Disney’s Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Overhaul Turns The Ride Into an Awesome MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Adventure

Disney just gave Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge a massive shot of adrenaline, and after riding the updated version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run myself at Disneyland this past weekend, I can say this is a ride upgrade fans are going to love!

Guests at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World can now jump into an entirely reworked version of Smugglers Run themed around The Mandalorian and Grogu, which also hit theaters this past weekend.

Instead of replaying the exact same mission over and over, the attraction now throws riders into a bunch of different scenarios across some of the coolest planets in Star Wars, and it’s awesome.

The new story sends guests alongside Din Djarin and Grogu as they work with Hondo Ohnaka to hunt down a trio of bounties while hauling cargo across the galaxy. The ride now features trips to Tatooine, Bespin, Endor, and Coruscant, though you only visit two locations per mission, which gives the attraction a ton of replay value.

Every mission starts the same way. You blast off from Batuu and head to Tatooine while following Mando’s upgraded Razor Crest. Before long, three suspicious ships appear, Grogu accidentally creates chaos, and suddenly your crew is chasing one of the targets across the galaxy.

That’s where things get fun. The engineers now control where the mission goes next. Engineers suddenly became the VIP role on the ride. Once the targets split up, the engineer has only a few seconds to choose between Cloud City on Bespin, the wreckage orbiting Endor, or the traffic-packed skylanes of Coruscant.

I rode the ride multiple times to get the different versions of the attraction, and every single one felt different.

The Coruscant mission absolutely stole the show for me. Flying through neon traffic lanes while dodging signs and weaving through tunnels felt like getting dropped directly into the Zam Wesell chase from Attack of the Clones.

There’s so much happening onscreen that it almost overloads your brain, but it’s a blast! At one point, the Falcon gets disabled, crashes, and Grogu literally uses the Force to save you while New Republic X-Wings swoop in to help. It’s pure Star Wars chaos.

The Endor route leans hard into classic trilogy nostalgia, but with a darker edge since the destroyed Death Star wreckage is still floating nearby. Flying through shattered pieces of the station gives the whole thing a trench-run energy that’s incredibly cool.

Bespin might actually be the prettiest route in the ride. Soaring around Cloud City while attached to an enemy ship creates some crazy visuals, especially underneath the city where you can see debris and trash spilling into the atmosphere.

There’s even a moment where Mando launches himself outside the Razor Crest to help free the Falcon. That sequence got a legit reaction out of my cockpit crew.

The branching paths don’t stop with the planet selection as each destination contains multiple routes and variations hidden inside the missions, so that’ll be fun for fans to continue to explore everytime they jump on the ride. it give the ride a replay factor that was never there before.

The original version of Smugglers Run was fun, but after a couple rides, you’d basically seen everything. This update fixes that problem entirely. I already wanted to hop right back in line after finishing a mission just to see what else I hadn’t experienced yet.

There are also a bunch of fun Easter eggs hidden throughout the ride. I spotted a baby rancor hidden inside one of the cargo crates, and apparently there’s even a crashed podracer sitting somewhere on Tatooine if you look carefully enough.

Oh, and there’s also a secret “Grogu Mode” players can unlock, similar to the old hidden Wookiee Mode from the original attraction.

The gameplay itself also feels more rewarding now. Engineers use tractor beams to steal cargo during missions, and the amount you collect changes your final score and ranking. During your ride, you can earn different titles including Privateer, Pirate, and Smuggler depending on how successful our crew was.

What surprised me most is how much more cinematic everything feels now. The old attraction sometimes felt like a chaotic arcade game inside a Star Wars skin. This version actually feels like you’re participating in a living adventure alongside characters fans already love.

It still doesn’t top Rise of the Resistance as the crown jewel of Galaxy’s Edge, but this makeover finally makes Smugglers Run feel like the major Star Wars attraction it always should’ve been.

If you’re heading to Disneyland or Disney World anytime soon and you’re even remotely into Star Wars, this needs to be at the top of your list.