A year ago today, something pretty magical happened.  Most of us didn’t know each other yet, but that was all about to change with the release of Disney Magic Kingdoms, a game that would bring us Disney gamers together in droves.  I recall being pretty excited for the game and when it launched I immediately jumped in, ready to welcome Mickey and pals to the Kingdom.  As I thought about the fact that it’s been a year since this all started, I decided to go back and look at everything we’ve gone through together this past year.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

A Look Back

On day one, I wrote my first post about the game, in which I noticed I did a lot of complaining about wait times.  It’s comforting to know that some things never change.  I did, however, finish on a hopeful note.

The game is adorable and brimming with color.  Because of the simple nature of the game, anyone can play it.  I see a lot of potential in this game and seeing as how both Disney and the developer Gameloft seem to support their games heavily, I think we’re only seeing the very surface of what this game has to offer.  Clicking around the dark portals at the exterior of the map, I see the words “Coming Soon” quite often and that gives me high hopes for the future.  I imagine as you unlock more heroes, you’ll get to see even more of the park and then be able to do even more fun things.  I like the idea of villains and a bit of story and it all seems pretty cute an entertaining so far.

In any case, I recall being excited to get started and welcome a whole bunch of youngsters into the Kingdom, feed them unhealthy snacks and force every hat imaginable upon them.

As time progressed, we slowly unlocked the world, defeating one curse at a time.

We also unlocked a whole lot of characters, and keep in mind this was all before we had events or time-limited anything.

And before long, we encountered our first fight with a dastardly villain, driving Pete off so that we could adventure onward into Tomorrowland.

It wasn’t long before we got our first update and the world of Fantasy Land opened up to us, along with characters from Sleeping Beauty.

And as we tried desperately to defeat Zurg and welcome Donald and progress towards the last portal, Gameloft would drop their first ever event at our feet.  Now seeming like a very long time ago, The Incredibles was the first time we had to collect things quickly in hopes of achieving all the characters and attractions in a matter of days.

But we persevered and collected them together, just barely grabbing Syndrome before the end.  Not long after that would be the most controversial update, the Cinderella update in which chests would be introduced to a very mixed reaction.

Pretty soon, our Kingdom would get quite sea worthy with the introduction of Captain Jack Sparrow and friends.

The holidays were already creeping up on us and much to my excitement, we were gifted with our second event, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

We fought off Oogie Boogie just in time to have another villain overtake the Kingdom and snow covered the land for the holiday season.

As we entered the new year, we made sure to celebrate the lunar festival, by welcoming Mulan and friends.

Which leads us to today and the most recent update as we quickly try to collect Belle, Beast and the rest.

Thank You!

If you had told me a year ago that this little game would become the central focus of my blog I never would have believed you.  And though we make a lot of jokes on this blog, be it about zombie Gaston or how often characters need to “Make a Plan” or about how many benches we all have, I want to take a moment to be completely serious.

As I sat around a table with some friends last night, discussing the fact that I would be writing about the year anniversary of DMK, I said this:  “The game is not that special.  It’s really just a game about sending characters to collect things.  Games like this are a dime a dozen.”  That’s something I mentioned in my VERY first post about DMK.  So why have I stuck with it this long?

It’s you!  It’s because of all of you!  I have met so many outstandingly awesome people through this game.  This game has enabled me to talk with and connect with folks from all over the world.  From a young man in Singapore who reached out as a fan early on, (thanks Evan!) to my fellow admins over at the Disney Mobile Games group (Big hugs Heather and Laurie) I have had the chance to hear from fans all of the world, and I owe all of that to Disney Magic Kingdoms.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for going on this crazy, chest-opening, bench-collecting, character-unlocking, plan-making, villain-fighting adventure with me!

And finally, to Gameloft, thank you for your love, support, retweets and kind words.  This literally isn’t possible without you guys.  Thank you for tolerating my jokes and late night messages.  I appreciate you guys more than you will ever know.

Okay, sentimental moment over.  We’ve got work to do!  We’ve still got to collect Belle and defeat Gaston.  We’ve got potions and gems to collect, quests to complete, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, someday we’ll fight our way past that last green portal.  Roll up your sleeves friends.  It was a wild year, but something tells me the next one is going to be even more amazing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEY MAGIC KINGDOMS!!!!

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