Mandalorian update to Smugglers Run will let guests choose their path and interact with Grogu
Walt Disney Imagineering will add the Mandalorian and Grogu to an existing attraction in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts, as well as update the ride path and controls.
Last updated April 20, 2025; original version published Aug. 10, 2024.
Millennium Falcon with Mandalorian and Grogu
Din Djarin and Grogu will star in their own version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. The new mission will open the same time as “The Mandalorian and Grogu” feature film, which will debut in theaters May 22, 2026.
Dave Filoni, chief creative officer of Lucasfilm, announced the news at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Aug. 10, 2024. More details were given at the SXSW event in March 2025, and at Star Wars Celebration on April 20, 2025.
Slideshow of new scenes from the updated Star Wars: Smuggler’s Run.
New Planets, missions, and controls
On Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, six riders board the attraction’s namesake ship, each with an assigned role in the mission: pilot, gunner, or engineer. The Engineer role is seen as the least desirable position by many in the current version of the ride, and it’s the one single riders are usually assigned. This may change with the new version, as the engineers will choose where the ride path goes, and will be able to communicate with Grogu.
Missions with Mando and Grogu will take off from Batuu and go to Tatooine; from there the crew will have an opportunity choose the next destination between these: Bespin, the wreckage of the second Death Star around Endor, or the city plant of Coruscant.
In this new story arc, Hondo Ohnaka catches wind of a deal on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and pirates, setting the stage for a high-stakes chase across the galaxy. Guests will team up with Mando and Grogu to track them down and claim a bounty.
The attraction’s new storyline will follow a different path from “The Mandalorian and Grogu” film. The technology is built on Unreal Engine 5 by Epic Games, which are the same tools ILM uses on the Disney+ show, “The Mandalorian.”
In the current version of the ride, guests work together to fly the Falcon to safety, retrieve Coaxium fuel, and evade peril. The ride reacts to guests’ actions, its visuals adapting in real time to riders’ choices. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run opened with Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts in 2019.
Mando and baby Yoda in Disney theme parks
Though the new version of Smugglers Run will be the Mandalorian and Grogu’s most prominent theme park attraction appearance to date, it’s not their first. The pair was introduced to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue in California, Florida, and Paris in spring 2024 in one of several newly added, randomized scenes for the simulator ride. Other new sequences added at the same time featured Ahsoka Tano and Cassian Andor, both the stars of their own respective Disney+ shows.
Mando also strolls Batuu in both versions of Galaxy’s Edge, carrying Grogu in his satchel. The characters debuted in California in 2022 and Florida in 2023.
“The Mandalorian” debuted in 2019 with the launch of Disney+ as the first ever live-action “Star Wars” streaming series. It has since elapsed three seasons and the behind-the-scenes docuseries “Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian.” Mando and Grogu also star in “The Book of Boba Fett.”
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” will mark the titular pair’s first appearance in a movie. The film is directed by Jon Favreau, who created “The Mandalorian.”
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