May is a big month for Star Wars fans, between the May 4th celebration with special popcorn buckets and Star Wars merchandise, recent timeline changes that just launched at Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge, and a new Star Wars feature film debuting soon. On the same day the film debuts, Disney is changing a ride in Galaxy’s Edge to include a new storyline and upgraded technology. The opening date for these changes is still approaching, but visiting guests can now see a portion of the new experience early.
Disney rolled out part of the updates early for a ride in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that many guests considered the weakest in the themed land. These upcoming changes should be a dramatic improvement to the ride, raising the stakes and introducing characters with deep connections to fans. See what changed and how it differs from what came before. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including 9 new restaurants coming to Disneyland and a timeline of future Disneyland rides.
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Millennium Falcon Changes Begin
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, a simulator ride in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida, will introduce major changes. The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the main characters in the updated attraction.
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These updates pivot the story away from the Star Wars “sequel trilogy,” with the ride now taking place slightly earlier in the Star Wars timeline.
For several months now, Disney has advertised that the updated version of the attraction would debut on May 22, 2026, on both coasts, the same day that the live-action feature film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” hits theaters. However, Disney quietly switched over the attraction’s preshow early.
Guests riding the Florida version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run may notice the dialogue for Hondo Ohnaka, the Audio-Animatronics character who serves as the riders’ guide in their journey, has already changed to reflect the new Mandalorian storyline.
During the preshow, Hondo communicates with Chewbacca via a video call as the Wookie loans Hondo the Millennium Falcon. Naturally, Chewbacca is nervous about handing over the prized ship. In the previous version of the script, Hondo assured Chewbacca that the mission would “help the Resistance” and that “the First Order will never know we were there.” These asides both reference the narrative of the sequel trilogy.
Now, Hondo simply remarks how the mission “is perfectly safe” without mentioning the Resistance or the First Order specifically. He also seems to have more reverence for the Millennium Falcon, admiring it as “the fastest ship in the galaxy.”
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These changes align with our prediction that Disney would keep the Hondo Ohnaka Audio-Animatronics figure in the preshow rather than replace him with a Mandalorian figure, and that Hondo would continue to be part of the ride’s narrative overall.
The changes imply that Hondo will still have a large role in the main attraction, as the tee-up from the preshow into the ride is nearly the same. He’s still the riders’ guide, so he’ll likely retain at least some of his de facto narrator role on the ride.
For now, the updated preshow is only in place at the Florida version of the ride. The ride itself remains the 2019 version, involving an expedition to Corelia to smuggle coaxium fuel.
Laughing Place first reported on the early changes. Here’s their video of the updated preshow:
More Changes to Smugglers Run and in Galaxy’s Edge
When the fully updated version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run opens on May 22 at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, much of the ride will be completely different.
In addition to Din Djarin and Grogu being along for the ride, the guest assigned to the engineer role will have more responsibility. They’ll communicate with Grogu and choose the mission’s destination among three choices: Bespin, the Death Star wreckage, or Coruscant. This is a big upgrade for what is currently lamented as the most boring of the ride’s three assignments.
Here is Disney’s official description for the storyline of the new ride: “In this new thrilling storyline, Hondo Ohnaka has gotten wind of a deal going down on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and a band of pirates. There’s a generous bounty for their capture, so you’ll borrow the iconic ship and team up with Mando and Grogu to track them down and explore the galaxy.”
Learn more details about the changes coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run here.
At Disneyland only, not Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Smugglers Run updates are part of grander, sweeping changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. These include John Williams’s soundtrack now playing as background music throughout the land, and the addition of Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Darth Vader as live characters.
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