If you know me at on a personal level you would know I love Disney. Now it isn’t the overpriced food, drinks, or merchandise that makes me love Disney, nor is it the crowds or waiting in lines. It is the magic that makes me love it, it makes the rest of it worth it. The book The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson taps right into that magic and helps expand your love for the parks. Now this book was given to me in 2005 for Christmas, it was released the August before that. When I say I have read this book at least seven times, I am underestimating. When I decided to read it again this year I was preparing myself for first solo trip to Walt Disney World. This book is about five kids who become Disney Interactive Hosts (DHIs) in the Magic Kingdom. This means they will be recorded and their holograms will be throughout the park answering questions, greeting guests, and giving tours. One night when Finn, one of our DHIs, is asleep he wakes up in the park and just thinks it’s a dream. He talks to an old man who is there, Wayne who tells him it is not a dream and that he needs Finn and the other DHIs’ help, but they all need to be together before he explains. He tells Finn to look at the moon and then look at it when he wakes up, it will look the same and be in the exact spot and he will know he is not sleeping. After tracking down the other four DHIs Philby, Maybeck, Willa, and Charlene with the help form a random girl at school, Amanda, he is able to get everyone to cross over. When Wayne finally tells them their purpose, Disney villains are stirring up trouble inside the parks and only the DHIs can stop them by solving an old riddle Walt Disney had created, The Stonecutter’s Quill. The five kids must work together with their own specialized talents to solve the riddle and dodge the many obstacles in their way. These obstacles include pirates from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, rides deathly malfunctioning, and the evil witch Maleficent. This book is most interesting to me because it is so detailed about the Magic Kingdom itself. When I go to the park these landmarks are really there and it is so interesting to see the parallels with the book. It adds to the magic I already feel inside the parks. The book is written so well you would believe this actually happened in the park. This adventure keeps you on the edge of your seat and will make you rethink some of the rides that don’t seem scary at all. I have read this book more than seven times and I will keep reading it my entire life.
Favorite Quotes – “There’s a fine line between imagination and reality. An inventor dreams something up, and pretty soon, it’s there on the table before him. A science-fiction writer envisions another world, and then some space probe finds it. If you believe in something strongly enough, I think you can make it happen.”
“You can’t get any ‘cooler’ than Disney World.”
“Few battles are won by strength alone. Cunning and knowing your resources can help you overpower the most powerful.”
Books Upon my Nightstand 