The Kingdom Keepers Return to Guide Guests Through the Disney Parks by Day – and Protect the Parks from Disney Villains at Night

Five teenagers – the Kingdom Keepers – have been transformed into Disney Holographic Images (DHIs) that thrill guests as they guide them through each of the Disney parks. In truth, the Disney Imagineers created the DHIs to protect Disney’s theme parks from the Overtakers, classic Disney villains, who are trying to seize the parks and use them for their own evil agendas. Ridley Pearson’s Kingdom Keepers book series follows these heroes on behind-the-scenes adventures in the magical world of the Disney parks – and in Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow, the action happens in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. (Disney-Hyperion Books, ages 10 and up, $17.99)

Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow takes readers behind the scenes in the parks as another evil plot is unleashed. Disney Imagineer Wayne, the Keepers’ mentor, and creator of Disney Holographic Imaging – a cutting edge technology – has gone missing. Has he been abducted? The main suspects? The evil Overtakers, including the devious Maleficent. The DHIs are led on a high-stakes chase through the two parks, and what starts out as a puzzle ends up as a fight for their lives. As they quest for a sword, take rides on Soarin’ and Maelstrom, have life-and-death encounters with a giant snake, and attempt to stop Maleficent, the Kingdom Keepers not only begin to decipher deeper meanings in clues they are given, but also discover new truths about themselves and their ever-growing friendships.

In Disney Book Group’s groundbreaking interactive campaign, Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow includes bonus pages and endpapers with 3D augmented reality. thekingdomkeepers.com unlocks an interactive map and clues provided in the endpapers and is the pathway for gamers to play the Kingdom Keepers strategy game and help defeat the Overtakers. Players work together to defeat the villains, who have escaped the parks and are now wreaking havoc on the internet. With the overall goal of cleansing the game’s 2500 nodes, each time a node is defeated, the main game map is updated for all players and new content is unlocked – whether it be text, images, photos, or even video. In addition, there is a secret key that allows players to enter code words revealed by Ridley in special videos to attain bonus abilities.

In addition to appearances at Walt Disney World, Pearson will tour the US in support of Kingdom Keepers III – Disney in Shadow. Markets include Miami, FL; Naperville, IL; Wayzata, MN; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; and San Francisco, CA.