Millennium Falcon: Smugglers run Vs. Star Tours

Joeamc

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
So, which attraction is better? I haven't been to SWGE yet so I haven't experienced smugglers run yet, but as far as the ride itself, for those who have experienced both, which attraction is better?
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I'm afraid it's totally subjective - both are enjoyable in their own right. (My experience of Smuggler's Run was at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago -- I did it twice, once as a pilot and once as a gunner.) I'll try to give my thoughts without spoiling anything.

If you appreciate the intimacy of a small crew (which adds to the realism), a detailed and movie-realistic set, the chance to work cooperatively with your fellow riders, and the ability to actually interact with the attraction in a way that changes your experience, you'll enjoy Smuggler's Run. The queue and loading areas are also fantastic and add a lot to the immersion. Be aware, however, that the people you "ride" with can impact the quality of your experience: the first time my family of four did Smuggler's Run, we fared poorly because the two strangers who joined us as engineers literally did nothing and just wanted to "sit and enjoy" the ride, which made it impossible for us to accomplish our mission. The second time around, we were much more successful and the ride was much more fun as a result. I've heard similar complaints from people who ended up with small children in their assigned group who were unable to perform their assigned function.

Star Tours, by the sheer dint of its size and the fact that the queue and preshow aren't necessarily designed to make you feel like you're _really_ boarding a ship, requires more suspension of disbelief, and obviously, isn't interactive. On the other hand, if you just want to be able to relax and enjoy the [bumpy] ride, without the constant distraction of orders being given to you and buttons blinking to be pressed, and without any worry that another rider's performance (or lack thereof) can sour your experience, Star Tours delivers on that count. Star Tours also offers greater re-rideability, in that it offers multiple "mission" combinations, while Smuggler's Run varies only in the success you have on your mission, rather than the mission itself.
 
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Joeamc

Joeamc

Active Member
Original Poster
Weather_Lady said:
I'm afraid it's totally subjective - both are enjoyable in their own right. (My experience of Smuggler's Run was at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago -- I did it twice, once as a pilot and once as a gunner.) I'll try to give my thoughts without spoiling anything.

If you appreciate the intimacy of a small crew (which adds to the realism), a detailed and movie-realistic set, the chance to work cooperatively with your fellow riders, and the ability to actually interact with the attraction in a way that changes your experience, you'll appreciate Smuggler's Run. The queue and loading areas are also fantastic and add a lot to the immersion. Be aware, however, that the people you "ride" with can impact the quality of your experience: the first time my family of four did Smuggler's Run, we fared poorly because the two strangers who joined us as engineers literally did nothing and just wanted to "sit and enjoy" the ride, which made it impossible for us to accomplish our mission. The second time around, we were much more successful and the ride was much more fun as a result. I've heard similar complaints from people who ended up with small children in their assigned group who were unable to perform their assigned function.

Star Tours, by the sheer dint of its size and the fact that the queue and preshow aren't necessarily designed to make you feel like you're _really_ boarding a ship, requires more suspension of disbelief, and obviously, isn't interactive. On the other hand, if you just want to be able to relax and enjoy the [bumpy] ride, without the constant distraction of orders being given to you and buttons blinking to be pressed, and without any worry that another rider's performance (or lack thereof) can sour your experience, Star Tours delivers on that count. Star Tours also offers greater re-rideability, in that it offers multiple "mission" combinations, while Smuggler's Run varies only in the success you have on your mission, rather than the mission itself.
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Thank you for the well written and very informative response. I appreciate it.
 
L

LUVofDIS

Well-Known Member
My problem with SR is that it is dependent on what role you play. If you are the pilot, it can be awesome, gunner, it's okay at best, engineer, I can see why they just want to sit and enjoy the ride. Your view can be blocked as you are pushing buttons to make things happen. Queue wise, it is one of the best, especially as you enter the ship itself. Another good thing would be the ride can be a different experience each time.

