A new mission is coming to The Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park. Beginning May 22nd, guests on both coasts can team up with The Mandalorian and Grogu to pilot the Millennium Falcon on a new mission with Hondo Ohnaka. This new mission replaces the original Smugglers Run, which was co-piloted by both Hondo and Chewbacca. The new mission celebrates The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, also being released this Friday, May 22nd. Based on our attraction preview experience, we hope this new version of The Millennium Falcon sticks around for a long time!
While Hondo Ohnaka is still part of the mission, your instructions both before boarding and while piloting the Falcon are given by The Mandalorian himself. The mission includes capturing two Imperial officers and a pirate as a bounty for Mando and collecting any crates they’re transporting for Hondo. Once inside the Falcon, the roles of Pilot, Gunner, and Engineer are virtually the same with some, exciting new features. For example, Engineers get to pick the second location of your mission and keep an eye on Grogu throughout the flight. Be sure to read about those new controls here before riding. You might even be able to unlock a special Grogu mode of your attraction experience!
One of the best parts of the new version is seeing and hearing Grogu the entire flight. Hearing his coos and squeals on your journey is both adorable and hilarious. Grogu and Mando can be seen on the data pads inside the Falcon.
Star Wars fans will be very excited to see the new mission takes you first to Tatooine. This familiar planet looks incredible from the vantage point inside the Millennium Falcon. Even better, the entire scene is set to “The Mandalorian” theme.
For the second half of the mission, you’ll visit either the towering city of Coruscant, the cloud city of Bespin, or the wreckage of the second Death Star above the forest moon of Endor. Your second destination is based on which destination one of the designated Engineers selects. During our ride, we visited Coruscant and chased an Imperial shuttle through the busy skyline. Once again, the soundtrack was a treat for Star Wars fans. At some point, Grogu takes over the controls and essentially initiates a party mode playing “Cantina Band” from Star Wars: A New Hope. This totally changed the ride experience and made me want to ride it again and again.
At the end of the mission, The Mandalorian allows Grogu to “wave to his new friends” as you pilot the Millennium Falcon back to Black Spire Outpost on Batuu.
The new Mandalorian and Grogu mission is visually stunning and a great use of familiar Star Wars destinations and music. This familiarity and element of fun is exactly what was missing from the original version of Smugglers Run. The Millennium Falcon is once again a must-do attraction on your Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation!
