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This page lists characters appearing in the Disney novel series The Kingdom Keepers and its Sequel Series The Return.

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    The Kingdom Keepers 

The Group as a whole:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kingdom_keepers_i_disney_after_dark.jpg
(L-R) Maybeck, Charlene, Finn, Philby, and Willa
A group of middle school students selected by Disney to serve as models for an experimental holographic tour guide program for the Disney theme parks. After the filming is complete, they find themselves appearing as holograms in the parks while they sleep, where they learn that they have been chosen to help thwart a group of Disney villains seeking to Take Over the World.
  • Astral Projection: How their DHI status works.
  • Badass Crew: Each member of the team has gotten multiple moments of Badassery over the course of the series.
  • Escalating War: Until the start of the series, the conflict between the good Disney characters and the Overtakers was limited to prank wars when the parks were closed that didn't deal any lasting damage or shift in the Balance Between Good and Evil. The team was created in the first place because the bad guys started playing for keeps.
  • Guile Hero: They fight the Overtakers using their wits and well-placed traps.
  • Meaningful Name: The group are publicly referred to by the acronym DHI, which stands for both Daylight Hologram Imaging and Disney Hosts Interactive.
  • Projected Man: Their hologram forms are this.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
  • True Companions: What they end up as by the end of the original series.

Lawrence "Finn" Whitman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_finn.jpg
A boy who modeled for Disney's DHI program and now finds himself being groomed to be the leader of the Kingdom Keepers. Initially reluctant to participate in the battle against the Overtakers, over time he comes to accept the responsibility of battling the Disney villains.

Dell Philby

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_philby.jpg

Another model for Disney's DHI program and the team's computer expert. He provides the team with information ranging from park trivia to technology.


  • Badass Bookworm: Serves as the team's go-to computer expert and is just as badass as the rest of them, both online and in the real world.
  • Beta Couple: With Willa.
  • The Lancer: Rotates with Maybeck.
  • Last-Name Basis: Everyone just calls him Philby most of the time.
  • Mission Control: Starts taking this role from Book 4 onward once the Keepers gain control of who can cross over at a given time.
  • The Professor: Not quite a super-genius, but his status as the most knowledgeable member of the team leads them to nickname him this.
  • The Smart Guy: Shares this role with Willa.

Terrance Maybeck

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_maybeck.jpg
A model for the DHI program. Despite his muscular physique, he's actually an artist.
  • The Big Guy: When something comes up requiring athleticism, the team usually turns to either him or Charlene.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Rarely resists the opportunity to make a sarcastic quip.
  • Hidden Depths: Because of his muscular appearance, everyone assumes he's an athlete. He's actually an artist.
  • The Lancer: Rotates with Philby.
  • Parental Abandonment: He lives with his Aunt. Neither of them ever say what happened to his parents.

    The Overtakers 

The group as a whole:

An alliance of Disney Villains lead by Maleficent who seek to take control of the Disney theme parks and from there Take Over the World.
  • The Ageless: Since they're brought to life by belief, all Disney characters are this.
  • Clap Your Hands If You Believe: They've been brought to life by the collective belief of Disney fans around the globe.
  • Enemy Civil War: Ursula and an unspecified number of others started one against Maleficent's faction that is apparently still going on at the end of the original series.
  • Escalating War: The reason the Overtakers haven't been stopped before is that until recently their actions mainly consisted up after-hours prank wars between the heroes and villains with no real damage or shift in the balance of power. The DHIs were brought in because the bad guys started playing for keeps.
  • Legion of Doom: A team of assorted villains who started out in independent settings before coming together.
  • Nebulous Evil Organization: Have sufficient influence in the world outside the theme parks to arrange for discreet ways of smuggling themselves from Florida to the Caribbean without attracting the attention of anyone outside of the Kingdom Keepers.
  • Renegade Splinter Faction: Ursula leads one. Jafar and Shan Yu are each working independently of the other villains.
  • Take Over the City: Their goal in the first series is to take over Disney's theme parks and twist them to fit their own image.
  • Take Over the World: Wayne mentions in the first book that the parks may likely be just a stepping stone to this for them.

