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Ridley Pearson announced yesterday that he has been tasked by Disney Books to rewrite his famous Kingdom Keepers book series to match today’s Disney Parks.
He released the news responding to a fan on Twitter asking about the release of the latest book scheduled to be released, Kingdom Keepers: Inheritance, explaining:
“Disney Books asked me to update and rewrite the ENTIRE set of Kingdom Keepers books to reflect the current parks. The first, KK 1-3, will be released in the coming months. Because of that, Kingdom Keepers: Inheritance has been moved to March 2021.”
Sam: Disney Books asked me to update and rewrite the ENTIRE set of Kingdom Keepers books to reflect the current parks. The first, KK 1-3, will be released in the coming months. Because of that, Kingdom Keepers: Inheritance has been moved to March 2021. #kingdomkeepers https://t.co/cur1VDBVTb
— Ridley Pearson (@RidleyPearson) April 14, 2020
An entire generation of Disney fans grew up on the Kingdom Keepers book series, but they were also the Disney fans that grew up on the parks mentioned in the books. Now that generation has grown up, the parks have changed, and the books have clearly been deemed outdated.
The most obvious example of the series’ outdated nature is the cover of the fourth Kingdom Keepers book: Power Play. Teasing adventures in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the cover features Mickey’s Sorceror’s Hat which used to be the massive centerpiece of the park. It was removed in 2015. One of the most romantic pulls of Kingdom Keepers is that Disney Fans can literally walk in the footsteps of their heroes when walking through the parks. That message is so much more powerful when the attractions and icons mentioned in the books are still there.
But beyond the need for accuracy is the potential for new styles of adventures. The theme parks of Walt Disney World offer so many new attractions, sites, and characters. Mickey’s Toon Town Fair was replaced with New Fantasyland, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. Disney’s Animal Kingdom has Pandora: The World of Avatar. The parks have changed rather drastically since the first books were written, and Disney is signaling that it is time now for new adventures for a new generation.
The first three books of the new and improved Kingdom Keepers series will be out later this year.