‘Star Wars’ Ride Update: Disney World Quietly Enhances Galaxy’s Edge Attractions

Disney is trying something new with the line for one Star Wars attraction.

When Disney announced that it was finally building a theme park land based on the iconic franchise it purchased from creator George Lucas, expectations were high (some would say impossibly so).

For the most part, it met these expectations — particularly with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The star attraction of Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this advanced attraction combines multiple complex elements to immerse riders in a battle between the Resistance and the First Order.

Considering its stellar reviews (when it’s working, at least), it should come as no surprise that the ride still experiences high demand to this day. Its sister attraction, however, has seen demand drop somewhat in the years since its opening.

“Are people over smugglers run?” Redditor u/jayvancealot recently asked of the Disneyland version. “Been here 3 days and never saw it go over 10 minutes. Went on literally by myself yesterday at about 4 PM.”

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is fun in its own way, but — as many have pointed out — is more comparable to a video game than an actual ride. Guests board the cockpit of Han Solo’s (Harrison Ford) iconic spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, where they’re then tasked with delivering “a backlog of hard-to-find items to particular clientele.”

Awesome though this may sound, enjoyment levels very much depend on the position you secure on the ship (Pilot, Gunner, or Engineer), with the latter being the most unfavorable of the bunch.

It’s also a relatively complicated ride to load, as with six riders allowed in the cockpit at a time, cast members need to either find two parties of three or find small parties to fill in any gaps.

In what seems like an effort to maximize capacity, Disney has recently introduced new procedures for those trying to ride Smugglers Run.

Instead of solely letting individual riders into the single rider line, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is now reportedly allowing parties of two to also access the queue.

This procedure seems to be in testing for the time being. Anyone who opts to use the line will skip the typical preshow scene with Hondo Ohnaka.

As with a standard single rider, this option often slashes the wait time for small parties. However, should groups of more than two people join the line, they will be separated into groups of one or two before boarding the attraction.

This isn’t the only change on the table for Smugglers Run. As was announced at D23 in August, a new story featuring The Mandalorian and Grogu will be added to the ride in 2026 at both Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This comes just in time for the duo’s feature film, heading to theaters in May 2026.

What do you think of this change for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run?