Maleficent

The sorceress from Sleeping Beauty. She serves as the Big Bad of the original series, but is ultimately revealed to be Chernabog's second in command. She serves as the face of the Overtakers until her death in Book 6.


  • Animorphism: Her iconic dragon form. Also turns into assorted birds and aquatic animals throughout the series.
  • Back from the Dead: Tia Dalma resurrects her in Legacy of Secrets.
  • The Beast Master: Commands an army of animals from Disney World's Animal Kingdom in book 2.
  • Blow You Away: Demonstrates this in Disney After Dark to give Finn a taste of what she's capable of.
  • Came Back Wrong: Implied when Tia Dalma brings her back in Legacy of Secrets, as Jess notes that her shoulders look lopsided, one of her legs is shorter than the other, and her eyes aren't the same size.
  • Dark Action Girl: A majority of the fights between the DHIs and the Overtakers usually involve her.
  • Dark Magical Girl: As in her original film.
  • Deader than Dead: After Tia Dalma resurrects her in Legacy of Secrets, she's electrocuted one book later and reduced to a smear on the pavement.
  • The Dragon: To Chernabog.
  • Dragon Ascendant: After her death in Dark Passage, she's speculated to have taken control of hell itself following her demise.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Since Chernabog is weakened after being trapped inside Expedition Everest until the end of Disney at Dawn, Maleficent does most of the legwork of furthering the Overtakers' goals. In Dark Passage, Chernabog is defeated first and Maleficent takes up the helm for the remainder of the battle. Wayne states that Maleficent is merely a puppet to Chernabog and other higher powers, however as of The Insider, he may be wrong...
  • Dragon Their Feet: After Finn traps Chernabog in a cave in Dark Passage, Maleficent unleashes every last bit of her full power and becomes a dragon to destroy Finn.
  • Elemental Powers: Carried over from Sleeping Beauty.
  • Energy Absorption: In addition to lowering the temperature, she drains the electricity from a rack of computer servers to heal herself before the climax of the first book.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Another carry-over from the movie, she cares deeply about her raven familiar, Diablo. Finn exploits this when she's in dragon form so he can get close enough to kill her.
  • Evil Is Deathly Cold: Finn describes her skin as being the temperature of liquid nitrogen...
  • An Ice Person: She casually drops the temperature of the area just by standing there.
  • Logical Weakness: And because of that, she needs to take shelter in a cold room whenever she's injured in order to heal.
  • Playing with Fire: Also carried over from Sleeping Beauty.
  • Shock and Awe: She can create cages made of electricity.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Retains her iconic dragon form from the movie, but also displays the ability to change into other animals for either combat (an eel to try and drown someone) or a quick getaway (vultures and crows)

Chernabog

The demonic entity from the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. He is the supreme leader of the Overtakers and the Arch-Enemy of Mickey Mouse.


Cruella de Vil

The main antagonist of 101 Dalmatians and one of Maleficent's lieutenants. Whenever Maleficent and Chernabog are incapacitated or captured, she and the Evil Queen step up to lead the Overtakers.


The Evil Queen

The infamous queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Whenever Maleficent and Chernabog are unavailable, she and Cruella serve as temporary leaders of the Overtakers.


Tia Dalma

The voodoo priestess from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. She holds a high position in the Overtaker's ranks, and is almost on equal footing with Maleficent. after the death of Maleficent at the end of the sixth book, she takes command of the remaining Overtakers and leads them in attempting to complete their master plan. At the end of the original series, she escapes capture and is last seen working her magic on Maleficent's remains.


  • Adaptational Badass: The Pirates of the Caribbean films don't really give her a chance to show what she can do.
  • Adaptational Villainy: In her original films, she was more of a Wild Card. Here, she's an outright villain.
  • Cryptic Conversation: Her conversations between Finn and Jafar tend to be these.
  • The Dragon: To Chernabog.
  • Glass Cannon: Finn speculates that her black magic may be more powerful in some ways than Maleficent or the Evil Queen's magic because black magic is more closely tied to the real world. Still, it only takes one punch to drop her like a brick.
  • Killed Off for Real: Electrocuted by Nick and Mattie in Disney at Last.
  • Necromancer: Uses Maleficent's remains to resurrect her in Legacy of Secrets.

