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11/21/09 - Take Another Spin on the Dancefloor...

In the "Pleasure Island Drive" area of my online world sits a large warehouse with an old theater marquee that reads "Mannequins Dance Palace". To anyone not familiar with this place, it's a confusing clash of imagery and unusual wording. To those who knew Mannequins Dance Palace, this building brings back memories of laughter, good music, and the most amazing lighting and prop show in the world.

Complete with the "worlds largest rotating dancefloor", Mannequins Dance Palace delighted guests at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island for almost twenty years before closing in 2008. Being on that dancefloor was like being in a movie scene. The floor's motion combined with the amazing lighting and props that raised and lowered from hidden places in the ceiling gave you a sense of energy that I have not been able to find anywhere else. In fact, after Mannequins closed, I tried a couple places and stopped going to clubs altogether when nothing lived up to the experience.

As Tiki Tackett World is a place populated by my favorite people, places, and things, it's fitting that Mannequins is here. Doing the artwork allowed me to re-live so many great memories of the club and now the artwork and interactive pieces will allow you to do the same.

Mannequins is in "Soft Opening" mode while I work out some bugs with the animation and interactivities...this means you might go in and the animation might be turned off or access to the interactivities is turned off. This is because I am fixing errors in the coding or artwork in realtime. I expect "Soft Opening" to last about a month.

In the meantime, enjoy the artwork I have created to commemorate what I consider to be the number one dance club in the United States...

I'm still spinnin' even though my dancefloor has stopped.

 

7/15/09 - Bricks, Bricks, Everywhere!

I've decided to let people sign up for some FREE Tiki Tackett WorldWalk Bricks through the months of July and August. Those who choose to take advantage of this offer will not get the "real world gift" that is offered when you pay to sponsor a virtual brick, but you will still have the opportunity to make your mark in my virtual world.

Here's how you can get your own virtual brick for free:

1. Enter Tiki Tackett World.
2. Click the Brick Kiosk in the Entry Plaza.
3. Select "I would like to purchase a brick"
4. Click "Continue".
5. Click "I have my confirmation number".
6. Continue through the procedure, using "PROMO" in the field where it asks for your confirmation number.
7. Submit your order!

Depending on how many people take advantage of this offer, it may take a little bit longer for me to code all the bricks into the site.

You'll be able to get your brick identification number after the brick is coded and installed at Tiki Tackett World by using the "search by brick owner's last name" feature. Once you have located your brick, you can write down the number that appears on your brick for future reference.

Bricks that are part of my virtual world (paid sponsorship or not) will be available for viewing for the life of the website. If for any reason I decide to change the way Tiki Tackett World is designed, I will continue to make the bricks available for viewing.

While you are all enjoying that, I'm continuing to work on new screens for Tiki Tackett World. Right now, I am working on screens for an area that pays homage to Mannequins Dance Palace...a place that was a Thursday hotspot for me since I turned 21. For those of you who do not know, Mannequins was a nightclub at Disney's Pleasure Island. Among its many cool features was the world's largest rotating dancefloor. The club closed in September 2008 to make way for a "bold, new" Pleasure Island. As of yet, nothing has happened.

Anyhow...Look for that to start coming your way soon. Until then, see you later!

 

4/11/09 - I've Moved!

First, let me apologize to everyone for not providing any sort of news or updates since January. I have since bought a house and am in the process of setting up my home office, where TikiTackett.com and my website and graphics design studio will be housed.

For those of you who have never purchased your own home, it's a very stressful and busy time. I have been making all sorts of adjustments to the house and in my life in order to get used to the new digs. I hope to have photos up online soon.

TikiTackett.com hasn't been placed on the back burner, and I am constantly thinking up new content...I just haven't had the opportunity to produce any of it yet. I know that you are all checking back...and that some of you are checking back less frequently now because there just hasn't been any activity on the site...I'm hoping to change that very soon.

Anyhow, now that I have a functional computer and access to all my website files, I can start working on the next screen at Tiki Tackett World!

Talk to you all very soon!



1/18/09 - My Final Newsletter Post About VMK.

Okay, I've been getting lots of e-mails lately about Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom. This is going to be the last time I talk about it in my Newsletter. Please pay very close attention to what I am about to say...

VMK is
not returning. I have not been in any other Virtual Worlds. Anyone logged into places like VFK, Small Worlds, or any other similar MMOG is not me, and is not doing anything but starting rumors.

Now, TikiTackett.com is my personal website with my personal graphics projects on it and is not any sort of official source of information for any Disney product, but please trust me when I say that Yavn, Caffdawg, myself, and all of the other amazing people who worked on VMK are still very thankful for your support of VMK while it was online. We hope you enjoy all the other new online worlds Disney is offering...like Fairies and POTCO.

From this point forward, I will no longer answer any e-mails related to VMK. Please do not send any questions or comments regarding VMK to my e-mail. You have to remember, this is my personal website and Tiki Tackett World is a personal development project (designing and building it is teaching me first-hand about graphics layout and website design). It is not a new VMK, it is not a community-based experience, and it is not a game. Sending your comments, complaints, or questions to my personal e-mail about VMK is just not the correct way of doing things. Should you have questions about VMK, please send them to Disney using the Contact Us link at the bottom of VMK.com. That way, they are read by the right people.

