Disney's Hollywood Studios · Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Six guests fly the Millennium Falcon together as pilots, gunners and engineers, with the flight quality depending entirely on who gets the pilot seats.
Ride facts
- Type
- Simulator
- Height
- 38in (97cm)
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Motion sickness
- Moderate motion risk
- Getting wet
- Stay dry
- Indoor / outdoor
- Indoor
- Air conditioned
- Yes
- Single rider
- Available
- Rider Switch
- Available
Last verified July 2026
What it is
You board the Falcon in crews of six and are assigned one of three roles: two pilots at the front controlling left-right and up-down, two gunners in the middle firing at targets, two engineers in the back mashing buttons when the ship takes damage. Everyone can see the same forward view through the cockpit windows, and everyone's inputs genuinely affect what happens on screen and how much the cabin lurches.
The queue is the best-built environment in the park. It runs through a cantina-adjacent alley, past a workshop, and then into the Falcon herself, including the corridor and the chess table you have seen in the films. Even if you have no interest in the ride, walk the standby queue once for the set.
The catch with a group ride is that the experience is unevenly distributed. Pilots have the most to do and the most fun, gunners have a straightforward job, engineers are essentially passengers with buttons. If your party is six people you control the assignment. If you are a party of two, you get whatever is left.
What riding it is actually like
You are grouped in the queue and assigned roles by a cast member near the boarding gate. Ask for pilot and you will sometimes get it; ask with a child who wants to fly and your odds improve considerably. Roles are assigned per cabin, so a party of six can request the whole crew configuration.
The flight is about four and a half minutes: a launch, a canyon run, a cargo grab, a fight, and a return. The cabin pitches and rolls with the flying, so a crew of two flailing pilots produces a much rougher and much funnier ride than a competent pair. Crashing into things is essentially free and does not end the ride.
As a pilot, the left seat controls up and down, the right seat controls left and right. That split is not obvious and it is the single reason most first-time crews fly badly. Sort it out in the boarding corridor before the doors close.
Is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run scary?
Almost nothing here frightens children. The cockpit is bright, the crew of six sits together, and the threat is abstract. What it does do is make people queasy: a six-person cabin on a motion base with a wraparound screen, plus the fact that a bad pilot produces a much rougher ride than a good one.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Must transfer to the ride vehicle
- Audio description
- Available
- Handheld captioning
- Available
- Assistive listening
- Available
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Must use a kennel or wait with a companion
You must transfer into a fixed cockpit seat; the cabins are compact and the engineer seats in the back row are the tightest. Guests who cannot use their hands can ride as an engineer and let a companion handle the controls. The queue includes a long ramp but no steps.
Tips that actually help
- Left pilot handles vertical, right pilot handles horizontal. Say that out loud to your co-pilot before you sit down and your flight will be twice as good.
- Single rider is offered and it is the fastest queue in the park, often twenty minutes when standby is sixty. You will almost always be seated as an engineer.
- Riding as an engineer with a motion-sensitive stomach is worse, not better, because you are furthest from the window. If you get queasy, ask for a gunner seat.
- The standby queue is the attraction as much as the ride is. Skipping it with a Lightning Lane means missing the Falcon corridor entirely; do standby at least once.
- Repeat visitors: your flight performance is tracked and a bad flight follows you into the Play Disney Parks app as a reputation hit with the in-land factions, which changes some app interactions in the land.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- During the nighttime show, when a large share of the park moves to Sunset Boulevard.
- Typical wait
- 35 to 75 minutes standby; single rider frequently under 25.
- Lightning Lane
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: common questions
What is the height requirement for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run?
38 inches, which is two inches lower than Rise of the Resistance and Star Tours. It is the most accessible of the three Star Wars rides for smaller children.
Can you choose to be a pilot?
You can ask, and cast members will often accommodate a child or a party that requests it, but assignments are made per cabin and are not guaranteed. A full party of six can effectively choose all three role pairs.
Does Smugglers Run make you motion sick?
Some people, yes, though generally less than Star Tours. The cabin motion follows the pilots' inputs, so a chaotic crew makes for a rougher ride. Sitting as a gunner in the middle row is the mildest position.
Is there a single rider line?
Yes, and it is one of the best-value single rider queues at Walt Disney World, regularly half the standby wait or less. The trade-off is that single riders are usually seated as engineers.
Is it scary for young kids?
Rarely. The cockpit is bright, your whole group sits together, and there are no drops or darkness. The main complaints from small children are the volume and the shaking, not fear.