    Disney Characters 

The whole group

The heroic Disney characters who aren't aligned with the Overtakers in any way, shape, or form. Though they're initially reluctant to get involved in the battle between the DHIs and the Overtakers, over time they start helping the Kingdom Keepers in their quest to defeat the Disney villains once and for all.


  • The Ageless: They're effectively immortal because they're brought to life by the belief of their fans.
  • Apathetic Citizens: Played with. They aren't really apathetic, but due to lack of organization and not really understanding the scope of the Overtakers' plans, they don't start helping the heroes until around Book 4.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Many of them pull this off quite frequently.
  • Clap Your Hands If You Believe: How they come to life in the first place.
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: To a degree. Although many of them look and act like humans, various characters have moments that remind readers that they don't see the world the same way that humans do.
  • Genre Blind: The reason they aren't more active early in the series is because they're not used to the Overtakers' new strategy, having become accustomed to the back and forth prank battles between heroes and villains.

Ariel

The titular princess from The Little Mermaid. She frequently appears as an ally of the Kingdom Keepers, providing them aid when the going gets tough.


Minnie Mouse

Mickey's Love Interest and de facto leader of the good Disney Characters in his absence. She often appears as an ally of the Kingdom Keepers.


    Disney employees 

As a Group

The employees of Disney created the DHI program as a means of combating the Overtakers in the modern age. Although many of them support the Kingdom Keepers in their efforts to save the kingdom, the higher ups tend to be an Obstructive Bureaucracy when they want the heroes to do things their way.


  • Big Damn Heroes: the Imagineers come to the rescue at the end of Book 1.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: The handlers for the walk-around characters inevitably end up doing this when working with the likes of Hercules or Mr. Incredible.
  • Hero Secret Service:
    • When they're not being an Obstructive Bureaucracy, they're helping the Kingdom Keepers save the day.
    • The cast members who serve as "handlers" for the walk-around characters in the parks are in fact highly trained bodyguards.
  • Obstructive Bureaucracy: When they're not actively helping the heroes, they come off as this. Even more so in the The Return'' trilogy. But to be fair, they do have to run a company on top of helping the heroes save the world, so conflict resulting from different approaches to the Overtakers is expected.

Joe Garlington

The head of Imagineering division at Disneyland. Joe serves as a major source of support for the Kingdom Keepers at the end of the original series and beyond, but frequently butts heads with them over different methods of combating the Overtakers.


Wayne Kresky

One of the oldest employees at Walt Disney World and the man who helped create the DHI program. He serves as the Kingdom Keepers' mentor for the first series until his death in Book 7 and provides them with advice and backstage access to attractions at Walt Disney World when required.


Ezekiel Hollingsworth.

A Cast Member who works closely with Wayne and Joe at both Disney World and Disney Land, frequently in the role of Dapper Dan. He's actually the youngest son of disgruntled former employee Amery Hollingsworth, working to stop his family's destructive organization and preserve the magic of Disney.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He was the Dapper Dan who chased Finn and Philby at the beginning of Disney at Dawn.
  • Defector from Decadence: He refused to have anything to do with his father's campaign to destroy Disney, and actively works to undermine his brother's efforts to infiltrate the parks.
  • Walking Spoiler: Any of his appearances after the brief scene in Disney at Dawn reveal significant elements of the plot.

     The Legacy of Secrets 

Tropes that apply to the whole group:

A conspiracy started by disgruntled ex-Disney employee Amery Hollingsworth with the single goal of destroying Walt Disney's company. Upon Hollingsworth's death, his son carried on the work that his father started.


Amery Hollingsworth Sr.

A disgruntled Disney employee who attempted to sue Walt Disney for allegedly stealing characters that he created. The lawsuits failed, and Hollingsworth instead began a campaign of darkness to bring down the Disney empire from within. His actions lead to the existence of the Overtakers in the original series.


