Disneyland 2020: Smuggler's Run

Photo by Lisa T.

The full scale model of the Millennium Falcon is undeniably the centrepiece of Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, and as such, it seems fitting that guests should have the incredible opportunity to be part of the old girl's* flight crew.  And, really, out of the all the experiences from the movies that might appeal to a Star Wars fan, piloting the Millennium Falcon would certainly be high on the list. (Personally, I'd rather run the Death Star trench in an X-Wing, just in case anyone from Disney is monitoring the internet for comments.)** 

Smuggler's Run lets people do exactly that:  a group of six people take the Falcon on a mission for the Resistance (with a small side gig aimed at making a little money, as it turns out).  There are two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers, all of whom are involved in making the mission a success.

As always at Disneyland, the four of us (Karli, myself, and her sisters Stefanie and Lisa) start by getting in line - to be fair, I suspect that there aren't many times when you would be able to just walk right to the entrance to the ship.  Disney is obviously aware of this, and as such, they've made the experience of standing in line as entertaining as possible under the circumstances.

 

The line for Smuggler's Run takes potential crew members through the maintenance bays of Ohnaka Transport, which has temporarily borrowed the Falcon from Chewbacca the Wookiee.  In addition to an elaborate and detailed environment, there's an ongoing comedic dialogue over the intercom, as long-suffering Ohnaka Transport employee Malta deals with his co-worker Garr, who is perhaps not the sharpest hydro-spanner in the spaceport's tool box.

Garr and Malta also receive instructions from Hondo Ohnaka, owner of the company and our eventual employer.  Hondo is a canon character - he's a Weequay who first appears in the Clone Wars animated series and later in Rebels. 

The background scenery is impressively layered and complex, and contains Easter eggs for the knowledgeable viewer, including crates of hijacked stormtrooper armour, a rack of DLT-19 heavy blasters from the first trilogy, and one of the Falcon's turret-mounted quad cannons (which probably explains why we don't have access to them during our upcoming flight.)

 

We also get a little too close to an engine that's being tested a bit prematurely, but Garr manages to get things under control before it's too late for innocent bystanders - and the spaceport.

Eventually, we meet Hondo himself, who explains that he's looking for crews to take on missions for the Resistance.  In this case, we're going to steal an important shipment of coaxium from a freight train - and, if possible, Hondo would like us to pick up a little something for him as well, Hondo isn't in this out of a sense of justice, he has bills to pay.

 

After close to an hour, we finally board the Falcon.  Strange as it sounds after waiting 55 minutes to get there, I'm a bit disappointed that they almost rush us into the cockpit, I would have enjoyed a few minutes to look around the ship's lounge.

In the scenario, the Falcon is operated by a crew of six:  two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers.  The seats are randomly assigned by a Disney employee who hands each of the six people a card with a flight crew position on it.

Karli ends up as one of the pilots for our mission, but generously gives me her card.  Equally generously, her sister Stefanie trades cards with Karli so that we can fly the Falcon together - thank you, Stef!

It's not a complicated control panel:  Karli controls left and right, and I control up and down (and the light speed drive, as it turns out.)  I hit the flashing green launch button, and the ship lifts off. I instantly discover that I actually am controlling the Falcon's flight to some extent:  unfortunately, I make this discovery by running into another ship.

 

Fortunately, at that point decades of computer gaming experience kicks in, and I'm able to fly out of the atmosphere without any further mishaps.  Karli shouts, "Right pilot, light speed!" and I realize that there's a flashing green light around one of the iconic levers on the control panel. I pull it back, and we enter hyperspace.

 

We emerge over our destination, and instantly dive through the atmosphere to our target.  The train is protected by TIE fighters, which the gunners have to shoot down, then Karli and I quickly manoeuvre the Falcon into position behind the freight cars, and the engineers launch towing harpoons to capture the shipment of coaxium - after which Hondo demandes that we seize some cargo for him, as well.  We complete both parts of our mission, hit the boosters, and make our escape.

