Recently my family traveled to Disneyland and we had a great time. It was such a great experience...or was it a great memory of the experience? I gave a talk to our UX team at work about the experiences we had and how well Disney does their job across channels to provide a great experience...or a great memory.
One example that fascinated me was the fireworks at the end of each night. The crowds gather on Main Street and watch the display, complete with perfectly timed music cues, before they conclude their time in the park. Basically, Disney knows that waiting in lines for attractions is not a pleasant experience. However, the experience is reframed that night as each major attraction is celebrated in fireworks and music/audio cues. So while you may have been hot, risking sunburn, trying to entertain your kids prior to a major ride, you don't think about it that way when the attraction is celebrated in awe-inspiring sight and sound at the end of evening. You leave the park, happy and almost proud of your small part in that attraction.
As the UX team discussed this, a team member brought up Daniel Kahneman's TED talk. From a behavioral economics perspective, Kahneman argues that key to experiences is the remembering self, not the experiencing self. How you remember (or re-interpret and re-remember) your experience defines your experience. An interesting way to think about the experiences you're designing and delivering. Kahneman also talks about the weight of he ending of an experience shaping how the "remembering self" thinks of the experience as good or bad. I think it may challenge the adage "you only have one chance to make a first impression" and start thinking about all of the opportunities you have to create a great ending.
Think about a good experience that you've had recently and think about how it ended and how that shapes your attitude towards the experience.
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