  • Believing Their Own Lies: is genuinely convinced that Disney stole his creations, and that his misfortunes are Disney's fault, despite the obvious holes in his logic.
  • The Corrupter: Bribed and blackmailed numerous people into his service, from ordinary people to Disneyland employees.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: His ideas for a Darker and Edgier Disneyland were rejected, and he was later fired for attempting to steal animation cells. In response, he launched a secret campaign to destroy Disney.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Despite the fact that early Disney villains originated from fairy tales dating back centuries, he believes that they are his creations that Disney is taking credit for.
  • Never My Fault: Blames everything that goes wrong in his life on Walt Disney, remaining stubbornly oblivious to the fact that he keeps bringing them upon himself through his actions.

Amery Hollingsworth Jr.

Amery Hollingsworth's oldest son who takes up his father's hateful campaign after Amery Sr. dies.


  • Big Bad: Of the present-day story in The Return trilogy.
  • Driven to Suicide: He asphyxiates himself after his evil plan fails.
  • Insane Troll Logic: The only one of his brothers who believe their father's delusions.
  • The Unfought: Has never appeared in person throughout the entire series.

The Traveller

A mysterious entity approached by Hollingsworth Sr. to help bring the Disney villains to life.
  • The Dragon: He serves as Hollingsworth Sr.'s second-in-command during the 1955 events of Disney at Last..
  • Necromancer: One of his abilities involves raising the dead to do his bidding.
  • Scary Black Man: Has dark skin and is extremely terrifying.

    The Fairlies 

As a group

An assortment of kids of varying ages who possess unexplained supernatural powers. The one thing they all have in common is that the government is baffled by their powers and studies them at a secret facility in Baltimore.


  • Child Soldiers: Legacy of Secrets reveals that the group monitoring them is not a government organization, but the latest iteration of a conspiracy dedicated to destroying Disney that is attempting to turn super-powered children into an army.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Almost all of them were abandoned by their parents when their powers started developing, only to be picked up by a government agency seeking to control them.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Half human, half fairy
  • Parental Abandonment: Wvery Fairly named in the series thus far was abandoned by their parents when their powers began to manifest.
  • Secret Project Refugee Family: Jess, Amanda, and Mattie qualify as this, even if the others haven't escaped yet.
  • Superpower Lottery: Wveryone has different powers.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: Mattie convinces them to rebel against Hollingsworth in Disney at Last.

Amanda Lockheart

A girl in Finn's class who becomes involved in his fight against the Overtakers. Although initially regarded with suspicion, she and her "sister", Jess, have since become full-fledged members of the team.


  • Broken Bird: after being abandoned by her parents when her powers manifested and treated like a lab rat for years, combined with her only friend being Brainwashed by Maleficent for months, she's very bitter and cynical about the world.
  • Cast from Hit Points: Her telekinetic powers are extremely draining. The larger the scale of the feat, the more exhausted she becomes.
  • The Cynic: Considering her life before the series, it's hard to fault her for always expecting the worst from everyone.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She becomes less and less cynical as the series goes on.
  • Mind over Matter: Her ability as a Fairly.
  • Mysterious Waif: Gives off this vibe in the first book until her origins are revealed in the second.

Jezebel/ Jessica Lockheart

A mysterious girl who pops up in the first book and appears to be connected to Maleficent. She's later revealed to be Amanda's "sister" Jess, having been brainwashed by Maleficent since before the series began.


Mattie Weaver

A girl living in Barracks 14 who Jess and Amanda contact in Shell Game to assist the Kingdom Keepers aboard the Disney Dream. She escapes from the barracks and continues to help the heroes for the remainder of the series.


  • Ascended Extra: Only had a few appearances in Books 5 and 6 before being upgraded to a main character in The Return.
  • Damsel in Distress: For a few brief chapters in The Syndrome.
  • Telepathy: A variant. She's not a true mind reader. She's an empath, and can only detect thoughts as an extension of their emotions. And even then, she mainly gets brief images and incomplete thoughts.

Mary Ann

One of the girls from Barracks 14.
  • Co-Dragons: One of the two commanders of the Fairlies in Disney at Last.
  • Defector from Decadence: She and the other Fairlies rebel against Hollingsworth at the end of The Return trilogy.
  • An Ice Person: She can lower the temperature around her cold enough to create ice on dry surfaces.

