Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run

June 03, 2019

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run

After several years of build-up and fanfare, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge finally debut this past weekend at Disneyland Park! The original Magic Kingdom's biggest expansion in its history opened to reservation-only guests last Friday, ushering in a new world in the Star Wars galaxy called Batuu, and a new E-Ticket in the form of Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run.

The Millennium Falcon, docked under the shadow of the spires of Batuu.

This ship is life size, and it's super impressive.

The Falcon is one of two large-scale rides in Galaxy's Edge. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opens later this summer. But Smuggler's Run boasts an incredible and very fun experience in and of itself, despite being the "B ride." It's a testament to how magnificent Galaxy's Edge is that a ride that would be the best ride of the park almost anywhere else is ultimately going to be relegated to second place once Galaxy's Edge fully opens.

The queue is littered with detail.

There are ship parts and operations equipment abound.

Everything looks super realistic!

The queue slowly ramps and wraps around the hangar.

That said, the experience of Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run begins from the moment guests behold a life-size recreation of the famous Corellian ship parked outside a rocky space port in the middle of Black Spire Outpost and continues through an immaculately immersive queue (that features some hilarious intercom banter) and through a tour of the interior of the Falcon herself (plenty of photo ops abound), and finally, on the actual ride, which requires interactive team work and produces a different result each ride depending on how well the team performs together. Three different positions--pilot, gunner, and engineer--provide re-rideability as well, giving guests different roles. And even upon exiting, the theming continues with carved stone passages and much evidence of an underground transport operation.

Hondo Ohnaka is a smuggler--er, transporter.

And he requests your assistance in piloting the famed Millennium Falcon to obtain some new energy supplies.

In return, he'll supply needed cargo for the Resistance.

There's the Falcon dropping in now!

Further through the queue, guests can actually explore the interior of the Falcon herself!

Complete with a Dejarik board, like from A New Hope!

Other than the building code mandated illuminated exit signs, the interior looks just like from the movie.

It's very cool!

This attraction needs to be experienced to truly be appreciated, and those with reservations will be fortunate enough to experience relatively minimal wait times when they visit Batuu between now and June 23. Just resist the urge the board the ride upon immediate entry. Wait an hour after the overlap between your reservation group and the prior has passed, and ride during the two middle hours of your time slot. Wait times should be in the 30 minute range or lower! Of course, you final hour, which overlaps with the next reservation time slot, will shoot up again. For everyone else who can't visit until after the land opens up to all park-admission-bearing guests on June 24th, unfortunately, the wait will certainly be longer--probably 1-2 hours. But don't let that deter you. Smuggler's Run is a wonderful marriage of physical attraction, motion simulator, and interactive play. It's a winner as Disneyland's newest and most advanced theme park offering ever!