Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run - Ride/Queue Details and Discussion

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I thought there should be a dedicated thread for each of the attractions in Galaxy's Edge.
It might be hard for someone who wants details on this attraction to search through the 850+ pages of the Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios thread. I did a cursory search for a similar thread and nothing came up, but feel free to move this if I missed something.

It would be great if we could keep this thread for reports from Disney (Parks Blog, Imagineer interviews, press releases), first-hand reports by the Media (like the media tour last week) & by guests (after the ride opens), and of course reports from any of our trusted insiders. However, any information about Smuggler’s Run is welcome here.
I only say this in an attempt to stop a lot of "bus-driver" rumors from filling up this thread.
Discussion related to all aspects of Smuggler’s Run is welcome and encouraged.

Edited for clarity.
 
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PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
From Entertainment Weekly: LINK

"...but this is still not the Falcon in peak physical condition.

It’s pocked with blaster burns and its thrusters are gasping to activate. “It’s a little worse for wear,” says Asa Kalama, the Imagineering creative director who is guiding this tour. “You’re going to hear the engines trying to turn over as they try to reactivate some of the systems.”

Occasionally, visitors will see a familiar “walking carpet” on a rooftop or crouching beneath the undercarriage to supervise the restoration. “That battle damage, it buffs right out,” says Scott Trowbridge, the Imagineering creative executive in charge of the whole land."
 

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
More interesting nuggets from the EW article:

Story:
"
Inside that mountain is a shipping operation where visitors will wait in line for their chance to climb into the cockpit."
"You’re not tourists waiting in line for an amusement park ride; you and your fellow guests are signing up to be freelance smugglers for Ohnaka Transport Solutions."


Queue:
"the Millennium Falcon line will zigzag through passageways and storage rooms that serve as a prologue to takeoff.

"The line starts at ground level curves along the back of the Falcon, so visitors can get a closer look from that perspective. From there, you climb a set of stairs that lead to catwalks circling the mechanic shop, where other ships and engines are under repair."

"Along the exterior wall, there are some narrow, triangular windows with a close-up view of the radar dish atop the Falcon."
"Around the next corner, the line bends along a bank of picture windows with a long, unobstructed view of the top of the Falcon and the town of Black Spire Outpost beyond."

"As you head back into the depths of the shipping center, the Disney Play app on smartphones allow visitors to scan shipping crates, revealing the true contents of what Hondo Ohnaka is trying to send around the galaxy."

"you’ll enter the control room. Standing on the bridge, waiting to greet you with his sales pitch, is Hondo Ohnaka."

"The final moments of waiting may be just as exciting as the ride itself. After consulting with Hondo, guests will be led down a jet bridge into a familiar location — the Falcon’s “chess room,”


"At this point, guests have already been assigned a flight group and a number. Hondo and Chewie need two pilots, two gunners, and two flight engineers for each run.
An operator will call out the number of each group when it is time for takeoff. In the meantime, you are free to roam about the cabin.
"

Ride Experience:
“They really are in control of the ship. It’s a completely interactive experience,” Trowbridge says. “If [gunners] don’t fire and hit that TIE Fighter, maybe you’ll get some shocks and take some damage on the ship and then you’ve got to fix it.” That’s the job of the flight engineers, seated in the back, who will have to push buttons to extinguish fires or redirect power. “And if [pilots] don’t fly right to avoid that oncoming mountain, your ship is going to smash into that wall,” Trowbridge says. “You’re truly in control of what happens on your mission.”

“Umm, there are interesting things to discover in the cockpit,” Kalama answered cryptically.
 
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PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Can’t wait until I get stuck with some 7 year old who can’t pilot the ship and repeatedly slams us into walls for the whole time.

Wish it was like Mission Space where you can “interact” but it doesn’t matter in the end.
That means more work for the crew's engineers!
They may need to reroute power or put out fires. :D

People already complain that the MS controls do nothing, so I think they went the other way with this one. Your reputation really doesn't matter unless you're really focused on that aspect of the land.
 

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
From this EW article
Disney Play app for Smuggler's Run:

"inside the Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, guests will be able to use the Play Disney Parks app on their devices to learn more about the events unfolding around them and become part of the story themselves."

"On the Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run rides, it (Play Disney app) will pass the time in line by filling you in on facts about the impending missions."
"Some of the labels will be encrypted, so
users will have to solve a simple puzzle as a description key that will allow them to reveal the contents."

"there are amazing languages written on walls and carved into stone,” says Imagineering concept designer Casey Ging. “You’ll hear characters speaking in their native alien tongue. The translate app is a way for you to actually understand what they’re talking about. You can automatically hear audio or scan some of the written text.” *This is not specifically for Smuggler's Run but there should be some things to translate.

