IN THE PIPELINE:

Just as the banner-dragging planes overhead in summer don’t bother me, nor do the far-off booms we hear each night about 9:37 or so. I actually look forward to both things, because of what they represent.

The buzzing planes remind us of how close the beach is; the distant thunder is a sonic clue that Disneyland is but a 20-minute or so drive. For me, these are two prime perks of living in Huntington Beach.

I hadn’t planned on this becoming a summer reading column, but good books need attention and on the heels of last week’s piece regarding “When We Get To Surf City,” I discovered another recent release that was hard to put down, one that most of the family has been wrestling over. And it’s not about banner-dragging planes.

Chris Strodder has written a new book called “The Disneyland Encyclopedia: The Unofficial, Unauthorized, and Unprecedented History of Every Land, Attraction, Restaurant, Shop, and Event in the Original Magic Kingdom.”

To call it exhaustive is an understatement. This book is crammed with a mind-bending array of details, facts and stories, an exceptionally researched labor of love that smacks of being “definitive.”

“I wanted to know about every extinct attraction in the park: where the old stores were located, what the long-lost restaurants served, etc.,” Strodder said. “Drawing on my 40 years of visiting the park regularly, that’s what I investigated about the park: what it was, and how it got to be what it is.”

He says the most surprising thing he learned was how “‘uncorporate’ and innocent and humorously flawed the original park was in 1955. Today we’re used to seeing it as a ‘perfect’ error-free place that Disney has polished over the decades, but it took a while to get there.

“In those first years there was lots of trial and error as they experimented with exhibit ideas, a house paint display sponsored by Dutch Boy in Tomorrowland, for some reason, and attractions like a short-lived circus.”

His favorite attraction?

“Anything that gives a big view of the park. Thus, the extinct Skyway buckets that crossed high above Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, presenting an unsurpassed aerial view, was my all-time favorite. Likewise, the Monorail, and to a lesser extent the Disneyland Railroad that circles the park.”

Terry Smith of Newport Beach has fond memories of Disneyland, too. While a student at Mater Dei High School in 1960, she heard Disneyland was hiring performers for the annual Christmas Parade.

She got a job as “Jocko the Rollerskating Monkey,” which pulled her from her job as a dental assistant. But it was extra warm that Christmas season, and the weight of the burly costume was too much for her, causing her to faint.

When she was awakened in the performer’s changing tent, a familiar face was there to make sure she was OK — a Prince Charming of sorts — Walt Disney himself.

“That’s too much costume for you,” Disney told the teen. “You need something lighter. Let’s put you up on the fire truck as Minnie Mouse.”

And so it was.

Smith, now a real estate agent, remembers Disney as “a true, kind, 100% gentleman. For my three weeks there I saw him several times a day, he was always checking in on us, making sure we had what we needed. He cared so much, and it always came through.”

Today, when Smith takes her five granddaughters to Disneyland, she says it excites the kids to know they’re also there with a former Minnie Mouse.

George Savvas, public relations manager at Disneyland, lived here in Huntington Beach until he was 8. On the 53rd anniversary of the park (July 17), he shared some of his Disneyland memories.

“The first time I ever went was in 1973 at age 6. I remember eating dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant and then waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Every time I walk past that spot (on the side of the Castle, facing the Matterhorn) I remember that feeling of being at Disneyland for the first time with my family.”

Savvas’ favorite part of working there today is “walking through Disneyland and seeing families from all over the [world] enjoying what we do here.”

As for his favorite attraction, “That is a tough one. Was, is and will forever be Pirates of the Caribbean — though I have to admit that I loved taking my son on our new Toy Story Mania! attraction. I can vouch for the latter, too — an incredible attraction.

He also shared that the interior of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland will open in time for the December holiday season, offering guests a “reawakened” version of its classic walk-through presentation kissed with vibrant scenes of Aurora, her charming prince, the evil Maleficent and other characters from the beloved fairy tale film.

When the attraction is unveiled later this year, the “show” will differ from the dioramas of the 1980s and ’90s, returning to the unique style of the original 1957 show and motion picture.

Enhanced with new scenes and special effects magic, the re-Imagineered attraction will employ technology not available in the 1950s to represent scenes from the story of Sleeping Beauty, including the magic of good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, and the more sinister spells of the evil Maleficent.

Strodder has a personal take on what makes Disneyland persevere: “They keep updating and improving it, so even if you’ve seen it many times there’s always something new and worthwhile to see. It’s a place for families, it’s safe, and it’s often educational. And the detail — you don’t even have to go on any rides to enjoy the park, because things like landscaping and architecture, so easy to overlook, are so amazing if you observe carefully.”

And, as the nightly rumbles remind us, Disneyland is closer than close to Huntington Beach. How lucky are we?

Chris Strodder is going to be signing copies of “The Disneyland Encyclopedia” from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Compass Books in Downtown Disney.

Call (714) 502-9999 for more information.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com.