Author Ridley Pearson is revisiting his Kingdom Keeper saga, by revising the original works to reflect the Disney Parks of today. A lot has changed since the first book in the series was published in August of 2005. Now is the time to dive back into the world of Ridley Pearson’s adventure in Walt Disney World.
Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark
Much like the original edition in the series we are introduced to five kids who have been chosen to be models for hologram hosts at the Magic Kingdom. Finn, Philby, Maybeck, Charlene, and Willa all come with different attributes, and have special skills that when combined make a formidable team. The teens learn about how they were specially selected for the role of hologram host by an eccentric Imagineer named Wayne Kresky. Now that they are hologram hosts at Magic Kingdom the kids wake up in the park after it closes and interact with the very real characters.
Danger is everywhere at Walt Disney World. The Disney Villains, called the Overtakers, are plotting to take control of the parks. Together the five kids encounter a powerful Overtaker in the form of Maleficent. The dark witch of Sleeping Beauty can cast spells, and curses at the young heroes. With the additional help of Amanda, a new student at Finn’s school, the five kids battle Maleficent for the safety of the parks while searching for a lost artefact of Walt Disney.
The Updates: In the original edition, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was Disney-MGM Studios, and Virtual Magic Kingdom, a massively popular online game, was used as a plot device. Fifteen years later, Virtual Magic Kingdom has been excised from the book in favor for the kids talking on Snapchat and there is no mention of MGM when Pearson references Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The biggest change that I thought would happen but didn’t was the use of One Man’s Dream and Walt’s office setup as a crucial location to the book. Established in 2001, Walt’s office from the Burbank studio was assembled in the One Man’s Dream attraction to celebrate 100 Years of Magic. This exhibit of Walt’s office setup was removed from the attraction in 2015. If this version of Kingdom Keepers was to reflect the Disney Parks of today, then why does the plot of the book still revolve around Walt’s Office at One Man’s Dream? Perhaps this will be explained in later editions of the series.
Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn
The DHI program has been reactivated and Finn, Maybeck, Willa, Philby, and Charlene are back at the Magic Kingdom to celebrate the relaunch of the system. Their battle against Maleficent has become an internet legend, giving them the nickname the Kingdom Keepers. As they wave through the crowd, they notice Amanda and her sister Jess. Both sisters have returned to warn the Kingdom Keepers. Amanda is frantic for Finn to check out Cinderella Castle. Finn listens to Amanda’s warning and he and Philby take off for the top of the stone fortress.
Maleficent is making a jail break and uses the stormy weather to break free from her cell, escaping down the Tinker Bell zipline. Finn and Philby also escape this way only to learn that Jess has been captured and turned into a DHI. The Keepers don’t know what to do. Wayne Kresky aides them from afar, but fears capture from the Overtakers. All five kids enter Animal Kingdom hoping to save Jess but find out that there is a much more powerful Overtaker waiting for them.
The Updates: There are not many changes in book two from the original edition. When Finn enters Disney’s Hollywood Studios looking for clues to Jess’s disappearance, he makes his way to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which is a nice feature to the story.
At one-point Finn looks for the device that will return the kids from their hologram form to their human form, which is hidden in Pandora: The World of Avatar. This was a nice little break for the reader, and Pearson is excellent in his description of the alien world.
Kingdom Keepers-Disney in Shadow
The Kingdom Keepers have lived to fight the villains of the Disney Parks for another day. This time they are searching for their mentor Wayne, who has disappeared. Believing that Wayne has been kidnapped by the Overtakers, the Kingdom Keepers expand their group with Amanda and Jess. Amanda can forcibly push people with her mind, while Jess is able to dream the future.
Thanks to Jess’s abilities, the Kingdom Keepers learn clues to Wayne’s location. Jess always draws out what she sees in her dreams, and through these images the five kids, plus Amanda and Jess piece together a trail of where Wayne might be. The team also learns that Wayne has a daughter named Wanda who is looking to aide them in their search. Thanks to Wanda, the group gains access at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to create DHI programs of Jess and Amanda.
The clues lead the Kingdom Keepers to Epcot, where even in World Showcase the characters come alive, from an attacking totem pole in Canada, to Chef Skinner at the new Ratatouille ride in France, the Kingdom Keepers must be on their guard against all sorts of enemies. A climatic battle at Fantasmic! puts the Kingdom Keepers in real danger as they desperately try to save Wayne.
The Updates: The biggest change of the series is here in book three. Besides making the Ratatouille attraction part of the narrative, which as of this writing hasn’t even open to the public yet, the overall arc of the story in book three is quite different. Multiple action points from the original book have been changed, from the original adventure in Test Track, to removal of the action that had Philby and Maybeck on a death-defying adventure in the old Maelstrom attraction in Norway. Also gone is the attack by Gigabyte from Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and Finn’s battle with Kaa.
I remember the thrill I had at reading these books for the first time and continue to enjoy the author’s spin on Walt’s world. For those who have the original series at home, you can take a pass on the revised book one and two, the differences from the original edition to the new ones are minute. There is no substantial difference in the narrative for the first two books. Fans will certainly want to read book three in the ‘new’ series, Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow. Pearson’s new take on book three has not only tightened the storyline by reducing the page count but brought new magic to the literary world with a whole new story.