VIDEO: First look at Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride experience
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is one of the anchor attractions inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, opening May 31 at Disneyland park and Aug. 29 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Aboard this attraction, guests will help Hondo Ohnaka make some cargo runs on the Millennium Falcon, currently on loan from Chewbacca himself.
A fan-favorite space pirate from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels”, Hondo is a Weequay looking for his next big score. He now runs a “legitimate” business in Black Spire Outpost called Ohnaka Transport Solutions – which is where the guests come in.
Once guests accept Hondo’s request for help, they enter the Falcon through a hatch on the ship’s starboard airlock. Once onboard, they can explore the ship’s main hold and lounge, sit at the famous Dejarik table, or mess around with the equipment laying around the room.
When the mission begins, guests will strap into the cockpit of the space freighter in groups of six, with each person being assigned one of three roles:
- Pilot – work together to steer the ship; the left pilot controls horizontal motion, and the right pilot controls vertical motion
- Gunner – use blasters and missiles to defend the Falcon and its cargo; switch to manual targeting for more of a challenge
- Flight Engineer – keep the Falcon from falling to pieces by managing the ship’s systems, repairing any damage the ship encounters, and take control of the “special modifications” that Hondo installed for his missions
Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm’s visual effects division, teamed up with Walt Disney Imagineering to create the gaming aspect of the ride. Guests start the adventure by jumping to lightspeed. From there, Hondo, and occasionally Chewie, will help guide guests along the way.
If the Falcon happens to take on damage during the mission and isn’t properly repaired, it will affect the ship’s handling – and even the ship’s hallways will show damage as guests leave. At the end of the ride, Hondo will inform the flight crew on how well they accomplished their objectives.
Check out our videos of the queue, pre-show, and on-ride experience for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run below:
To learn more about all things Galaxy’s Edge, check out our constantly-updating FAQ on the new land here.
