Disney Imagineer’s New Book Has Become a Top Seller and It’s Not Even Out Yet
Joe Rohde’s new book, Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible, reached the top of Amazon’s Traveler & Explorer Biographies bestseller list within days of becoming available for pre-order, demonstrating the significant following the Disney Legend has built through his celebrated Imagineering career.
Rohde, who was officially inducted as an Imagineering Disney Legend in 2024, teased “something cool” before revealing the book announcement. The title releases September 8, 2026.
What the New Book Covers
According to the Penguin Random House description, Floating Mountains offers a master class in creativity through a world-spanning journey exploring personal creativity, the power of enterprising groups, and parallels between collaboration and real-world exploration.
The book draws lessons from Rohde’s celebrated career, leading projects like Disney’s Animal Kingdom, ventures into space tourism with Virgin Galactic, field expeditions to far-flung corners of the world, managing design teams, and working with corporate executives.
Rohde dives deep into the nature and practice of collaboration, explaining how to keep ideas true to their origins while allowing for improvisation and accident to enhance rather than derail creative endeavors.
Stories of Success and Failure
The book promises stories of inspiration and invention, challenge and transgression, success and failure, laced with humor, contemplation, poignancy, and even life-threatening danger. Whether readers’ interest in creativity is personal, professional, or they just want to peek behind the curtain of a renowned creative mind, the book provides a guide for connecting creative pursuits with others and the larger world.
This framing suggests the book will go beyond just recounting Disney project stories, instead using them as case studies for broader lessons about collaboration, innovation, managing creative teams, and navigating corporate structures while maintaining artistic integrity.
The Title Reference of the New Book
Floating Mountains references the floating mountains in Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one of Rohde’s most celebrated projects and a personal favorite of his career. He’s been posting frequently on social media about his Animal Kingdom work, sharing behind-the-scenes stories and design insights.
The floating mountains represent one of Pandora’s most visually striking features, massive rock formations suspended in the air through rockwork, forced perspective, and careful landscaping creating the illusion of low gravity.
Rohde’s Legacy
Joe Rohde’s most significant Disney contributions include serving as lead designer for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which opened in 1998 and represented a radical departure from traditional Disney park design with its emphasis on cultural authenticity, conservation messaging, and live animal integration.
His work on Pandora: The World of Avatar, which opened in 2017, demonstrated his ability to apply that design philosophy to completely fictional environments, creating a land that feels authentically alien while maintaining environmental storytelling and attention to detail.
Rohde also contributed significantly to Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii, ensuring cultural authenticity and meaningful integration of Hawaiian culture rather than superficial theming.
The Immediate Success
The fact that Floating Mountains reached the top of Amazon’s Traveler & Explorer Biographies category within days of pre-order availability speaks to Joe Rohde’s personal popularity among Disney theme park fans and broader appetite for behind-the-scenes Imagineering content.
Rohde’s distinctive personal brand, characterized by his signature elaborate earring collection, extensive tattoos, adventurer aesthetic, and articulate design philosophy explanations, made him one of the most publicly visible Imagineers. His active social media presence sharing thoughtful commentary on art, culture, travel, and creativity has maintained and expanded that audience beyond just Disney fans.
Broader Appeal of the New Book
While Floating Mountains will obviously appeal to Disney theme park fans, the book’s framing around collaboration, creativity, and turning vision into reality positions it for broader appeal among people interested in design thinking, creative leadership, managing teams, and innovation regardless of theme park interest.
The emphasis on field expeditions, cultural research, and real-world exploration also connects to travel literature and anthropological perspectives extending beyond entertainment design.
Books reaching bestseller status during pre-order periods rely entirely on author reputation and audience anticipation. Strong pre-order performance often translates into better bookstore placement, more marketing resources, and increased likelihood of reaching broader bestseller lists beyond niche categories.
