Joe Rohde, formerly of Walt Disney Imagineering, will publish a book about creativity. Floating Mountains: The Art of Imaging the Impossible will be released in September.
“I’ve spent my career as a creative person and I’ve finally been able to write a book,” Rohde said in a video posted to her Instagram account. He is seen surrounded by art books and wearing his trademark elaborate earrings.
“This is a book about how creative we can be when we are creative together,” he said.
Rohde worked for Imagineering for 40 years, starting in 1980 as a model designer at Epcot. Eventually, he moved on to roles that included developing the Adventurer’s Club on the now-defunct Pleasure Island. Aulani, a Disney Vacation Club Resort in Hawaii. In addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, Avatar’s world of Pandora was later added. The book’s cover might suggest to readers the gravity-defying, arching mountain structure seen atop the Pandora attraction, which debuted in 2017.
“Using real-life experiences from his childhood and career (at Disney and beyond), Rohde delves into the mysteries of the creative mind and uncovers how teams of creators can work in harmony to produce great works of art,” the book’s description reads.
Mr. Rohde, now 70, retired from Disney in early 2021 and soon after became an “experience architect” at Virgin Galactic. He became an official Disney Legend in 2024.
When Rohde announced his retirement from Disney at the end of 2020, he said, “I have something different to do.” “There are things I want to create and things I want to do. There is only a limited amount of time in your life to do these things.”
The 320-page “Floating Mountains” is available for pre-order now ahead of its September 8 publication date.
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