Magic Moments: How to Intentionally Engineer Transformative Experiences
2026-01-21 17:55 - 19:30 (Europe/London) | Zoom
Every magic moment, every deeply positive experience, has psychological roots.

In this WXO Campfire, we explore how extraordinary experiences don’t happen by accident – they are intentionally designed.
Drawing from decades of expertise in Disney Imagineering and global UX leadership, authors Joe Lanzisero and Johannes Robier reveal how extraordinary moments can be crafted with intention and how anyone can apply these methods to business, leadership, customer relationships, and everyday life.
Grounded in scientifically proven research from psychology, behavioral science, and experience design, this session introduces the Magineering Framework, which brings all these insights together into one practical model.
You’ll discover the essential elements and dimensions to include in your stories, products, and experiences to intentionally create extraordinary, transformative moments with lasting emotional impact.
What you’ll learn:

Foundations to know before designing for a positive experience
The 5 Dimensions of Enthusiasm, a framework that helps you break down the complexity of human experience into practical levers you can use.
The 5 Experience Boosters, simple yet powerful tools to elevate ordinary interactions into extraordinary memories.

About Magic Moments:
Magic Moments: How to Intentionally Engineer Transformative Experiences is a groundbreaking book that blends storytelling, science, and strategy to show how unforgettable experiences can be designed – not left to chance.
Drawing from decades of expertise in Disney Imagineering and global UX leadership, authors Joe Lanzisero and Johannes Robier reveal how extraordinary moments are crafted with intention and how anyone can apply these methods to business, leadership, customer relationships, and everyday life.
Through a unique “two-sided” approach – magical narratives on one side, practical frameworks on the other – Magic Moments gives you the tools to transform ordinary days into memories that last a lifetime.

About Joe Lanzisero:
• 37 years at Walt Disney
• Started at Walt Disney Animation
• Grew to SVP of Walt Disney Imagineering
Joe’s creative career can simply be described as magical spectacular journey with 37 years at Disney, Joe began as an animator and worked his way up to the top of Imagineering. He’s served as creative lead on over $9B in marquis projects to date but more importantly his work inspires and brings joy to generations of guests around the globe.
Joe played a key role in bringing projects like Mickey’s Toontown, Toy Story Land, and Mystic Manor to life. Now retired, Joe continues his storytelling journey with Magic Moments and his new children’s book, Lemonade the Yellow Bear.

About Johannes Robier:
• Founder & CEO of youspi Consulting
• Organizer of the World Usability Congress
• 20+ years in UX/CX strategy & design
Johannes’s career is defined by his passion for human-centered design and innovation. As Founder of youspi Consulting and Organizer of the World Usability Congress, he’s spent over two decades helping global brands bridge creativity, business, and technology.
Johannes’s work unites leaders, designers, and thinkers to build more meaningful, inclusive experiences. Together with Joe Lanzisero, he co-authored Magic Moments, celebrating the power of empathy, creativity, and collaboration in shaping a better world.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

Collaboration Campfire #1 (Jan 2026)
2026-02-04 09:55 - 11:30
Introducing WXO Collaboration Campfires

A confidential, member-led clinic to workshop live projects and share practical advice. Bring a challenge, leave with practical next steps.
Alongside toolkits, frameworks and case studies from the Experience Economy’s brightest minds, WXO Campfires are also valued for the quality of the attendees as much as the guest voices. Practitioners who are generous with their thinking and direct with their advice.
A community of creators coming together, sharing the air about their current projects before taking practical insights and inspiration from that week’s sessions away to solve the challenges they’re facing right now
We hear of so many collaborations born from our Campfires. Attendees going from a scribbled note in a breakout discussion to a post-Campfire partnership that simply would not have happened without that Campfire.
And so to Collaboration Campfires.
This week’s early Campfire session is a test of a brand-new format.
Think of it as a practical working session, led by attendees rather than guest speakers. The aim is simple: help each other move current projects forward.

How it works:
• No special guests – the expertise is in the room.
• Bring one challenge from a live project. Keep it specific: what you’re doing, what’s stuck, and the kind of help you’re asking for (ideas, references, critiques, introductions, etc.).
• Simply share your challenge and exactly what help you need.
• No deck required. A clear brief is enough.
• This is time-boxed, chaired discussion. Each challenge gets the time it needs, up to 15 minutes.
• We’ll go round the group until we reach the end of the list or the 90-minute limit.
• No challenge this week? Come anyway – the session only works if people bring their experience, judgement and candour. We’d love you to come along and contribute your expertise.

