Magical Map #3: Haunted Mansion

Disney Magical Map #3

by Ridley Pearson

New York Times bestselling author of the Kingdom Keepers series is back with an all-new Disney-inspired chapter book adventure!

Welcome foolish mortals to the Haunted Mansion…

Ever since they moved to Orlando, Gemma and Torin have experienced Disney magic like no other. They have a hand-drawn map of Walt Disney World that can magically transport them onto any ride!

Gemma and Torin find out there are no longer 999 happy haunts staying at the Haunted Mansion. Two animatronics have gone missing! Are they thrilled to use the map to chase Pickwick, the chandelier ghost, and Constance, the ax-wielding Bride? Not really. 

But their Mom needs their help, so that means braving the creepy creeps with eerie eyes and the grim grinning ghosts. Will Gemma and Torin find the spooks from beyond the grave? Or are they doomed to extend their stay at the Haunted Mansion?

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Ridley Pearson is the author of more than fifty novels, including the New York Times bestseller Killer Weekend; the Lou Boldt crime series; and many books for young readers, including the award-winning children's novels Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, which he cowrote with Dave Barry. Pearson lives with his wife and two daughters, dividing their time between Missouri and Idaho.

Also writes Chris Klick mysteries as Wendell McCall.

Reviews

[Howard Iske · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in Disney’s Magical Map series, and dare I say, quite possibly the best yet. The story picks up on the action right away, with a fun twist that I enjoyed. Since this book is based on the Haunted Mansion, it’s definitely spookier than the first two. Not only that, it’s more action-packed, which helped me fly right through it!

I may be biased, because this is my favorite attraction at the Disney parks, but I really enjoyed this book! I’m excited to read the next in the series, along with other future installments, which this book sets up very nicely with another fun little twist.

[Katie Nicole · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Just like the other two before this one this was a very quick read. I think I got it down in about an hour. I think this one I supposed to the other two actually had a pretty good moral lesson behind it. This one felt more like it touched on social emotional warning that didn't happen in the other ones. There's actually a quote in this book that really struck with me that talks about the power of words and that words can't be underestimated because you don't know what sort of impact they're going to have on what's around you. This one also talks on how lonely it can be moving to a new area and kind of having to adjust the idea that people have multiple versions of themselves. The subject matter was very much in that SEL field while still being very age appropriate for the book. This is so written very much as a slightly beginner chapter book along the lines of Junie b Jones or Magic tree House. I will say as a very avid Disney van and the Haunted Mansion be my favorite ride, it ever so slightly annoyed me that the focus this book was on Pickwick and that it's even stated that he's the king of the ghosts in the house. Pickwick is an iconic character of the ride, but to say that he's the king of the ghost in the house is comical. He is definitely not the first ghost that I think of and maybe not even in the top 10 I would think of but he's definitely pretty high of the 999 that roam that house. That said why he was the focused ghost did make sense in context to the story. I was actually a little excited because the other goes that they talk about is Constance who is my favorite ghost from the house but she was just kind of like a subplot. It was really good. I think I like this one more than the last two if I'm being honest.

[Melissa Flanagin · Rating 4 out of 5]

FUN!!!!! It's very Magic Tree House in Disney

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welp, read another one of these. A quick little read to flush out the brain.
And well, it's exactly as good as the first two. Does that mean anything one way or the other? Not really. It's a Disney commercial disguised as a book. But..i mean, for what it is, it's an OKAY commercial for a book.

In this one, the bride and the ghost who swings on the chandelier go missing from the haunted mansion so that ride gets shut down too.

Man, i know that it's because the kids have this magic book that they wrote notes in, but gotta say, it ain't a good look for the mom whose job it is to look after the rides, that within a few months of her starting the job, the pirates ride, the jungle cruise, and now the haunted mansion have all been closed down due to missing animatronics. If i were her boss, i'd have some serious misgivings about having her in that role.

Meanwhile, in this one they try to act like the ghost that rides on the chandelier is a big deal? like people actually know about this ghost and visit it specifically for him? like, i've been to disney world and land several times and i honestly barely even remember him. If you're going to make a specific ghost be important why not like... one of the hitchhikers or something. like a ghost people actually know about. maybe i'm just not in the know, but i honestly never even THOUGHT about the chandelier one.

The story continues the dynamic of the brother and sister. They're....fine if not a little sweetie tweetie at times, and have some unrealistic dialogue between two people of that age, but that's kind of just par for the course with adults writing kids. some things like motivations are just spilled out and revelations are just thrown out there because. But, then again it's a Y book, so it's gotta less nuanced and more in your face for the kiddies to understand.

Overall, it's cute and inoffensive for a Disney commercial.

Yeah, i'll read the next one which is apparently about Tiana's bayou (Aka Splash Mountain). why not. it's a good brain cleanser.

That being said, even 3 out of 5.

[Kristin · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

4.25 / 5 ✨
Read this aloud for our son, but hey, it counts! 🤣
I absolutely love Disney's Haunted Mansion. My parents took us to Disneyland when I was only 5 and they forced me on this ride (along with The Tower of Terror and other terrifying rides) I will never forget how scared I was! 😂 But I also absolutely loved it. And that love followed into adulthood.
It's wonderful that there's so many spin-offs of that ride, with the movies, books and all kinds of merchandise.
About this book though, we haven't read the first ones in the series so it did feel like we were missing pieces of a puzzle, but nothing that left too big of a gap that wasn't easy to figure out. The one thing that drove me nuts was the constant "Torin said", or "Gemma said". Seriously, the entire book was centered around the two of their dialogue and actions so EVERY line nearly felt like it had that at its ending. I thought I was going to go insane reading this aloud to my son, with that alone.
Otherwise, it was a cute, spooky, childrens story loosely based off of the Disney attraction, yet it wasn't too scary for littles (mine is 8, but a scaredy cat) and follows the siblings through a series, if you read them in order, which is always fun to get kids into a series.
It was a chapter style book with minimal pictures that, when pictured, were black and white and pretty minimal throughout but were well drawn and enhanced the scene when shown. The chapters were short enough and kept my busy-body child listening even while playing. I think he enjoyed it and so did I, as a millennial Mom who actually was lucky enough to have ridden the original Haunted Mansion attraction way back in the good old 1900's 😅

[Kimberly Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. I’m not sure how series will keep continuing but it was a fun twist on things and how it changed by the brother this time. Loved the ghosts story.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, cute series! :)

[McKennah]

Another one, thank you.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite ride and it was fun to reminisce about it with a fun story!

[Jennifer Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot wait for Torin and Gemma's next disney adventure!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are really cute.

[BrittBritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite rides, the twist was refreshing!