Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run puts you and your crew in the cockpit of the most famous ship in the galaxy. Located inside Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, the attraction assigns every guest a specific role — pilot, gunner, or engineer — and your performance directly affects the outcome of the mission.
This is not a passive ride. What you do in your seat matters.
The Ship
The experience begins before you ever board. Approaching through Black Spire Outpost, you'll spot the Millennium Falcon docked in the landing bay — full scale, weathered, and unmistakably real. It's one of the most impressive set pieces at Walt Disney World.
Inside, you move through the interior of the ship — the chess table, the crew quarters, the maintenance corridors — before arriving at the briefing area where Hondo Ohnaka lays out the mission.
The Mission
Hondo has intel on a shady deal going down on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and a crew of pirates. He needs your crew to track down three high-value bounties and collect as much cargo as possible along the way.
Shortly into the mission, you cross paths with Din Djarin and Grogu. While Mando pursues the bounties, your crew handles the cargo — until your cover is blown and the chase splits across the galaxy.
One engineer in your crew then chooses where the Falcon goes next. Three destinations are available, and each run could take you somewhere different:
- Bespin — a high-speed chase through the skies of Cloud City, dodging freighters and TIE fighters among the Tibanna gas canisters
- Coruscant — a nighttime pursuit through the Uscru Entertainment District, weaving through tunnels and dense civilian air traffic
- Death Star wreckage above Endor — navigating a debris field around the shattered remains of the second Death Star, including parts of a fallen Star Destroyer, to track down a Trandoshan pirate in hiding
Your Role in the Cockpit
Six guests fly together in every cockpit. Each seat has a specific function.
Pilots
Two pilots share control of the Falcon — one handles left-right movement, the other controls up and down. The right pilot also triggers the jump to hyperspace. Coordination between both pilots is critical. Poor flying damages the ship and costs your crew credits.
Gunners
Two gunners defend the Falcon and build your score. Before takeoff, choose between automatic mode — which tracks targets and fires in bursts of five — or manual mode, where you select your own targeting zone for a higher skill ceiling and potentially higher score. Missiles are available at select points in the mission for maximum impact.
Engineers
Engineers have the most varied responsibilities on the ship:
- Select the next destination by following a homing beacon
- Launch tracking beacons toward bounty ships
- Use the tractor beam to collect up to three cargo crates each
- Repair the ship when damage buttons light up
- Call Grogu aboard the Razor Crest during the mission
Scoring
At the end of every run, Hondo tallies your crew's performance in the hangar bay. Cargo crates collected by engineers are unloaded and opened — contents vary between galactic credits, Kyber Crystals, and baby Rancors, each affecting your overall cabin score differently. Individual seat performance is scored separately, and the top performer can earn the Employee of the Month honor.
No two runs play out identically. The destination changes, the cargo varies, and individual performance shifts the result every time — giving the attraction strong replayability.
Secret: Grogu Mode
There's a hidden feature most guests never discover. When the ride begins, both gunners need to press and hold the first of the four horizontal white buttons — the one closest to them — then press the blinking button at the same time. If both gunners do it together, Grogu sounds replace the standard narration for the entire ride. This replaces the Chewie Mode that existed in the original version of the attraction.
The Technology
Walt Disney Imagineering rebuilt the attraction's visual system from the ground up for the 2026 update. Every cockpit now runs on upgraded NVIDIA hardware using Unreal Engine 5 — the same real-time rendering platform used to produce The Mandalorian on Disney+. Working with Industrial Light and Magic and Epic Games, Imagineers sourced 3D assets directly from Lucasfilm's production library. Every environment and ship model is the same asset used on the actual production set, adapted for the ride's five-projection-surface dome layout.
The result is a visual fidelity that matches what you see on screen — rendered in real time, every single ride.
Good to Know
- Location: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Height requirement: 38 inches (97cm) or taller
- Ride type: Motion simulator
- Accessibility: Guests must be able to transfer to ride vehicle; stationary viewing available
- Lightning Lane: Available via Lightning Lane Multi Pass
- Best time to ride: Early morning at park open, or in the final hour before park close
- Tip: Engineer seats offer the most interactive experience, particularly for guests who want to influence where the mission goes. Gunners in manual mode have the highest scoring potential.
About Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run sits inside Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge — the 14-acre immersive land at Disney's Hollywood Studios built around the planet Batuu. The land also includes Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, along with Oga's Cantina, Savi's Workshop, Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, and a range of themed retail experiences throughout Black Spire Outpost.