"Visitors can also sign on to take “jobs” with characters like Hondo Ohnaka, the pirate proprietor of the Millennium Falcon ride, who may ask you to help him by finding and transmitting schematics for a First Order starship."


The following are features of the Play Disney app, however, I am not sure if they will include the Smuggler's Run attraction.

"Another function on the app inside Galaxy’s Edge is “tuning.” This means listening in on the broadcasts happening between the Resistance, the First Order, and various underworld gangs.

“There’s communications going through all the antennas that you see scattered about,” Ging says. “To get an idea of what those transmissions are, you open your tuning tool, and you can locate transmissions that are being passed back and forth, sometimes between factions, sometimes just between villagers.”

Occasionally, the intercepted texts look like gibberish, and another puzzle must be solved to decode them. “This one might be something that somebody doesn’t want you to hear, so you can actually use your data pad to unscramble that transmission, isolate the signal, and understand that there is a secret transmission being sent by one of those factions,” Ging says.
 

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Io9 article on Smuggler's Run here

Highlights:

"There are several amazing things about this cockpit. One is that it feels like it’s the only cockpit."
-Obviously, we knew about this, but it's nice to hear the effect is convincing.

"The other amazing thing about the cockpit is that being inside it is damn near a religious experience.
"Every button and switch works. The handle you pull down for lightspeed has a nice weight to it. You’ll probably have to divert power to specific deflector shields. It’s glorious."

"Pilots fly, gunners shoot, and engineers repair. And while it may seem like you’d really only want to be a pilot, working together ensures a more exciting ride and the ride’s designers assured us all three stations are equally fun and rewarding."

"When the ride is over, Hondo will assess your group and give you your cut of the earnings. A cut that can, somehow, be used in other parts of the larger story."
 

Driver

Well-Known Member
I thought there should be a dedicated thread for each of the attractions in Galaxy's Edge.
It might be hard for someone who wants details on this attraction to search through the 850+ pages of the Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios thread. I did a cursory search for a similar thread and nothing came up, but feel free to move this if I missed something.

It would be great if we could keep this thread for reports from Disney (Parks Blog, Imagineer interviews, press releases), first-hand reports by the Media (like the media tour last week) & by guests (after the ride opens), and of course reports from any of our trusted insiders. I only say this in an attempt to stop a lot of "bus-driver" rumors from filling up this thread.
Discussion related to all aspects of Smuggler’s Run is welcome and encouraged.
"bus-driver " rumors? I guess I'm out! Too bad because I was gonna go to the CM soft opening....... but if you say soooooo ( rolls eyes)
 

PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
"bus-driver " rumors? I guess I'm out! Too bad because I was gonna go to the CM soft opening....... but if you say soooooo ( rolls eyes)
????

If you read the OP it says guest reports are welcome. :)

Plus, this was not a demand, but a preference. If you or anyone has some info about Smugglers Run, feel free to post it here. (I edited the OP to make this more clear).
 
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PorterRedkey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes, plus the room with that incredible Hondo animatronic.
If my understanding is correct, I believe there will only be one Hondo animatronic before you split into one of the 2 main sections with 2 turntables each.

I am not sure about the pre-show rooms, it seems like there would only be 4, but they could have multiple rooms that lead to the same cockpit entry site. In one room the door opens and you go to the right, the next room you go straight and the 3rd room you go to the left, but they all lead to the same cockpit loading area.

If this is the case you could have one party loading for the ride, one party waiting to board, and the 3rd party loading into the preshow room.
 

KaliSplash

Well-Known Member
Can’t wait until I get stuck with some 7 year old who can’t pilot the ship and repeatedly slams us into walls for the whole time.

Wish it was like Mission Space where you can “interact” but it doesn’t matter in the end.
Reminds me greatly of the Alien Encounter ride at Disney Quest. My regular 4- member crew, me, wife, son 1 and son 2, were always really good at that. Was very rare to miss more than 1 or 2 colonists and the gunners were all rated highly. But one day, we had 5, and I volunteered to ride with other people. the first time, we were piloted by a 14 year old girl who only managed to rescue about 15 of the colonists. I related my terrible experience to may family and an aunt who was taking my place on the usual crew.
The next time, I was assigned to another group with someone who literally, had no idea about stopping to rescue the colonists. I came off that ride explaining to my family what a terrible thing I had done criticizing the previous teen driver, who should be hailed as a saint for rescuing 15 colonists after my just finished driver rescued no one. :)
 

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