🎩💡InSleightful Thinking: How Brands Beyond Disney Create Magical Experiences 🎩💡
- Michael Granoff
- Jun 10
- 5 min read
How Brands Beyond Disney Create Magical Experiences | InSleightful Thinking
Think like a magician; Insleightful Thinking; Imagineering; The Magic Way;---
✨ Introduction
This week, we’ve led with a tried-and-true suggestion for a creative role model. After all, who embodies the idea of **magical creativity** more than the guys with the ears?
But before you toss this edition of *InSleightful Thinking* aside as yet another homage to the world’s most famous mouse — hear us out!
Mickey’s not the only game in town. Magical experiences aren’t exclusive to iconic theme parks. They’re crafted through **intentional design**, a deep understanding of the desired emotional effect, and a sprinkle of **surprise and delight**.
So how are companies beyond Disney enchanting their audiences with a **Magic Way-like approach**?
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🏰 Disney Imagineering: The Blueprint for Magical Experiences
Disney’s renowned **Imagineering process** is a masterclass in intentional design. It begins with **"Blue Sky" thinking** — dreaming without constraints — and progresses through stages like concept development, feasibility studies, design, production, installation, and finally, opening.
This meticulous approach ensures every detail contributes to the overarching story and desired emotional impact.
One of its core principles is "plussing,"a term coined by Walt Disney himself, emphasizing exhaustive, continuous improvement. It’s about refining experiences to consistently exceed expectations — and not settling for the status quo or the obvious.
Magic Way parallel:
Magicians iterate in "blue-sky" fashion in the same manner and for the same purpose as Disney’s Imagineers. **Constant exploration** of ALL possible solutions and methodologies ("plussing") is what ultimately elicits **wonder and delight** in magic. *(Juan Tamariz, for those who’ve been paying attention.)*
🚢 Viking Cruises: Crafting Amazing Journeys Through Customer Insight and Meticulous Attention to Detail
Viking Cruises exemplifies how customer experience and design can harmoniously create memorable journeys. Their approach isn’t just about the destinations — it’s about the holistic Viking experience:
🔱 Planning: Through the *My Viking Journey* platform, guests can customize their voyage, selecting excursions and experiences that resonate with their interests.
🔱 Feedback: Viking employs tools like *Qualtrics CustomerXM* to gather and act upon guest feedback, ensuring each voyage is better than the last.
🔱 Design: From serene Scandinavian-inspired interiors to curated cultural experiences, every element is designed to evoke **comfort and enrichment**.
Magic Way parallel:
Viking starts with the desired **emotional effect** — relaxed, luxurious exploration — and designs every touchpoint to reinforce this feeling from the moment the customer steps on board to the moment they leave, and every experience in between.
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🎭 Cirque du Soleil: Engaging the Audience Even Before the Curtain Rises
Cirque du Soleil masterfully blurs the line between performer and spectator, creating immersive experiences that begin even before the show starts:
🤸♂️ Pre-Show Interaction: In shows like Alegría, performers mingle with the audience, setting the tone for an evening of wonder.
🤸♂️ Audience Participation: Clowns and characters often engage directly with guests, breaking the fourth wall and fostering a sense of **inclusion**.
In my own magic performances, I typically engage the audience before the main event with strolling magic. Tremendously fun, these small group interactions warm everyone up, break down barriers, and prime the group for the show to follow — where personal exchanges continue throughout the evening.
👉 To learn more about my corporate or private events, visit:
Magic Way parallel:
Cirque designs the audience’s **emotional journey** from the very first interaction, ensuring a receptive and enchanted crowd — and then they overdeliver with stunning **acrobatics**, **costuming**, **music**, **choreography**, **interaction**, and **ambiance** to create an **unforgettable audience experience**.
🎥 Suggested Viewing
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The Science Behind Experience Design: From Frameworks to Culture
It’s one thing to have a process — like Disney’s Imagineering or the Magic Way — that helps generate remarkable experiences.
But putting that process into consistent practice requires more than good ideas. It requires a culture-wide commitment.
That’s a key point made by @GaryDavid, PhD, Professor at Bentley University, whose work on Integrated Experience Design emphasizes that customer experiences don’t happen in a vacuum. They’re the outcome of every internal system and interaction — from executive vision to employee engagement to customer touch-points.
“If your employees aren’t enthusiastically engaged — if you’re not designing experiences with your employees in mind — the customer experience is going to suffer.”
— Gary David, PhD
In addition, what’s considered "good" — or even "great" — today probably won’t be tomorrow. That’s why Walt Disney made plussing a pillar of Imagineering, and why magicians like Juan Tamariz, Joshua Jay, Asi Wind, and other greats constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible.
They don’t settle for awe once — they reimagine how to earn it again and again
🌍 The Broader Experience Design Community
This philosophy is echoed by the Experience Research Society (EXPRESSO)(), a global community of scholars and practitioners devoted to the rigorous study of experience.
EXPRESSO’s mission includes understanding how experiences can be **intentionally crafted** to promote **well-being** and **meaningful human connection** — a *whole system* view that aligns closely with Prof. David’s work.
🎁 Closing Thoughts
🪄 So while the Magic Way teaches us how to generate wonder — and Imagineering shows us how to build it — Prof. David and EXPRESSO remind us that sustaining it requires everyone in the organization to be part of the show.
✨ Magical experiences are not confined to the realm of fantasy. They are the result of deliberate, thoughtful design aimed at eliciting specific **emotional responses.
As always, we’re interested to know if our content is altering or inspiring your creative thinking and approach to creating bigger and more momentous experiences!
👉 Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments for discussion.
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📚 Sources and References
- [Imagineering Process](https://imagineeringtoolbox.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/imagineering-process-sneak-peek-an-overview-of-the-process/)
- [Disney’s ‘Plussing’ Concept](https://uxreactor.com/disney-pioneered-modern-experience-design/)
- [Viking Cruises My Viking Journey Platform](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/my-viking-journey/index.html)
- [Viking Uses Qualtrics CustomerXM](https://www.qualtrics.com/news/viking-river-cruises-chooses-qualtrics-customerxm/)
- [Cirque du Soleil Alegría Performer Interaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alegr%C3%ADa_(Cirque_du_Soleil))
- [Cirque du Soleil Audience Participation Insight](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/interviews/at-cirque-du-soleil-luzia-the-audience-needs-to-get-in-on-the-act)
- [Professor Gary David, Bentley University Faculty Page](https://faculty.bentley.edu/profile/gdavid)
- [Experience Research Society (EXPRESSO)](https://experienceresearchsociety.org)
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👉 Explore more magical thinking for marketers in my [Sleight of Brand series](https://magicofmichaelg.com).
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