The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark

From a random collection of boys and girls who wander alone through a Disney theme park at night, the DHIs evolve into a tight-knit team of young warriors who take down a major conspiracy launched by wicked Disney characters. They do so by mastering the art of teamwork. In the process, the kids come to understand that no one can fight the monsters alone, but a strong team can win the day.

Finn finds himself, after dark, at large in the Disney World Magic Kingdom. He learns that other kids—who, like him, have performed in recordings that the park uses as holographic hosts—also become stranded there. Finn must contact the others and coordinate with them, so they can show up together; this will make them powerful enough to cope with the emerging problem of the Overtakers. It also teaches Finn important lessons about leadership when he must struggle to convince the others to join the fight.

At first, they merely react to problems the Overtakers toss at them. Finn ad-libs a defense against the animatronic pirates, and the team later improvises a victory over a massed attack of Small World dolls. Soon, though, they decide to make more organized efforts: They break into teams to search carefully different areas of the park.

Problems arise when the Overtakers find they can attack the group when it’s split into smaller groups. The baddies also figure out how to capture Maybeck by using Jez as a lure. The kids make progress in their clue search, but, on many occasions, they must get through deadly obstacle courses to do so.

Trust doesn’t come easily. The kids struggle with cryptic advice from Wayne, who offers some information but isn’t much of a leader. Charlene at first wants to back out of the entire project, though later she comes around. Finn worries about Amanda’s trustworthiness, and this slows the team’s efforts when her counsel is ignored. Maybeck’s attempted tryst with Jez blows up in his face, and Charlene says what the others are thinking: “He could be a spy” (174). Maybeck, though, learns a hard lesson and becomes the team member most willing to face dangers.

As troubles arise, each kid contributes ideas that help the rest. Philby is especially good with knowledge of the park, while Maybeck knows how to interpret shifts in the holographic computers’ behaviors. Willa shows a knack for finding small, but important, objects; Charlene warns them when they think up ideas that might be too dangerous.

The group gets good at meeting together at agreed-on times and places, and they improvise more quickly and effectively as their night visits continue. When Jez casts a numbing spell on Charlene and Amanda at the Halloween party, Finn quickly gets his friend Dillard to help Willa take care of the girls, while he, Maybeck, and Philby chase after Jez.

Their courage and willingness to risk themselves—crucial strengths of a team in peril—also increase. At the Pirates of the Caribbean catacombs, the boys, though scared, pursue the witches directly into their lair. Attacked by Maleficent and Jez, Finn helps the other boys escape undamaged, and he forces the witches to release Charlene and Amanda from harm.

Finally, the DHIs form a coordinated team that lures Maleficent out of hiding, so that Wayne and cast members can capture her and retrieve the stolen plans. The ruse works, and Wayne congratulates them on a job well done. The DHIs have become a cohesive, creative, determined squad of fighters against evil—and they did so, not by being lone heroes, but by working together as a team.