We Speak Attractions & Activities

EPCOT Takes Flight Over America 250 With a Coast-to-Coast New Soarin’

Published

5 months ago

May 17, 2026

EPCOT’s flight simulator is coming home. Disney has revealed Soarin’ Across America, a new version of its flight-simulator favorite that begins May 26, 2026, at Walt Disney World as part of Disney Celebrates America, a company-wide initiative commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary. A Disneyland Resort version follows on July 2, 2026.

Instead of the world tour of the previous film, the new flight showcases the United States through sweeping coastlines, cityscapes and natural landscapes. Confirmed scenes include the New England coastline, New York Harbor, Grand Canyon West, autumn colors in the heartland, bayous, the great plains of the West, northern wilderness and sunlit island shores — with Walt Disney Imagineering capturing more than a dozen locations for the new flight. Disney had not published a full scene list at announcement time, leaving a few surprises for opening day.

Tom Fitzgerald, creative director and chief storytelling executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, said each scene is meant to help create “a portrait” of what makes America special, tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary. The score includes a new musical arrangement by Bruce Broughton, built on Jerry Goldsmith’s classic Soarin’ themes, and Disney says ride programming, wind and other effects help shape the experience.

The rollout starts early for some: Cast Member previews began May 15, with Annual Passholder previews on May 19–20. EPCOT guests also get a new queue experience — the Soarin’ Challenge Across America, a trivia experience created with National Geographic, using facts from National Geographic titles including 50 States, 5,000 Ideas and photography from the National Geographic archives, asking guests to match states with prompts such as “Most Likely to Reach for the Stars.”

For the nation’s 250th, Disney is betting its most patriotic ride on a single subject: the country itself, coast to coast in one flight — no passport required.

We Speak Attractions & Activities

The Call Me Mother Experience Brings Immersive Art and Maternal Health Stories to Houston’s Health Museum

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Artwork from The Call Me Mother Experience at The Health Museum in Houston

The Call Me Mother Experience, an immersive multi-site art exhibit dedicated to the stories of the Black maternal health crisis, is now open at The Health Museum, 1515 Hermann Drive in Houston. The exhibition runs through February 28, 2027, and tickets range from $12 to $15.

Visitors should prepare for an immersive experience that includes poetry, film, performance, 3D sculptures, and original paintings created by a collective of nationally and internationally recognized artists, including D.E.E.P., Omari Maynard, Stacey Allen, Keda Sharber, and many others.

The exhibit walks visitors toward an opening question and into a reimagined waiting room, showing perspectives that range from father to mother and from despair to healing. Each site displays familial love and the grief that comes with the Black maternal health crisis in America, ending in a call to action.

“After two years working in the community to amplify local stories, I hope people see this exhibit as a celebration of our collective voices in the fight for maternal equity,” says D.E.E.P. “Every artist in the collective has had their own personal experience, be it infant death, fibroids, or birth complications. We have lived through these losses. We are using our art to demand better maternal healthcare practices in our lifetime.”

The stakes behind the exhibit are stark. As of 2024, Black women are three times more likely to die a pregnancy-related death than white women, and more than 80% of these deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Call Me Mother Experience is a Deep Ink project, fiscally sponsored by Fresh Arts, a Houston-based 501(c)(3) arts service organization, with generous support from H-E-B and several other philanthropic organizations. Additional satellite activations are planned at community sites and faith-based organizations throughout the Greater Houston area.

Learn more at callmemotherexperience.com.

Follow The Call Me Mother Experience on Instagram: @callmemotherexperience