And then we're back on Batuu, with an irritated Hondo calculating damage to the ship (and subsequent Wookiee unhappiness) versus the value of the hijacked cargo to determine whether or not he's managed to make a profit. I can't have done too badly as a pilot - according to the datapad app, Hondo paid me 5,500 credits for my run in the Falcon, thereby earning me the designation of "Hot Shot".

Smuggler's Run is a lot of fast-paced, edge-of-your seat fun - I spent all of my time as a pilot wearing a wide grin, and Karli alternated between laughing and squealing in delight. I'm glad that the two of us found the time to go back and do the mission a second time, simply because it's such a quick experience - flying the Falcon is a very extreme example of on-the-job learning.  At least the second time you have some idea of what's going to happen, whether you have the same crew slot or not. (In our second round, I was a gunner and Karli an engineer.)

It also gave us a chance to look around the ship's lounge a bit, which, from a geek perspective, was an extremely cool experience.***  You know, it's a shame that they haven't found a way to make the holographic Dejarik board game functional.  I'd much rather learn to play in a situation where I don't have to worry about a Wookiee tearing my arms out of their sockets if he loses - they've been known to do that.

- Sid

* No offense, L3-37.

** Initially I typed this just as a casual alternative, but now that I think about it, my god, can you imagine?  My initial thought was that the return on investment for single-person rides wasn't practical, but my well-informed wife tells me that there's a single-seat virtual reality Avatar experience at Disneyworld - on that basis, blowing up the Death Star seems eminently possible.

*** The astute observer will notice the helmet and sensor drone that Luke uses for light saber and Force practice on the shelf above me.

Disneyland 2020: "Who's a spy - this one?"

Video courtesy of KT

The First Order tightens its grip* on Black Spire Outpost...

- Sid

* No pun intended.

Disneyland 2020: Black Spire Outpost.

"It’s a millennium falcon!"

Stefanie T. (Karli’s sister) upon seeing a hunting bird overhead.

Although it's only been a couple of years since Karli and I visited Disneyland for her birthday, I was solidly on board when she suggested another birthday visit.  It's not just because Disneyland is the happiest place in the world - although it's certainly a factor - but rather because of Galaxy's Edge,  the new 14-acre Star Wars themed area which opened in August of 2019, and The Rise of the Resistance, a new ride which had only been live since January of this year.

This time we're accompanied by her two sisters, Lisa and Stefanie, but logistics are still simple and straightforward - in fact, we all stay at the same hotel from our last visit, full points to Westjet for consistency on their three-day Disneyland packages.*  We fly down on the Monday afternoon, settle into our rooms, and then we're off to the park bright and early on Tuesday morning.

Once into Disneyland, the consensus is to head for Galaxy's Edge, see what the lineup is like for Smuggler's Run, in which you and five other guests fly the Millennium Falcon on a supply raid for the Resistance (and a little bit extra for the local smuggling cartel), and generally take a look at the new area.

As you leave Fantasyland, there's a transitional treed area, then you enter Black Spire Outpost, a small trading port on the planet Batuu, located in the Outer Rim Territories.  The space port is surrounded by towering rocky spires, although the actual black spire that it takes its name from is located within the port itself.

Each of the Disneyland areas have their own decor, but in the development of Galaxy's Edge, it was Disney's intention to create the illusion that visitors had just walked into one of the movies, and they've done a superb job.

Photo by KT

Tattered banners flutter in the wind as you enter through the main gate, where a First Order shuttle sits threateningly on a landing pad near the entrance, surrounded by a variety of shops and habitats.  As you go further into the outpost, you pass Oga's Cantina and enter the port itself, whose centrepiece is an impressively full-scale Millennium Falcon, currently refueling as it waits for its next mission.  Blast shutters protect the port's windows, and there's a constant thread of chatter from port operations audible over the loudspeakers.

To the left, stairs take you up to the bazaar, where food and goods are for sale.  There's also a landspeeder garage, a hidden lightsaber assembly workshop, and a droid construction facility.  To the north lies the concealed Resistance base, where new recruits are dispatched for training - hopefully without attracting the attention of the watchful First Order Star Destroyers.

