I am hereby instituting a new scale – the Disney Book Geek Scale – one to five. One means that the average person who is trying to find out a little something about Disney (or Disneyland, or whatever) would probably be interested and could enjoy the book. Five means you have to be so deep into Disney Geekdom you probably will never recover, spending the rest of your life searching to read every last scrap of paper that even has the word “Disney” on it (and right now, you are knee-deep in napkins that all read “Welcome to Disneyland”, but you have to read every one.)

This one is somewhere between a two and a three. It is an interesting book, and a casual Disney fan will probably find enjoyment in here. But, there is also plenty to keep the Geek happy. The text has some interesting nuggets. For example, this is the most information I’ve ever seen on the proposed ”Candy Mountain”. And there is some good, quick information on Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Which lead to one of the best things about this book. When you first hear it is about the mountains, you might think Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. But it doesn’t stop there, including the previous mentioned mountains as well information on those in Japan and France. And it ends with some very interesting details on the latest Disney mountain (which makes it feel a little like this was written to help hype that mountain), Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. But, it is interesting to note that the details and truly interesting information gets less and less as they begin to talk about the more recent mountains. It’s almost like there are stories that can’t be told until time has passed. (And, to be honest, I would have loved to have seen a lot more information on some of the less famous mountains, and a lot more on the Mount Prometheus in Disney Sea in Tokyo. From what little I know of the rides, this is some of the imagineers most innovative work.)

But, the true nuggets (as if often the case with this type of book) are the illustrations. I don’t know where people keep digging up new photos and drawings, but there are fascinating ones here that help provide the genesis and change of these projects.

A very good book, with fascinating insights (primarily in the pictures) and a definite for the Disney geek (and a possible for those who have not succumbed to the Disney Side.) ( )