Kingdom Keepers II: Disney At Dawn

The Magic Kingdom is celebrating the return of their popular teenaged holographic hosts (called DHIs, referring to "Daylight Hologram Images"), the Kingdom Keepers, and the real Kingdom Keepers have been invited to be in the parade. When they see their DHIs, however, the five teens --- Finn, Philby, Charlene, Maybeck and Willa --- all feel a little uneasy. While the added perks of being the Kingdom Keepers are nice, they still wonder if the Overtakers could return once again to control the world of Disney for their own sinister purposes. The ominous feeling grows when, during the parade, Philby notices a weather balloon near Cinderella's Castle --- a sight that wouldn't be too puzzling if it wasn't for the fact that a thunderstorm is brewing. A weather balloon in a thunderstorm is a bad combination.

Then, Finn spots Amanda and her sister Jez --- who he helped rescue from Maleficent (from SLEEPING BEAUTY), the leader of the Overtakers --- in the crowd. The friends haven't been in touch since the battle, and though baffled by the sisters' secretive manner, Finn is happy to see her. He soon realizes that she too is concerned about the weather balloon.

The group decides to look for help, meeting back at Escher's Keep in Cinderella's Castle. Unfortunately, finding assistance becomes the least of their troubles, when in the midst of their search, Amanda realizes that her sister has gone missing and has been replaced by a DHI. Meanwhile, Finn and Philby discover Maleficent, who makes a fiery escape from her prison inside the castle.

As the Kingdom Keepers try to figure out where Jez could have gone, Finn is contacted by Wayne, the elderly Disney Imagineer who helped create the DHI technology. Wayne tells Finn what he believes the Overtakers' latest plan is --- by taking advantage of the DHI server --- and that the Kingdom Keepers must not fall asleep before they can stop them.

The teens embark on an adventure while following clues in the Animal Kingdom and beyond. But rescuing Jez and stopping the Overtakers proves to be a complicated mission, as the Kingdom Keepers encounter various foes --- real and virtual --- and discover once again that there is more than meets the eye.

Whether or not they have had a chance to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom, readers will feel like they are actually there, as they follow the Kingdom Keepers' latest (truly) wild adventure. With fast-paced action, spine-tingling mystery and engaging storytelling, DISNEY AFTER DAWN is a must-read sequel for any fantasy and/or Disney fan.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle

I don't know what Ridley Pearson is waiting for. The first and second book both repeatedly refer to the "overtakers" but so far we've met only one. The Disney villain roster is a myriad of frightful miscreants but Pearson has for some reason centered on Malificent only. Granted, she is probably the most intriguing of all the D.V.'s, but where's the evil Queen from snow white? Where's Captain Hook? Where's Ursala,Hades, Scar, Jafar,or the evil Step-Mother? With all this evil talent it is dissapointing to see that Pearson has a short sighted approach and lazily depends on one character (and her Audio-animatronic pawns)to provide the conflict.

In Book one, Malificent refers to her master as a "she", which led me to beleive that the second book would reveal the evil Queen to materialize in book 2 to give the Kingdom Keepers a whole new challenge. Instead, Pearson impliments(barely)Chernabog as the new big villain. We're talking about a one-dimensional character, who spends all of 5 minutes in Fantasia doing nothing more than flailing his arms about and making frowny faces at some mountain side village. Not exactly the scheming type. And isn't he the size of a mountain? How are we to accept that this guy is hiding inside a fake mountain that's full of roller coaster track. It just doesn't make sense.

I understand that this book is intended for younger readers, but that doesn't mean that the author should phone it in. He has an infinite cast of characters that most writers would love to work with and he is simply not taking advantage of it. The idea of the Kingdom Keepers series is appealing to not just younger readers, but to also those of us who just enjoy seeing our favorite characters from our favorite place come to life. Unfortunately, Ridley Pearson is not living up to the potential of these stories.

This is a great follow up to the first Kingdom Keepers. The author is also responsible for the three Peter Pan Prequel Books. He is also very familiar with the back stage workings of the Disney Theme Parks and that makes this rather fantasy story seem all the more real. The kids are great characters and in this on we learn that Malificent is not the real leader and that the real leader is one of the scariest and most feared of all the villians ever created for a Disney movie. I hope he continues because its kind of hinted that the final battle will occur in the most magical of all the Disney Kingdoms, the one that started it all, Disneyland in California. I would love that.

I very much enjoyed this book. I am 29 but these books give me my Disney fix. Maybe for the next book EPCOT?

This is a great series for Disney fanatics young and old. Disney at Dawn is a fun read, and it is exciting to see the references to rides, shows, and even a hotel at Walt Disney World. It brings back happy memmories of Disney vacations with my family. Most of the action in Disney at Dawn takes place in the Animal Kingdom instead of the Magic Kingdom.