Kingdom Keepers

The Kingdom Keepers

File:Kingdomkeepers.jpg
Author	Ridley Pearson
Language	English
Series	Yes
Genre	Thriller Fantasy novel
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date	2005
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-7868-5444-8 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC	61356453
Followed by	The Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn (2008)

The Kingdom Keepers is a fantasy thriller novel written for young readers by Ridley Pearson and published in 2005 by Disney Editions. A confirmed sequel The Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn is set to be released on August 26, 2008. Pearson stated that it will be about Disney's Animal Kingdom. According to Pearson's blog, The Kingdom Keepers was submitted to Walt Disney Pictures for a film in August of 2006.

Plot summary

The book is set in and around Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, with most of the events taking place inside the park at night. The story is told in third person limited omniscient style with middle-schooler Finn Whitman as the lead character. He and four other students were selected before the beginning of the novel to be models for a new hologram technology invented by Walt Disney Imagineering. DHI, which stands for both Daylight Hologram Imaging and Disney Host Interactive, refers to these five lifelike hologram projections of the teens which act as tour guides in the Magic Kingdom.

Many nights, the kids find themselves appearing in the park in the form of their DHIs while they are asleep. Here they discover that the park comes to life after hours, and a senior cast member named Wayne explains to them that the Magic Kingdom is endangered by a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers. The children must battle these Overtakers and determine their leader.

The plot unfolds as the group searches through the park’s attractions for clues as to what can stop the Overtakers, and one of their lower leaders, the witch Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. They soon learn that the secret weapon they need is Walt Disney’s first pen, which is kept at the One Man’s Dream exhibit at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Upon retrieving this magical pen, Finn and his friends are finally able to thwart the Overtakers’ plan to overtake the Magic Kingdom, and, eventually, the world outside of it.Ridley Pearson has announced that there will be several Kingdom Keepers books coming out sometime in the future.

Trivia and Mistakes

• When the four kids are searching for the missing fifth and they run up to the apartment it says "the five kids ran" but there are really only four at that point
• The DHIs in the novel are comparable to Pal Mickey, a computerized plush toy of Mickey Mouse that is sold in certain stores at Walt Disney World, which, by way of infrared transmitters, knows its location in any of the four parks at the resort while being carried around, and can thereby share fun facts about the area and its attractions, thus making the toy a programmed tour guide of sorts.
• The layout described for some of the rides in the park are incorrect.
• The rules of VMK are incorrect, but make sense for the book. VMK has a limited chat dictionary so the kids couldn't have said things like Overtakers and Wayne. There also is no proximity rule in VMK you can see any chat that goes on in the room. This feature might have been taken from Habbo Hotel, whose developers also created the game software for VMK. Another differnece is that there are no soda machines, and even though there are water machines, you cannot raise the cup by your control. The reason for this mistake is that the book was being written before the initial release of VMK.
• In the book, there is mention of pushing a certain stone on Cinderella's Castle to open a secret passage. However, the Cinderella's castle is not made of any stones whatsoever, it's made mostly of fiberglass.
• The traditional way to write the ride “it’s a small world” is in all lower caps. The book writes it as “It’s a Small World”. Also, the verse "There is just one moon and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship to everyone...", which acts as a major clue, though it is part of the theme song on various Disney park albums, is not actually part of the ride's soundtrack. Furthermore, the song would really be sung in other languages in the scenes where the characters are said to be hearing it in English; it isn't actually sung in its well-known English version until the ride's finale.
• There is no access to the Utilidors by Big Thunder Mountain. The closest access point would be at Pecos Bill’s Restaurant located quite a far distance away.
• The cover of "The Kingdom Keepers" isn't Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It is actually Tokyo Disneyland. Evidence of this are the support columns of the covering for The World Bazzar, TDL's answer to Main Street USA; and the buildings themselves. WDW's Main Street USA does not have a building with a staircase on the right side of Main Street.
• Ridley Pearson describes Amanda as told in the "Characters" seems to look nothing like her twin sister Jess--"...as her hair changed color, from jet black to a sandy blond. Her eyebrows and eyelashes became lighter as well..." Yet, it seems as though Amanda has dark hair, and that the only thing the same between the twins are their freckles.
• Chapter 27 confirms that Finn and Philby search Big Thunder Mountain on a Saturday night. However, the next day described is a Monday. Amanda explains to them that day that "You saw me in the park last night because I followed Jez there after school". Orlando schools do not hold classes on Saturday, and Sunday was completely skipped over.
• The book refers to a show called "Fantasmics." It is actually called "Fantasmic!" The book also refers to the show's dragon as an animatronic figure, but it is actually a large puppet.

