Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open at Disneyland on Friday, May 31, with only one of its two attractions operating. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is set to open sometime later this fall. But as of now we get full access to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run!

 

SPOILER ALERT!

This is a full review of the attraction, from start to finish, so if you don’t want to know the details, stop reading now!

The Queue

As you approach Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, you’ll see that currently there are two queues: Standby and Single Rider. (FastPass will be available eventually, but that’s not an option as yet.)

When you enter the outdoor part of the queue, you wind your way around the 110-foot, docked Millennium Falcon. You’ll see lots of crates and equipment scattered around — this is clearly a very busy, and very industrial, area. The queue goes through tunnelled-out rock and is lined with light panels with switches and blinking lights.

Your path takes you around the Falcon outside, where you can have a good, long look at her — you’ll note that there are oily, dark stains under the ship and it seems as though it’s being worked on. The queue then brings you into a two-story, hangar-like structure in which several ships are undergoing mechanical maintenance, as you can tell from the strong odor of tires and grease. You make your way slowly up a series of ramps that take you to the top of the room.

 

Along the way, you’re treated to little scenes that tie into the attraction’s theming. At one point you’ll find a Batuu card table where some of the mechanics were apparently engaged in a card game — there are cards and poker-type chips strewn about on the floor and table.

The theming in this area is enhanced by the sounds of overheard conversations — mechanics are chatting while they’re working about what they have to do, often mentioning “the Wookiee” Chewbacca.

Once you reach the top of the highest ramp, there’s a window looking out onto the Falcon so you can see the top of it.

At the end of this room, you go through a small door into a short hallway that has you snake down one way and then come back up the other side. As you make your way through this room, listen for the background noise of ships passing overhead, as well as more chatter from the workers.

The Pre-Show

For those who’ve experienced Avatar Flight of Passage in Disney World’s Pandora, this part of the pre-show area will feel vaguely familiar. In the first loading room you tell the cast member how many are in your party and you stand in front of some automatic doors. There are digital screens at the front of the room displaying info on how to repair damage to the ship. When the doors in front of you open, you and about 75 or so of your new best friends shuffle into the “Command Center.”

This is where you encounter your new boss, Hondo Ohnaka, for the first time. This amazingly realistic audio-animatronic is on a riser with a droid, R5P8, just below him.

Apparently, Chewbacca has loaned Hondo the Falcon in exchange for parts. As Hondo explains, if you accept a mission for his Ohnaka Transport Solutions it will be the “opportunity of a lifetime.” He adds that you can earn quite a few galactic credits if you work well together with your team.

There’s a large digital screen behind Hondo that looks out the cockpit of a ship. You can see the Falcon landing and Chewbacca, who speaks with Hondo, appears on another screen.

From here you leave the pre-show room and go down a carpeted hallway, almost like a jetway. At the end of this hallway, you’re handed a color-coded card — your “ship operation credentials.” These cards indicate which job you’ve been assigned. The various jobs are:

— Flight Engineer: Responsible for systems repair, life support, tow cables. There are two engineers per team.

— Pilot: Responsible for operating landing gear, hyperspace jumps, and boosters. There are two pilots per team.

— Gunner: Responsible for operating blasters and firing missiles. There are two gunners per team.

As you can see, there are six people in each team, so if your party has fewer than six, you will probably be mixed in with others.

If you’d rather have a different job, you’re free to trade with the others in your group. In fact, cast members encourage it.

From here, you go into the main holding room that has the familiar hologram chess board from the Star Wars films. There’s a lot to take in!

 

While you’re waiting, you can take photos, and experiment with the Datapad that’s part of your Play Disney Parks app.

The Ride

When it’s time for your mission, the cast members call for your team based on the color of your card — the RED team, for example. When they call your team color, they line you up and take your credentials.

You enter into a final holding room where you stand on the emblem for your job and you’re given your final instructions:

— Pilots: One pilot is in charge of moving the ship up and down, one pilot is in charge of moving left to right

— Flight Engineers: Fix everything that breaks during the mission.

— Gunners: Shoot at everything that shoots at the Falcon!

Pilots are at the front, steering the ship. If they judge incorrectly, they may hit things. Gunners and Engineers press buttons at a few strategic moments similar to Mission: Space at Epcot.

The mission is to fly the Falcon to intercept secret cargo — a shipment of coaxium, the hyperfuel that makes space travel possible —  and return with it to Hondo. Upon your return, the screens show your accuracy and other stats and of course Hondo will let you know how you did. If you damaged the ship, or weren’t successful with your mission, he’s sure to let you know about it.

You exit the attraction through a series of hallways and staircases, again very  similar to Avatar Flight of Passage.

Touring Tips

You must be 38 inches or taller to ride Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

If you enter the queue at the entrance under the sign, the line is about a 30-minute wait — maybe a little less. The line seems to move quickly.

Given your allotted time of four hours in Galaxy’s Edge during this first month, you may want to consider waiting to ride the Millennium Falcon — most people will make a beeline for this attraction, creating a longer wait at the start of the reservation window. We found that toward the end of the four-hour window, there was no wait to ride at all.

The queue for this attraction is filled with interesting details for Star Wars buffs! Be on the lookout for the wall where Han Solo first kisses Leia (it’s metallic with red, orange and yellow), and also for the wall as you exit with the Rathtar frozen in carbonite. This is a throwback to that time Han Solo was frozen in carbonite by Jabba the Hutt in The Empire Strikes Back.

Special Needs Considerations:

— Guests in wheelchairs/ECVs should be able to navigate the queue, as it is mostly ramps until you reach the ride vehicles themselves. The ride vehicle seats are bucket seats, however, so you will need to transfer out of your chair/scooter to ride. The simulator does shake you up quite a bit.

— Seats have a seatbelt, rather than a lapbar.

— Although you are in a cockpit-type setting for the ride, it does not feel closed in, so those with claustrophobia should be able to ride without issue.

— There are strobe lighting effects to simulate lasers and blasters during battle scenes. Those with epilepsy or who are bothered by visual stimulus like this should take that into account.

Our Take

We found the details and theming throughout the attraction to be incredible, as one would expect.

If you are a Star Wars fan, you will be wowed by just how much there is to look at and experience.

The Hondo Ohnaka animatronic is amazingly realistic.

The ride itself seems to be less original than we had hoped. Pilots really have the best jobs, as what they do seems to directly affect the outcome of the ride. If you wreck the ship, for instance, you’ll see an angrier Hondo at the end, and as you exit you’ll see more evidence of the damage along your exit route. If you have a smooth mission, your exit will reflect that. Try different “jobs” on subsequent missions to see which experience is your favorite.

But, and this is key… You’re riding in the Millennium Falcon and how COOL is that?

Disclaimer: AllEars.Net was an invited media guest of Disney at the debut of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but this did not affect our opinions. Our opinions are our own!

Now that you’ve read about this new attraction in detail, let us know what you think in the comments below!

 

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