a minigame.

For the first two years of the game, there was an in-park quest program which permitted players to earn special in-game prizes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts.

There were fifty Hidden Mickeys in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms.

The player also selected a "guest room", their own themed area which could be decorated with furniture, posters, a boat canal, train tracks, game items, or other material.

The player could enter a few lines of text, known as a "signature", which were displayed in the character's publicly visible profile.

If a player had two or more of the same kind of magic pin, they could be combined for a longer effect and shorter delay between uses.

Occasionally, the VMK shops sold special clothing items (or entire costumes).

VMK stated that if a person agreed to all of these notices, any issues a player might have with the trade were due to their own negligence.

The rules prohibited sexual or racist language, harassment, divulging personal information, and attempts to hack the system.

Disney prohibited sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also added a technical obstacle to this).

It serves as a rendezvous point for the main characters, as well as a communication device as the kids venture through the Disney parks.