In the latest installment to our Page Turn “ears” blog series, we turn the spotlight towards the now classic first installment of the series, ‘Kingdom Keepers :- Disney After Dark‘ by Ridley Pearson.

JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series proved that fictional novels primarily aimed at the younger generation can indeed be enjoyed by those who may feel a little too old to be reading such things.

‘Kingdom Keepers – Disney After Dark’  is another such example. Its target audience is kids and adolescents, but as an adult at the severe end of his twenties I can vouch for its engrossing storyline and readability.

The plot follows the adventures of Finn, a 13 year old with plenty of exposure to Walt Disney World and one of a select few to have been chosen to represent the parks as a ‘Disney Hologram Imaging’ host or ‘DHI’ as it is often referred. A kind of holographic representative of the Disney parks.

He and his fellow DHI’s suddenly find that there’s more to the role than meets the eye. When each of them drift off to sleep, they cross over into the Magic Kingdom. Their human form and holographic personas gel together, allowing them to roam the parks without suspicion. That is, until they start noticing some strange goings on.

Animatronics and Disney characters seen to come to life, many of whom are up to no good. A wise old cast member by the name of Wayne cryptically tells Finn the reasons why such things happen after dark, and of an evil magic intent on breaking free of their theme park home. He tells them that in order to stop the ‘crossing over’ and return to normality, Finn and co must solve a quest, one which Walt Disney himself laid the foundations of.

Leading the rebellion (or so it seems…) is the evil queen Maleficent, intent on halting the group’s progress and indeed, reap the rewards of their hard work for her own gain.

Can Finn and friends solve the riddle and escape the devious plans of Maleficent and her fellow rogues?

Despite its toned down nature, Ridley Pearson keeps a steady flow of mystery and intrigue throughout the chase.  Nothing too taxing to leave younger readers overly puzzled, but enough to hold your interest so that you find yourself reading on to discover what happens next.

As the first few chapters unfold, the story plays quite heavily on the idea that many of the Disney characters and animatronic figures somehow ‘come alive’ and get up to no good when doing so. This seems to phase out as the focus turns to the villain of the piece, Maleficent. We do however encounter a battalion of nasty ‘It’s a Small World’ dolls, who, and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this, many would deem evil even in their current static state. Brainwashing us with their all-too-catchy tune so that it ingrains itself in your head as a reminder of your visit.

The concept of the DHI’s which is described to us early on in the book took a little time to get my head around, but it does ultimately add to the challenges faced by the kids in trying to stay inconspicuous in the parks, no matter the the time of day. Its also an imaginative solution in explaining just how a group of kids manage to enter the parks after closing.

In reality, the Magic Kingdom never sleeps, as there are hundreds of painters, landscapers, handymen and all sorts working through the night to ensure the park looks its best for the next days guests. (I know I know, its a fictional novel)

Leaving that aside though, I’m sure many of us have day-dreamed what it would be like to have the freedom to explore Disney World after hours. This book certainly plays on that and what results is a thoroughly entertaining adventure, with a good few twists and surprises thrown in to keep you satisfied.

Now, obviously i don’t want to give too much away about the ending, but I’m sure Ridley Pearson wrote the book with a sequel or two in mind.

Since ‘Disney After Dark’ was first published in 2005, there are now two more books in the series. ‘Kingdom Keepers 2 :- Disney at Dawn‘, ‘Kingdom Keepers 3 :- Disney in Shadow‘ and a fourth is due for release this spring, ‘Kingdom Keepers 4 :- Power Play‘.