Characters

DHIs

• Finn Whitman--the leader and protagonist (although it is not made clear why he was chosen as leader). He was brought up to be very self-confident and plays soccer.
• Isabella Angelo (Willa)--a vaguely moody person who is extremely intelligent and slightly geeky. She is the "creative" one in the group. She is described as having brown eyes and dark hair.
• Terry Maybeck--the tallest of the group and an aspiring actor. His stage name is Donnie, but he goes by Maybeck. He has a suspicious nature and distrustful of people. Maybeck plays as the computer freak.
• Charlene Turner--Blonde, blue-eyed, and 'knockout gorgeous'; she's also a basketball athlete. Has a tendency to whine in bad situations. She is often the most reluctant but she gains confidence as the story progresses. Seems to have a problem with Amanda.
• Philby--Seems older, but is really the same age as everyone else. Hails either from Australia or New Zealand, and you can tell by his accent. The group's resident genius. His first name is unknown.

Overtakers

The Overtakers are known only to be the Main antagonist of the series. Not much is known about the Overtakers, other than thier intentions of ruling the park and the world outside. The one thing that seems to have the potential to defeat them is Walt Disney's first pen.

• Maleficent, the dark fairy from Sleeping Beauty who acts as the antagonist in the story. She gives off a large chill wherever she goes and possesses abilities of a high caliber. While the park is still open, she is derived from the Fantasmic! show. Despite her power and reputation, there other Overtakers more powerful than her.
• Blackbeard, A Minor overtaker, he and his crew of pirates serve Maleficent in their goal to rule the world. They were first seen by Finn, salvaging carts from the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin ride to help with their cause. They came from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

Additional Characters

• Wayne Kresky, an elderly Imagineer who acts as the group's mentor and guide. He speaks in mystical clichés. He helped come up with the idea of DHI's to save the Magic Kingdom. He is in fact a real cast member at Walt Disney World, and was put into the novel after he showed the author Ridley Pearson around the Magic Kingdom.
• Amanda Lockhart a girl of the same age who helps Finn locate the other four DHIs in their real life aspects; seems to have a few secrets of her own. She is very good with people and seems to be interested in Finn. She is described as having "Exotic eyes, a deep, natural, tan, and freckles on her cheeks. She is about an inch taller than Finn.
• Jezebel, another girl who seems to be interested in Finn, but has it in for the other DHIs. She is later revealed to be named Jess and is actually Amanda's twin sister.
• Dillard Cole, Finn's best friend, although Finn begins pushing him aside as he gets drawn further into his adventures as a DHI. Somewhat fat or overweight. He always questions Finn's adventures, offering the logical explanation of a dream.

The Kingdom Keepers 2: Disney at Dawn

The Second installment of The Kingdom Keepers. It is supposed to be out around August 26,2008, according to Ridley's Blog.

Disney at Dawn

It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom – the return of the teenage, holographic hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jess, disappears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm.

The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas – permanently.

With time running out, Finn, Philby, and Maybeck, along with Willa and Charlene, and Amanda, begin a desperate search, following a string of cryptic clues found inside the diary of the missing Jess. They must find and destroy the second server before they fall asleep; their survival -- and the future of the parks – depend on their success.

Filled with action and brimming with the same meticulous detail as Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, this second book in the series — Disney At Dawn --is the result of hands-on research behind the scenes at the Animal Kingdom. Young and older readers alike will get a glimpse into a second Disney kingdom. The wild rides have only just begun; and the clock is ticking. How long can the teens keep themselves awake in their quest to find their friend — and what happens if they fail?