I Played Webkinz For The First Time In 10 Years And I Have Some Thoughts

    What happened to Dr. Quack??

    Hello former Webkinz owners! My name is Abby, and I have to admit I spent most of my elementary school evenings collecting pets and playing games on Webkinz.

    A monkey, panda, poodle, frog, lion, cat, hippo, and dog Webkinz stand outside in a field smiling at the camera

    So, after ten years, I decided to revisit my pets, and boy, do I have some thoughts. Without further ado, here we go!

    1. The first thing I noticed was that my pets are STILL alive and well. How is this possible? They've been sleeping for several years without my care.

    A Webkinz pet named Daisy, who is a pink, floral pig

    2. My house is SO big. I remember it being my prized possession, and I now understand why.

    A layout of a Webkinz house, including games room, a closet, a haunted hotel room, and a garden

    3. Eight-year-old me should be a home designer. Seriously, check out these rooms. A Halloween backyard? A Christmas room? YES.

    4. I don’t remember my pets being this needy. The game gives you two minutes to fulfill your pets’ wishes and then they get all sad.

    Daisy, the floral pinj big has a thought bubble over their head that says, "Let's make some wishes at Wishing Well 2!"

    5. THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES TO GO. It’s no wonder I spent hours on here.

    An above shot of Webkinz World, with various buildings

    6. The arcade is full of so many iconic games. I’m still a boss at Cash Cow, and don’t you dare challenge me to a game of Candy Bash.

    A screenshot of the Webkinz Arcade, including rh games Bananza, Booger Gets an A, and Candy Bash

    7. Who else went on Webkinz EVERY DAY to ensure your best chance at killing it at the Wheel of Wow and Wishing Well 2?

    A screenshot of the Wheel of Wow, which has panded on "20 KinzCash"

    8. Spree! was great, but did anyone ever actually make it to the mall? Why did it take SO long?

    A screenshot of the game Spree! where the player moves around in a car on a game board

    9. And did anyone really fill their jars in Jumbleberry Fields? I feel like it’s a bit of a scam.

    A screenshot of Jumbleberry Fields preserves, which shows the player has 52/100 Jumbleberries, 58/100 Sugarberries, 68/100 Pickleberries, and 20/100 Moonberries

    10. The most underrated games are Zacky’s Quest and Home Before Dark. I seriously recommend logging back on just to play them.

    11. Since when is there a clothing store for your pets? Did I miss out on this when I used to play it?

    A dog character sells clothing and accessories at the KinzStyle Outlet

    12. Real talk: Arte from the Curio Shop is a bit creepy. Nevertheless, the Curio Shop was my favorite place to go.

    Arte, the old dog from the Curio Shop, has a speech bubble above his head that says, "Hope you find what you're looking for."

    13. Damn, I was so close to getting the Crown of Wonder! Too bad I stopped playing before I could actually find out what exactly it is.

    A scrreenshot of the Webkinz Crown of Wonder, which shows the player has 1 Unicorn Horn, 1 Yum Zum Sparkle, 2 Zingoz Zincoz, 1 Booger Nugget, and 2 Goober Glitters, but is missing the Webkinz Diamond

    14. I should really put working for the Employment Office on my resume, because that shit was hard work. And T. Von Meow low key has style — just look at that neckerchief.

    An orange cat named T. Von Meow sits in front of a laptop at her desk wearing a headpiece next to a job board

    15. TBH, even though Ms. Cowoline was super intimidating, the Kinzville Academy was a blast. If only real school was that fun.

    Ms. Cowaline sits at her desk while Daisy, the pink floral pig Webkinz, signs up for art class

    16. During my visit, I played this game where you had to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar, and it was nearly impossible. Not to mention, Webkinz was sassy to me. How do little kids guess this correctly?

    A screenshot of a jellybean guessing game with a pop up that says, "Wow. That was way off. You have 1 more guess. Try again!"

    17. Next, I watched some of the old movies I made with the Webkinz Studio, and boy, did that bring back some memories.

    A pony with a beret looks at the camera and has a speech bubble that says, "Wow, it's nice outside today here in Kinzville. Don't you think?"

    18. Okay, listen up, because this is important: WHAT HAPPENED TO DR. QUACK? When I tried clicking on his clinic, it said he “retired." What does that even mean in the context of a computer game?!

    A screenshot of a cartoon duck wearing glasses and a stethoscope that says, "March 25, 2015 Dr. Quack is closing the clinic! Visit the Map of Kinzville from March 25 to April 14th to get goodbye gifts from Dr. Quack!"

    19. I didn't spend lots of time at Quizzy’s Corner as a kid —probably because I didn’t want to do anything educational — but I tried it today and, I gotta be honest, some of the questions weren’t easy.

    A screenshot of Quizzy's Corner which asks the question: "Which movie manages to make over 600 million dollars in box office profits?" It identifies the answer as Titanic

    20. So many features were unavailable because I haven’t adopted a pet in over a year. Now I know why I was so obsessed with adopting Webkinz pets when I was younger.

    A screenshot of the Webkinz website that says, "This feature is locked for free players. To unlock this feature you need to: adopt a pet or go deluxe"

    21. Side note: does anyone remember this BOP?

    View this video on YouTube

    Webkinz

    So iconic.

    22. And finally, I have to let you all in on a secret: I planned to go on Webkinz for only a few minutes, but I actually played for at least a half hour. I swear, it’s still fun, even as an adult.

    A bunch of Webkinz gather around a bright Webkinz car and jump up and down and celebrate