Star Tours is a good ride, almost always different, everyone has a similar view and it is sort of interactive, you are on a simulator. The queue is fun and well done though it does repeat itself if you wait for any length of time where I don't remember SR repeating.

With all of this and for me SR might beat Star Tours by a smidge. I wouldn't want to wait more than maybe twenty minutes for either and also I have been on Star Tours to many times to count. Also, SWGE as a whole is much better than SR as a ride.

This is just my opinion and should be taken that way. T
 
M

Musical Mermaid

Well-Known Member
Smugglers Run for me and it’s not because of the story or the places visited. I’ve just always gotten really sick on Star Tours ever since I was young, so I don’t feel inclined to ride it ever again. I rode Smugglers Run 3 times in a couple hours and felt a tiny bit of motion sickness, maybe a little more in the engineer position, but nothing to discourage me from future rides yet. Maybe if I’m part of a heavy crashing crew sometime, that may discourage me.
 
C

CarolynFH

New Member
I too rode MFSR twice at DL in August, once as engineer and once as pilot. I hated the engineer position because the buttons are on the wall beside you and there are too many of them to be able to push without taking your eyes off the screen (as you can in Mission Space in Epcot), so I missed a lot of the action on the screen and also found myself at risk of motion sickness due to having to look from front to side many times. Pilot was better but still there were buttons to press and things to do that required taking eyes off the screen. I understand that the gunners can set their position on automatic at the start and just have to press a button without aiming, so in future I hope to be assigned or be able to swap for that position.

Star Tours is totally passive, so other than being Star Wars related and flight simulators, the two rides are totally different.
 
Isramom

Isramom

New Member
Which position has the least to do? I want to experience the interactivity of the attraction and see the queue but I'm worried about motion sickness. I can't look at Star Tours.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Isramom said:
Which position has the least to do? I want to experience the interactivity of the attraction and see the queue but I'm worried about motion sickness. I can't look at Star Tours.
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As @CarolynFH indicated, if you're the gunner and you choose "automatic" aiming mode at the outset (as opposed to manual), pretty much all you have to do is push the same button (which will be on the panel next to you on the side wall) over and over, so you can just keep your finger on it and shoot at will, without having to look at it. That way you can keep your attention forward toward the "windshield" and don't have to turn your head.

In my opinion, while MFSR does include a lot of motion, typical of simulators, I found it to be a much smoother, less jerky ride than Star Tours.
 
C

CarolynFH

New Member
Weather_Lady said:
In my opinion, while MFSR does include a lot of motion, typical of simulators, I found it to be a much smoother, less jerky ride than Star Tours.
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I agree. MFSR is definitely smoother and less jerky that ST. Having to move eyes from screen to wall and back to screen multiple times was what made me queasy. I don't have problems with ST since I can keep my eyes on the screen at all times.
 
E

EngineerMom

Active Member
Just came back from Disneyland and doing SR for the first time. Both my daughter and I were assigned engineer and we found the ride BORING.
I get motion sickness and was fine.
Our pilots were OK bu no one knew what they were doing. As engineer, I pressed any buttons that lit up but again BORING

The queue although aimed to be realistic was boring so doing it multiple times would be even MORE boring. While ST while not authentic, the queue is more fun!
 
Incomudro

Incomudro

Well-Known Member
Weather_Lady said:
As @CarolynFH indicated, if you're the gunner and you choose "automatic" aiming mode at the outset (as opposed to manual), pretty much all you have to do is push the same button (which will be on the panel next to you on the side wall) over and over, so you can just keep your finger on it and shoot at will, without having to look at it. That way you can keep your attention forward toward the "windshield" and don't have to turn your head.

In my opinion, while MFSR does include a lot of motion, typical of simulators, I found it to be a much smoother, less jerky ride than Star Tours.
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I need to remember this.
When we - as in my family of 4 go in April, I'm going to give the better roles to my two son's.
I'll take gunner on auto and enjoy the ride.
 

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