Happiest Club On Earth Orlando | PowerPoint nightFall 2026A five-minute case for face-character meets

You’re already avoiding the line.

Commuters told to talk to a stranger had a better ride than those told to sit alone. People asked to predict expected the opposite.

Nine field and lab experiments, trains and buses, Chicago. Same result for introverts and extraverts. · Epley & Schroeder (2014)

Thanh Bui · University of Central Florida Press → to begin · ? for controls

How good the commute felt · study scale

Talk to a strangerSit aloneValues read from Fig. 1 of Epley & Schroeder (2014); effect sizes d = 0.41 (predicted), 0.63 (actual).

01The logWhere this comes from, and what I actually say to them

What I actually say to them.

The officeMagic Kingdom, 4–6 hours a day. A meet is the coffee break.

The sample200+ logged visits since Nov 2024.

One meet, start to finish

A radar for Arendelle Castle

In the new Frozen short, Anna turns the castle upside down looking for her mother’s dress, and the castle has hidden passages even the sisters never found.

AnnaI pitched ground-penetrating radar, a handheld scanner that sees behind walls, and swept an invisible one along the wall. Her verdict: “Technology.” Kristoff is never getting one.
ElsaShe had overheard every word, so I caught her up. Then I suggested cold-proof clothes so Anna could ride the Nokk. Her catch: what she makes fits only her.
Next visitElsa got a refresher on the radar.

No photo. One of the best conversations I’ve had.

Other things I talked about

01A dragon-proof superalloy statue of Flynn’s noseRapunzel
02An AI inside the Fairy Godmother’s wandCinderella
03Lab computers from Ursula, paid in potionAriel
04“Rapid unscheduled disassembly,” like her carriageCinderella
05Could Sofia survive Navy SEAL training?Elena
063 + 2 = 10, counting in fivesElsa
07Frozen as a probability lessonAnna
08Her beignets vs. Mama Odie’s, in a labTiana

Every single one got a yes-and. That is the format working.

02Why it worksThe safest stranger on Earth, and translation practice

Conversation is translation practice.

trainedin characterguaranteed warm3 minutes

Slide 1’s experiment with the downside removed: a trained conversational partner who will not reject the offer.

The opener, when the topic needs translating

I’m trying to figure out how to explain X to you in a way you can understand.

It hands her the frame. She builds on it.

Each character’s story decides what gets in.

Rapunzelher friend Varian is an inventorengineering gets in cheap
Tianakitchenonly food chemistry gets in
Snow Whiteminegems, so lasers

Same job as explaining my work to a biologist or a reviewer: know who you’re talking to, check the comparison fits, use their words, one idea per visit.

Playfulness, the knack for making almost any situation engaging, goes with life satisfaction in adults, and a one-week online exercise raised it.

Proyer (2013) · Proyer, Gander, Brauer & Chick (2021)

02Why it worksWhy it beats a ride

Why it beats a ride.

A ride

Same track, same loop, same ending, every day.

You watch.

Fun you can predict.

A meet

Different performer, different reply, different day.

You take part. Your sentence changes what happens next.

Fun you can’t predict.

You rememberthe best moment and the ending, not how long it took

So a three-minute meet can be the peak of a six-hour work day. Fredrickson & Kahneman (1993)
Nostalgiafeeling connectedfeeling like yourselflife feels meaningful

Looking back on those moments is what raises meaning in life, and the pathway runs through connection. Routledge et al. (2011) · van Tilburg et al. (2019)
Tell someoneit lasts

The strongest way to make a good moment last is to tell someone about it afterwards. This club is where you tell it. Jose, Lim & Bryant (2012)

03EtiquetteThe price of admission, then your next visit

The price of admission.

One visit per character per day.
No posed portraits. Talk, then photo.Photos sharpen what you saw and blur what was said. Barasch, Diehl, Silverman & Zauberman (2017)
Give your spot to an excited kid.
File a Cast Compliment.
Let them start any touch.Cast members do emotional labor: in a UCF study of Walt Disney World on-stage employees, surface acting was common and exhaustion recurring. Reyers (2011), UCF
Phone pocketed until the photo.

Pixie dust is something you notice afterwards, not something you chase.

Next visit

Bring one real thing from your life, translated into her world.
Princess Fairytale Hall.
Phone pocketed.
Report back here.

3 + 2 = 10 if you count in fives, and Elsa agreed.

Thank youReferences

Questions?

Credits

Design inspiration: National Design Studio, ndstudio.gov
Typefaces: Cormorant Garamond and Great Vibes (Google Fonts)
Figure colors: Princess Colour Schemes, leahsmyth.github.io
Thanh Bui · University of Central Florida
Happiest Club On Earth Orlando | PowerPoint night, Fall 2026
Online: bu1th4nh.github.io/presentations/hcoe_fall26_facecharacters

Epley, N., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Mistakenly seeking solitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(5), 1980–1999.
Proyer, R. T. (2013). The well-being of playful adults. European Journal of Humour Research, 1(1), 84–98.
Proyer, R. T., Gander, F., Brauer, K., & Chick, G. (2021). Can playfulness be stimulated? A randomised placebo-controlled online playfulness intervention study. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 13(1), 129–151.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Kahneman, D. (1993). Duration neglect in retrospective evaluations of affective episodes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(1), 45–55.
Routledge, C., Arndt, J., Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Hart, C. M., Juhl, J., Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M., & Schlotz, W. (2011). The past makes the present meaningful: Nostalgia as an existential resource. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(3), 638–652.
van Tilburg, W. A. P., Sedikides, C., Wildschut, T., & Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M. (2019). How nostalgia infuses life with meaning: From social connectedness to self-continuity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(3), 521–532.
Jose, P. E., Lim, B. T., & Bryant, F. B. (2012). Does savoring increase happiness? A daily diary study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 176–187.
Barasch, A., Diehl, K., Silverman, J., & Zauberman, G. (2017). Photographic memory: The effects of volitional photo taking on memory for visual and auditory aspects of an experience. Psychological Science, 28(8), 1056–1066.
Reyers, A. (2011). Emotional regulation at Walt Disney World: Deep acting vs. surface acting. M.A. thesis, University of Central Florida, STARS.