Okay, Disney fans… this one came out of nowhere.
We all knew Smugglers Run wasn’t exactly lighting up the wait times anymore, right? Compared to Rise of the Resistance, the Falcon’s interactive ride just felt a little, well… dated. Not broken. Just stale. And now, in a move no one really saw coming, Disney just announced that Smugglers Run is about to get a massive overhaul—and people are loving it.
Let’s break it down.
Starting May 22, 2026, Smugglers Run won’t be the ride you remember. The core experience is being rewritten with a fresh story that involves The Mandalorian, Grogu, and a new bounty hunting mission that takes you off Batuu and across the galaxy. Even better? Guests will choose where they’re headed mid-mission. You’ll start off at Tatooine, but then you get to pick your path—Bespin, Endor, or Coruscant. Three iconic Star Wars locations. Three possible missions. And presumably a whole lot of reasons to ride again.
What makes this even cooler is how the ride tech is changing. This isn’t just a visual update. It’s being rebuilt using Unreal Engine 5 and the folks over at ILM. That means we’re getting movie-level graphics, seamless scene transitions, and the ability to make real-time choices that actually impact the storyline.
Even the much-maligned engineer role is getting a glow-up. Now, engineers can interact directly with Grogu during the ride. It’s not just button mashing anymore—what you do could change what happens next.
So what are fans saying? For once, it’s not a bunch of complaints. Quite the opposite, actually.
“I’ll finally volunteer to be an engineer just to see what Grogu does,” one fan posted. Another said, “This is what Galaxy’s Edge needed. I’ve skipped this ride for two years straight. Not anymore.”
It’s been a while since we’ve seen this kind of enthusiasm for an update that isn’t a brand-new ride. And that’s probably because this feels like a brand-new ride. With the addition of new characters, fresh plotlines, and variable missions, it might even draw the kind of repeat visitors that Star Tours has enjoyed with its randomized journeys.
The most interesting part? This could be just the beginning. Disney’s not being shy about hinting at future updates and evolving content. The implication here is that Galaxy’s Edge can now evolve with each new Disney+ release or movie. Which means your ride experience in 2026 might look totally different by 2028.
So yeah, Smugglers Run is back. And based on early reactions, it might finally be ready to live up to the hype it had when it opened six years ago.