A note on confidentiality: Because we’ll be discussing live work that may need to stay behind closed doors, recordings will be shared only with attendees, not released to the wider WXO community.

That’s it. This is a pilot. If it works, we’ll make it a regular feature (without over-engineering it). If it doesn’t, we’ll revert to the standard Campfire format. Either way, we’d like to test it properly – by getting the right mix of challenges and contributors in the room.

We hope to see you there.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Future of Storytelling: How Immersive Experiences Are Transforming Our World
2026-02-04 17:55 - 19:30
Storytelling is currently undergoing a radical revolution, from narratives that are passively consumed to stories that you live.
It’s a shift that is already revolutionizing entertainment, communication, marketing, and more.
How can creators adapt to this change? Join Charles Melcher, founder of The Future of Storytelling and author of a new book with the same title, as he explores the key qualities of these “living stories” and explains how they can be used create more immersive, memorable, and transformative experiences.

Who should attend:
• Storytellers of all stripes
• Creative directors
• Producers
• Experience designers
• Marketers & communicators across industries
In this session, you’ll learn:
• How “the people formerly known as the audience” are evolving into an “actience” of co-creators, and why it matters
• A framework for understanding the six qualities that elevate an experience to a “living story”
• Practical pointers on how to tap into these qualities in your work, derived from the most successful examples to date
• How creating living stories has the potential to change the actience’s lives – and our world – for the better”

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:

Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Story Gap: Why Brilliant Experiences Fall Short and How to Fix Them (Early)
2026-02-11 09:55 - 11:30
Have you ever gone through a beautifully built experience—technically impressive and to all appearances flawlessly executed—that left you feeling nothing?
Drawing upon her experience pioneering narrative for global teams and experiences, writer and experience director Emma Oliver introduces a practical diagnostic tool to uncover why brilliant experiences fall short and how to fix them.
Designed for use across themed entertainment, live experiences, museums, and branded environments, her guide helps identify gaps between what an experience promises and delivers, arming creative stakeholders with narrative systems to close these gaps and create experiences not only immersive, but emotionally resonant, aligned, and repeatable.
Who should attend:

Creative Directors
Producers
Experience Designers
Marketing Strategists
Investors

What you’ll learn:

A diagnostic tool to identify story gaps undermining guest impact
Example narrative systems to help strengthen guest emotional engagement
Practical guidance for using story as a cost-effective design lever

About Emma Oliver:
Emma Oliver is a writer and director working at the intersection of story, space, and human experience. She creates narrative-driven entertainment designed to spark emotion, meaning, and memory—experiences that stay with audiences long after the lights go down.
With deep roots in themed entertainment and live experiences, Emma knows narrative is the system that makes moments unforgettable.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Story Gap: Why Brilliant Experiences Fall Short and How to Fix Them (Late)
2026-02-11 17:55 - 19:30
Have you ever gone through a beautifully built experience—technically impressive and to all appearances flawlessly executed—that left you feeling nothing?
Drawing upon her experience pioneering narrative for global teams and experiences, writer and experience director Emma Oliver introduces a practical diagnostic tool to uncover why brilliant experiences fall short and how to fix them.
Designed for use across themed entertainment, live experiences, museums, and branded environments, her guide helps identify gaps between what an experience promises and delivers, arming creative stakeholders with narrative systems to close these gaps and create experiences not only immersive, but emotionally resonant, aligned, and repeatable.
Who should attend:

Creative Directors
Producers
Experience Designers
Marketing Strategists
Investors

What you’ll learn:

A diagnostic tool to identify story gaps undermining guest impact
Example narrative systems to help strengthen guest emotional engagement
Practical guidance for using story as a cost-effective design lever

About Emma Oliver:
Emma Oliver is a writer and director working at the intersection of story, space, and human experience. She creates narrative-driven entertainment designed to spark emotion, meaning, and memory—experiences that stay with audiences long after the lights go down.
With deep roots in themed entertainment and live experiences, Emma knows narrative is the system that makes moments unforgettable.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25