 

Every inch of Galaxy's Edge has been constructed to match the look and feel of the movies and the Star Wars universe - the only exception being the EXIT signs, probably due to safety code.  The quantity and quality of the "greebly dressing", as the designers for the first Star Wars movie called the set ornamentation, is astonishing and thorough, creating an impressively immersive experience.

Even the souvenir shopping is part of the illusion: the credit card machines have been modified to match the decor, change is provided in credits and units rather than dollars and cents, and Karli's birthday button garners her several "Happy Origin Day" greetings from the staff.  It's a shame that Disney doesn't allow guests to wear full costumes, it would complete the experience for me if I were wearing Jedi robes or some similarly suitable outfit.

 

Later in the day, we have reservations at Oga's Cantina, where droid DJ R3X provides the entertainment, and a throng of villainous scum** scheme and plot over drinks served by wait staff whose hairdos owe a large debt to Queen Amidala - apparently she's an influencer.  For visitors seeking a less dangerous beverage experience, the classic blue milk*** is also available in the plaza.

But that's not the full extent of the Black Spire experience.  Unlike the other parts of the park, Galaxy's Edge has an actual ongoing storyline, based on the struggle between the First Order and the Resistance.  Armoured stormtroopers aggressively patrol the alleys and plazas, harassing and questioning passers-by, while Chewbacca the Wookiee is in constant movement to avoid being captured, and R2-D2 communicates with his fellow droids at the depot.

 

There's also an iPhone datapad app that allows you to hack into door panels, controls, and droids, and then assign the hacked hardware to either the First Order or the Resistance.  The app also scans cargo pods for possible acquisition by the local smugglers, and tracks your accomplishments, such as piloting the Millennium Falcon, assigning credits to your account that can be used to upgrade your profile with weapons and clothing.

At one point while we're exploring the outpost, an officer of the First Order demands our attention from the landing pad near the entrance, announcing that a female Resistance spy is somewhere on the outpost.  As he threatens us, Kylo Ren stalks down the landing ramp of the shuttle behind him, and Force chokes the officer to express his displeasure with the lack of results in the search for the spy, after which he enters the crowd to carry on the search himself, accompanied by a pair of stormtroopers.

At night, the experience is even better. Multi-coloured light sabers bloom in the darkness, and the visitors to the outpost achieve a kind of anonymity in the shadows, increasing the illusion.

 

My inner child, who is quite close to the surface in situations like this, was delighted by the entire experience.  I commented to my travelling companions that I could easily have spent the entire three days in Galaxy's Edge, and they were quite surprised.

"What would you do?"

"Well, everything!"

Disney is obviously aware of the desire for an even more immersive experience - a new luxury Star Wars hotel is under construction in the Epcot area of Walt Disney World in Florida, with an anticipated opening date in 2021.

"Hotel" is a bit of a misnomer, since the facility is intended to create the illusion that guests are spending two days on a galactic star cruiser, complete with Star Wars themed passenger cabins with viewports into space, an opportunity to operate bridge controls, interactive light saber games, and a new Star Wars storyline to provide a background for the experience.

Hmm, well, you know, Florida IS nice, and, come to think of it, the Kennedy Space Centre is only about 60 miles from Disneyworld, I'd love to go there again, and we have been discussing options for my next birthday...  On the other hand, part of me feels that I should go on my own.  As much as I love doing things with Karli, it seems a lot to ask for her to be an unpaid extra in my Star Wars movie for two days.

- Sid

* This is an unpaid endorsement, although I would be happy to be paid if someone at Westjet feels the urge.

** This seems a bit harsh - after all, they're just tourists like us.

*** I cautiously tried the chilled blue milk, and quite enjoyed it, although it's really more of a frosty than anything else. A friend of Karli's told her that lukewarm blue milk is available elsewhere in Black Spire - and that you do NOT want to drink it.