By Molly Carpenter

Edited by Savvas Savvinidis

Legos have, among other things, enabled people to build small-scale models of things they have enjoyed. These replicas can be shared with friends or fuel the imagination, inspiring the builder to pay great attention to detail. Minecraft, an online virtual building environment, allows users to reconstruct scale models in much the same way, but with the added benefit of being able to move through and around their constructions. When in the hands of a group of serious Disney fans, Minecraft has led to something magical: a complete scale model of the Walt Disney World resort.

While several sites boast versions of Walt Disney World models, none have taken it to the level of McMagic, a group that I had an opportunity to meet recently at the Disney Park in Orlando. Surprising is the diversity of the McMagic cast members; they are young, old, male, female, students, professionals, and all from various national backgrounds. The one thing that unites them is their dedication to and familiarity with the Walt Disney World resort. Each building, inside and out, is a meticulous virtual recreation of the original. The buildings, sidewalks, streets and rides, and even the cast member parking lots, are perfectly scaled to produce a virtual visit to the Happiest Place On Earth.

The Walt Disney World Company, Maker Studios, has noticed the team’s commitment to the canon of Disney World and has given the group exclusive access to music, scenery information, and other helpful resources to improve the authenticity of the experience. As of February 3, 2015, the team’s creation is even entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Largest Real-World Theme Park Recreated in Minecraft.”

Since McMagic is such an immersive recreation, it introduces virtual tourism to players. With future technology, people will be granted the ability to see the popular destination close up. According to Australian guest Asparagarrus, “McMagic is nice because it allows people from all over the world to revisit what could have be an amazing childhood memory, or it could let people who have never had the opportunity to visit the Walt Disney World Resort experience the parks for themselves first-hand.”

Being visited by over three hundred thousand guests, the server keeps to similar rules as the real-world theme parks. The staff members on the server, otherwise known as “Cast Members,” work diligently to keep the server-based experience as identical to the real world resort as possible. They keep the guests entertained by putting on shows, character meet-and-greets, and fireworks such as the popular “Wishes!” and “Fantasmic!”. McMagic is also known for being family friendly, allowing any demographic to be present within the ever-growing list of guests.

Though McMagic is just a place to explore the Disney Resorts within Minecraft, the guests and staff seem to quickly bond and form relationships like none other.  One of the servers financial donors says, “McMagic is a place I can go when I want to get away from the negativity of the world.” The environment of the server is always incredibly cheerful, and the cast members of McMagic make sure that every single guest is happy with their visit. The family friendly aspect of the server makes it truly a spectacular place to visit.

Cast Member Steve states that McMagic is “a unique experience that words alone cannot describe. You simply have to see for yourself all the work that the Cast Members put into it. The level of detail is nearly unmatched anywhere else.” The next time you feel like a getaway, log on to mcmagic.us and immerse yourself in a world of virtual brick-and-mortar, Disney style.

Header photo from https://mcmagic.us/#