    Other Characters 

Mrs. Whitman

Finn's mother, a former NASA rocket scientist. She's initially skeptical of her son's nighttime activities, but eventually becomes an ally of the Kingdom Keepers, providing rides to and from the parks when required and helping them decode messages and solve riddles.


  • Badass Bookworm: Before Finn was born she was an actual rocket scientist and when Brainwashed by the Overtakers in Book 5, she manages to break free of the mind control just long enough to trip Maleficent to buy her son time to get away.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: In Shell Game.
  • Damsel in Distress: In book 5 as a result of being Brainwashed and Crazy
  • Good Parents: She may be suspicious of her son getting dirty and bruised in the middle of the night, but she's supportive of the Kingdom Keepers nonetheless.
  • Open-Minded Parent: initially hesitant to believe in the Overtakers, but from Book 3 onward, she supports her son in his efforts to defeat them without hesitation.

Bess "Jelly" Maybeck

Maybeck's aunt and guardian. Outside of Finn's mother, she's the parent most supportive of the Kingdom Keepers' cause. She runs a pottery shop where her nephew helps out and the other Keepers frequently stop by to exchange information and brainstorm plans.


  • Cool Old Lady: The oldest adult out of the Keepers' families, and one of the most supportive of their efforts.
  • Nephewism: Raises her nephew. Whether his parents are dead or simply left, neither of them will say.
  • Noodle Incident: How she got her nickname "Jelly". All we know is that it involved an accidental mispronunciation of "Shelly"
  • Parental Substitute: To Maybeck.

Wanda Alcott

Wayne's daughter and an ally of the Kingdom Keepers. Although the Kingdom Keepers are initially suspicious of her, she quickly proves herself and becomes a go-between for the Keepers to communicate with both her father and the other Disney characters.


  • Badass Bookworm: Hacks her way through several Disney firewalls to figure out the Overtakers' plan. Unfortunately, she gets arrested for it.
  • Badass Normal: By all accounts an ordinary human woman. Who happens to be able to out-hack the Overtakers and casually bluff her way past Disney World security guards at 4 in the morning to shuttle the Kingdom Keepers from one park to another.
  • Meaningful Name: As a reference to the conductors baton that Mickey uses as a wand (in conjunction with his Sorcerer's Apprentice hat).
  • Mistaken for Pedophile: Played with. The heroes don't necessarily think she's a pedophile, but her attempts to follow Finn at the beginning of Disney in Shadow in order to ask for his help in rescuing her father make her come across as a stalker.

Dillard Cole

Finn's best friend from school and one of his only friends outside of the Kingdom Keepers.
  • Back from the Dead: Sort of. His original body is dead. But a glitch in the DHI software at the end of Disney at Last turns his Virtual Ghost into a carbon copy of Dillard.
  • Killed Off for Real: At the climax of Dark Passage.
  • Jumped at the Call: Jumped at the chance to be part of the auxiliary Kingdom Keepers team created in Shell Game.
  • Muggle Best Friend: He begs to be made a DHI throughout the series.
  • Virtual Ghost: At his parents' request, the Imagineers create a DHI with all of his memories and personality to help Finn come to terms with his role in Dillard's death.

Nick Perkins

A conspiracy theorist Jess meets with extensive knowledge of Disney history, more specifically, the urban legends surrounding disgraced ex-employee Amery Hollingsworth and his Legacy of Secrets. Though Jess and Amanda are initially skeptical of his theories, they quickly realize that there are things going on that line up with what he's talking about, and he quickly becomes involved with the girls' efforts to unravel the mystery.
  • Conspiracy Theorist
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Not a Cloud Cuckoolander, but his theories on Hollingsworth's Legacy of Secrets prove to be 100% correct.
  • The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Can't resist geeking out when he gets to fight alongside the good Disney characters in Disney at Last.
  • The Nicknamer: Both names for Amery Hollingsworth's family were coined by him.
  • Playful Hacker: Mentions in Legacy of Secrets that he hacks peoples' phones to learn information. It's how he finds Amanda and Jess when they're being pursued by Hollingsworth's minions.
  • Properly Paranoid: His paranoia becomes completely justified when it turns out that he's right about the Legacy of Secrets.

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