Disney is changing one of its marquee Star Wars theme park attractions, and we got to ride it before it opens to the public. In the new version, opening at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, riders get to choose their destination.

After riding multiple times, we have all the details on how this new version of the Star Wars ride works and which riders decide what happens. Overall, we think these changes represent a huge improvement. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including new Disney World hotel amenities for young children and Disney World’s build-your-own-salad spot.

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The Mandalorian and Grogu Join Star Wars Ride

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will debut a new adventure in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida on May 22, 2026.

In the new version, the Mandalorian and Grogu are along for the journey, the simulator’s visual quality has been upgraded from its 2019 infancy, and riders travel to one of three Star Wars destinations.

Disney has been teasing these changes for over a year, so they’re a long time coming.

Let’s get into each part of the new Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Experience and what changed.

All the Changes to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and How They Work

In the first preshow, which takes place in the large engine room of Ohnaka Transport Solutions, guests see an Audio-Animatronics figure of Hondo Ohnaka, who briefs them on their expedition as Chewbacca drops off the Millennium Falcon for the mission, shown onscreen.

This is mostly the same as before, except for a few script changes. Instead of mentioning the Resistance and the First Order, indicative of the Star Wars sequel trilogy era, Hondo makes broader remarks about the mission, allowing the story to take place earlier in the Star Wars timeline.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios began playing this updated preshow a few days early, before the rest of the ride’s changes officially rolled out.

Next, riders enter the Millennium Falcon and shuffle into a holding area, complete with the famous Dejarik game board from the movies. This is all the same in the new version.

After cast members sort guests into groups of six riders, each group is escorted through the hallway of the Falcon before stopping in a narrow corridor with a television screen for the second preshow.

It’s here that Hondo checks in with riders again, explaining the mission in greater specificity: they’re tracking down ex-Imperial officers and pirates on Tatooine, hoping to accrue a large bounty for the hunt.

Joining the excursion are Din Djarin and Grogu, who appear on the preshow screen at this point. Grogu waves. It’s adorable. The pair will be flying alongside the Falcon in their own ship, the Razor Crest.

Riders assume one of three positions, with two people in each role: pilot, gunner, and engineer. We’ll get into all of their roles below.

Once the briefing is complete, riders enter the cockpit and buckle themselves in. Following a safety check, a cast member gives the crew the all-clear for takeoff and leaves the cabin, and the ride then begins in earnest.

The pilots and gunners have the same responsibilities as in the previous version of the ride, steering the ship and firing the ammo, respectively. The right pilot also gets to blast the Millennium Falcon into hyperspace, pictured above. Riders still hear Hondo’s voice guiding them throughout the adventure, like in the old version.

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Previously, the engineers had little to do, basically pressing a light-up button when prompted. The role always felt like the most boring of the three assignments. With the ride’s new changes, the engineer might be the most coveted of the three positions.

Toward the beginning of the new version of the ride, one engineer dispatches a homing device onto three ships belonging to ex-Imperial officers and pirates, allowing the crew to track them.

Every ride’s first destination is Tatooine, the desert planet where Luke Skywalker grew up. While on Tatooine, Grogu invariably causes an issue, so the crew has to decide which of the three scoundrels to follow. Or rather, the engineer gets to decide.

Whichever of the two engineers didn’t dispatch the homing devices gets to choose the destination. They have a choice among Bespin, home of Cloud City; Coruscant, with its always-dark metropolis; and Endor, where the Death Star wreckage is rotting.

All three selections show up on the screen next to the engineer’s seat. They simply press the corresponding button to make their choice, as pictured above.

Throughout the journey, both engineers also look out for any stray cargo and pull it in with a tractor beam. Occasionally, they can also check in on Grogu. The way this happens is that an icon of Grogu appears on the engineers’ screen, and they have to press a button before the Grogu icon disappears.

As the Falcon comes in for a landing at the end of the ride, the ship approaches the Mandalorian and Grogu, who populate a large portion of the cockpit “window,” and they bid us farewell.

Between the two engineers, the assignment for who does what is random. We rode multiple times. Sometimes the left engineer got to choose the planet, and other times the right engineer.

We think these changes are a welcome improvement. The addition of the Mandalorian and Grogu is a win, as these characters are much more beloved than the obscure Hondo Ohnaka. The new responsibilities for the engineer are night and day compared to that role’s previous tasks.

The different endings give the attraction even more re-readability than it already had. The fact that a guest is in charge of the ending is an interesting contrast to the completely random selection of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, a different Star Wars ride with multiple planet destinations, also at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

More New Star Wars in Disneyland and Disney World

The changes to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run are among a sweep of updates to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Both parks are debuting collectible novelties, including a new popcorn bucket, pictured above, to celebrate the new movie.

In Disneyland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge just expanded its timeline to include live character appearances by Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Darth Vader. The land now plays John Williams’s iconic score as background music, too, instead of just ambient sound effects.

Disneyland is also debuting a new nighttime projection show starring Grogu and testing a free version of the build-your-own lightsaber experience, which typically costs $275.

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