Art & Culture

NEW YORK – October 28, 2026 -- Two episodes of NBC's 1st Look Presents: Extra Mile Club are now streaming on Peacock. In them, two luxury travel advisors compete to design a Belgium getaway for Bravo personality Bozoma "Boz" Saint John and her fiancé, Keely Watson.

Two Global Travel Collection advisors compete for the couple's future travel business

June Kleier and Julie Shotmeyer, both advisors with Global Travel Collection (GTC), must build a personalized luxury trip that reflects the couple's interests and personalities. The prize is the chance to win the couple's future travel business.

The episodes cover Belgium, including Brussels, where filming took place at Corinthia Brussels, the restored former Grand Hotel Astoria. Kleier and Shotmeyer approach the same destination in different ways.

Shenzhen – October 28, 2026 -- A ten-video smartphone filmmaking masterclass built around the vivo X500 Pro Max goes live on November 9, 2026, taking learners through the making of one vertical Reel from first shot to final export.

The course comes from Kolder Creative, the platform of filmmaker Sam Kolder, and follows the global launch of the vivo X500 Series. It consists of one introductory video and nine lessons, all built on the same project.

Kolder walks through every stage of a vertical Reel

Kolder covers native camera controls, composition, footage selection, editing, sound design, color grading and export. He shoots in vivo's native camera app and demonstrates Log recording for more flexibility in grading. He also shows how frame rate and shutter settings change the look of movement, and how neutral-density (ND) filters help control exposure.

Schöppenstedt – October 28, 2026 -- The folk band Bierschmeichler plays parts of its live sets directly among the audience at medieval markets and folk festivals, including events in North Rhine-Westphalia. What looks spontaneous is backed by a planned setlist.

Acoustic instruments put the music inside the crowd

At a classic concert, the edge of the stage separates musicians from visitors. At medieval markets, Bierschmeichler removes that line. Because the band plays acoustic instruments, the sound does not come only from loudspeakers but arises right among the listeners.

The effect is strongest on singalong choruses: people who hear voices next to them are more likely to join in. The musicians also see immediately how the crowd reacts to each song. For Caspar Bierschmeichler, this give-and-take is part of the character of tavern folk.

XI'AN, China – October 27, 2026 -- Travelers can plan a Shaanxi trip that goes well beyond the Terracotta Warriors: China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy remains available to eligible travelers, and a new Shaanxi Inbound Service platform at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport offers multilingual assistance, travel bookings and itinerary planning.

Fourteen diplomats from nine countries toured Shaanxi's landmarks

From October 9 to 12, 14 diplomats stationed in China, representing nine countries including Belarus, Morocco and Albania, joined the 2026 "Discover China Cultural Tour" of Shaanxi. It was the final stop of this year's tour series.

The group visited the Shaanxi History Museum, Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Belarus's ambassador to China said he was deeply impressed by the continuity of Chinese civilization reflected in the museum collections.

EPCOT – October 26, 2026 -- Figment, EPCOT's purple dragon, is getting a new journey into imagination at the park, and he is finally reunited with Dreamfinder.

Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum announced the project in the closing moments of the Disney Experiences showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa. "We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment!" he told the cheering crowd. More details about their return are still to come.

Figment has been an EPCOT fixture since 1983

The dragon arrived when the first Journey into Imagination opened in 1983. The attraction has gone through several versions since, and Figment has stayed a park staple throughout.

Paris – October 25, 2026 -- Construction is underway on a Lion King water ride at Disneyland Paris, the centerpiece of the first-ever immersive world themed to Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1994 film. It will sit inside Disney Adventure World.

The ride starts beneath a 120-foot Pride Rock

Guests will enter the caves under the 120-foot-high Pride Rock and set off on a musical journey through the Pride Lands. Along the way they will hear classic songs from the film and pass through memorable scenes, including Simba's final confrontation with Scar.

The ride retells Simba's story from cub to king, covering the happy times and the harder ones that stood in his way.

A new flume system ends in a 52-foot drop

The attraction will be one of the largest at the resort. It features a new flume system and a 52-foot drop. Audio-Animatronics figures, special effects and three slopes will bring the story to life.

Walt Disney World – October 25, 2026 -- Parts of Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc. land at Disney's Hollywood Studios, will open to guests in 2027, even as work continues on the door coaster. Disney revealed the first details during "Horizons: A Carousel of Progress" at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa.

Host Neil Patrick Harris welcomed Michael Hundgen, Vice President Creative, and Chris Beatty, Vice President at Walt Disney Imagineering, who walked through the new locations. The land is a collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios.

Randy Newman writes his first theme park song

"Welcome to Monstropolis" is the first song Disney Legend Randy Newman has composed for a Disney theme park. Guests will hear it when the land opens.

D23 – October 25, 2026 -- A handmade King Arthur Carrousel costume with a rotating headpiece and a motorized, 3D-printed horse won the solo category at Mousequerade, the Disney costume contest held on day two of D23 2026.

The winning look turned a 1955 attraction into wearable art

"A Jest of a Carrousel Ride," made by Julieanna Trinidade, paired a corseted top with an intricate skirt and puffed sleeves. It also took the innovation and technology award. The carousel it honors is one of Disneyland park's original opening-day attractions from 1955, and most of its horses date back more than 90 years.

Disney's Animal Kingdom – October 25, 2026 -- The Yeti inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom is coming back to life, Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa.

Mazloum interrupts Neil Patrick Harris with the news

Mazloum cut in on host Neil Patrick Harris on the "Horizons: A Carousel of Progress" stage. His words: "We're bringing the Yeti back to life inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom!" The crowd answered with cheers.

Gloria Gaynor sends off the Yeti with a disco hit

Gloria Gaynor then performed her 1978 disco hit "I Will Survive" as a send-off for the long-dancing Yeti.

The ride already hints at the beast

Expedition Everest sits inside a Forbidden Mountain of nearly 200 feet. The queue doubles as a trailside museum, with evidence of campground attacks, sketches of sightings and a footprint mold of a giant yeti foot.

California – October 25, 2026 -- Disneyland Resort will bring back two nighttime spectaculars in February 2027, followed by the "Magic Happens" daytime parade in summer 2027. Host Neil Patrick Harris revealed the returns on the Horizons stage at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event presented by Visa, after saying, "I have so many great memories under the stars with my kids."

"Remember... Dreams Come True" returns to Disneyland park in February 2027

The refreshed show adds new projections at Rivers of America, the facade of "it's a small world," and all the way down Main Street, U.S.A., in addition to Sleeping Beauty Castle. Music and projections run on nightly scheduled performances, with fireworks added on select evenings.

The show debuted during the Disneyland Resort 50th anniversary. It opens with a vocal introduction by Julie Andrews and uses songs and familiar phrases from popular park attractions to represent Walt Disney's dream of Disneyland.