BAY LAKE, Fla. – The Millennium Falcon has a new mission — and this time, the Mandalorian and Grogu are along for the ride.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is taking the beloved Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction to a galaxy far, far away from its original experience.
The experience, launching Friday, has the fan-favorite scoundrel Hondo Ohnaka back and recruiting guests to track down bounties for the New Republic — flying the most famous hunk of junk in the galaxy to locations straight out of the new Mandalorian & Grogu film.
All roles get an upgrade
Every seat on the Falcon has been enhanced. Pilots navigate through recognizable Star Wars landscapes with new branching storylines — meaning the choices made behind the controls actually change the outcome.
“Maybe if you tried to go right on Coruscant once, you should try going left next time and kind of see how that might change your bounty,” said Morgan McDowell, a senior software project manager with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Gunners still have the option to shoot manually or automatically, but what they’re targeting now depends on the mission. That could mean taking down TIE fighters or blasting through neon signs on Coruscant.
Engineers, however, are stepping into the spotlight in a big way. They choose which bounty the crew pursues, which planet the Falcon travels to, and are responsible for collecting crates along the way.
“They’re the key here for Hondo as they’re in charge of picking up crates along the way so Hondo can always end up on top in the deal,” McDowell said.
Keep an eye on Grogu
Engineers also get a special bonus: the ability to check in on Grogu throughout the mission.
“If you’re wondering what he’s doing in hyperspace or what he is doing while you’re flying through Bespin, our engineers do have the ability to call in and see what he’s been up to,” McDowell said.
Powered by Unreal Engine 5
The visuals behind the experience also received a major technical overhaul. Disney upgraded the attraction to Unreal Engine 5 (UE5)— a real-time rendering engine developed by Epic Games — unlocking a new level of visual detail across the mission.
For first-time riders, McDowell says every role is worth exploring.
“All roles are fun — find your favorite,” McDowell said. “Even for the casual Star Wars fan or our eagle-eyed Star Wars fans, there’s lots of fun little tidbits throughout the ride.”
Whether guests spot familiar ships flying through the clouds of Bespin or catch a recognizable billboard on the streets of Coruscant, there’s something new to discover on every mission.