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If any media concern seemed destined to prosper in the business of virtual worlds, it was surely Disney. Its Virtual Magic Kingdom, created as a one-off to promote Disneyland's 50th anniversary, proved popular enough that Disney kept it open. Now, however, it's closing, with the nonsensical explanation that it was meant to close all along. An online petition predictably failed to sway Disney managers, and the site is closing on April 21. The number of players has dropped from 1 million after launch to roughly 250,000 today, and Disney would just as soon have them join its more successful Toontown. A virtual Magic Kingdom, after all, might substitute for a trip to the actual theme park. A fake real thing threatening a real fake thing? Only on the Internet, folks, only on the Internet.