If you were a VMK gamer, you are more than welcome at Tiki Tackett World, but please don't enter with expectations I cannot meet. Don't expect Avatars, Mini-Games, Quests, and such. Just expect a nice place to explore every couple of months to learn about me and what I think is cool.

Okay...now that I have said that...work can continue at Tiki Tackett World.



1/8/09 - Tiki Tackett WorldWalk Brick Kiosk Back Online!

Even though Tiki Tackett World isn't officially open, you can still enter the Tiki Tackett WorldWalk & Entrance Plaza. There, you can access the Brick Kiosk and view people's bricks or purchase your own.

Be sure to check out my brick, number 62631828!



1/3/09 - Happy New Year!

Goodbye to 2008 and hello 2009! I'm back with an update on the construction at Tiki Tackett World and some answers to the questions you have been sending in via Tik-E-Mail!

First, let me just tell you that designing, building, coding, and testing a virtual world...regardless of how simple it may seem...is no easy task. The new Tiki Tackett World is much less ambitious than the previous versions with only a small handful of interactive areas and even fewer screens, but for one person to take it all on as only a side project takes a lot out of you. Delays are bound to happen. Life gets in the way. Right now, I am in the process of buying my first home, and that has kept me from working on the site.

"But you said you were gonna open in Winter?!?!?" you are saying to the screen right now, right? Hey, Tiki Tackett World is a personal development project. I am using it to continue my creative growth. It's not a game, community, or anything like that. When it opens, it is going to exist only to tell the story of my life and give you a glimpse into the things I find inspiring. If you keep checking the site waiting for opening day, expecting a game with avatars and mini-games and quests, you are going to be disappointed. Please don't make it into something it isn't.

With that said, I thank you for your patience...and hope you will continue to check back to see what's going on. I appreciate that you are interested in the site. I hope you enjoy the work I have put into it. If not, I'm sorry that your expectations were so high and that I wasn't able to deliver.


1/3/09 - Answering Your Questions!

Okay, so many of you keep sending in the same questions I feel it's time to revisit the answers I have already given out regarding my virtual world. So...without any more fanfare, here are the Q&As...

Q: Will Tiki Tackett World be like VMK?

A: No. VMK is an MMOG. Tiki Tackett World is just a graphics-based personal website. When I say personal, I mean it is all about me, my life, my art, my interests. If you visit Tiki Tackett World expecting anything else, you will probably be disappointed.

Q: Will I be able to create an Avatar in the game?

A: It's not a game, and no. Tiki Tackett World is a "click through" virtual world. You will navigate by running your pointer over areas to explore the screen and when you find something you would like to experience, you click it and the site will take you there. There will be lots of interactive image galleries, a few interactive fun spots, a discussion center, and my personal tribute to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Later, other areas will be added for your enjoyment, but the core purpose of this project is to tell you about me. It's not designed to develop a sense of community.

Q: What's up with the "Brick" thing?

A: The Tiki Tackett WorldWalk is a VIRTUAL brick walkway in the Entry Plaza. There, you can purchase a real-world souvie of your visit to my virtual world and get a virtual brick on the walkway that you and your friends or family can see online by visiting my site. The profits from the sale of the real-world souvies/bricks goes towards the upgrade of services and bandwidth for my site.

Q: Can I start a message board for your site like the ones that were created for other MMOGs like VMK and VFK?

A: I would prefer that you didn't. As I said, Tiki Tackett World is NOT a game. It's NOT a community-based online experience. It's just there to talk about my life and help me develop my artistic abilities. I wouldn't feel comfortable if you created a message board about my project...but there's nothing I can do to stop you. Don't expect many people to join your board...I mean, who wants to sit around and talk about one person for months on end?

Q: When is Tiki Tackett World going to finally open? You keep changing the date.

A: Tiki Tackett World is a personal project. It's not supposed to be anything major as far as online worlds are concerned. I am working on it as hard as I can...when I can get time to work on it. So many things have come up in my life that have kept me from working on it that the site fell way behind my original deadlines. All I can say is keep checking back. As I get certain areas completed, I may just start opening them up rather than wait for the whole thing to be finished. Consider it a "phased" opening.

Well, I hope your question was answered. If it wasn't and you would like to ask it, click "Contact Me" at the top of the screen and fill out the contact form. Once I get your question, I will reply via e-mail. If it's a question I am getting frequently, I will add it to this Q&A area.

Thanks for reading and writing...see you all really soon!
TiKi  

Here's What I'm Working On...

Mannequins Dance Palace - DJ Booth
Mannequins Dance Palace - Elevator
Mannequins Dance Palace - Dawn's Bar
PI Drive - Revised Mannequins Exterior
Tiki Tackett World Entry - New Main Bldg.
Tiki Tackett World Entry - Welcome Center
Landscaping - Revised/Diversified Trees
Landscaping - Bushes/Flowering Bushes
WorldWalk - Brick Sponsorship Center

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 This site ©2007 by TikiTackett.com and its owner. Questions and concerns should be directed to the site's owner through the "Contact Me" link above.    "Orange Bird" character appears as part of this site's purpose as a fansite for Disney, Character Icons, and Attractions. The owner of TikiTackett.com does not claim the rights to the "Orange Bird" character, only the artwork of said character as it appears on this site.