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At then end of June Disabled Disney went to Disneyland and were able to go into Galaxy's Edge!! As a disabled person I did experience the attraction and this is my account of a disabled perspective on Smugglers Run. Just so you are aware you do have to transfer for this attraction. You can pull your chair or mobility scooter all the way in if you need to.
The Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run is an attraction that incorporates the story telling method of attractions like Star Tours: The Adventure Continues (please don't confuse my using Star Tours here...this attraction is NOT a lower version of Star Tours) and the interactive parts of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. The story goes when you get in line you are being hired to be part of a cargo crew as either a Pilot, Gunner or Engineer. Your crew is helping Hondo Ohnaka to steal cargo and run it!
You hear announcements the entire queue line about different problems with Ohnaka's Ships. You get to the first part and you are getting a briefing from Ohnaka. He is asking Chewbacca if he can borrow the Millennium Falcon. Also telling YOU, his perspective crew, what you will be doing.
Then you move down the hallway to board the Millennium Falcon. You will then be asked your party size and paired with other people if you are not a party of 6. You are then handed a card. with either Pilot, Gunner or Engineer and your color is your boarding group. They call the boarding group by color. Its at this point that you will want to ask for more time if you have a mobility disability. Otherwise you have like 60 seconds to board.
Other tips are at this point you can negotiate with your group as to who is what position and what side of the ship. There is 2 Pilots a right and left, 2 Gunners a right and left, and 2 Engineers a right and left. I also recommend that if you do have people with you who are not in your group you get together with them and let them know if you have any physical needs that you need to negotiate with.
You go into another area and get a final video from Ohnaka. He gives you some instruction on working for him and some funny stuff about problems with the ship. Then tells you to follow the instructions of the cast member. At this point the previous crew will be disembarking and they will load your crew.
The 2 Pilots are facing forward and can see the whole screen. If you are prone to motion sickness this may not be the best position for you. You have to use a lever to move the ship. The right side is up and down and left side is right to left. The right side Pilot gets to pull the lever to put the ship into light speed! The first time Disabled Disney rode this attraction, Melissa was Right Pilot, Gillian was Right side Gunner and David was Right Side Engineer. I shouted "Light Speed To Endor!", when it was time for me to put the ship into Light Speed!
The 2 Gunners are next and I did find that if I was having trouble with one side of my body, like my arthritis was bothering my left hand, I was left Gunner and you have to push a lot of buttons very rapidly, so it was difficult for me. The Gunners have to shoot down Tie Fighters. There are 2 options. Automatic targeting and manual targeting. I chose manual. There are 3 buttons and it took me a while to figure out that the top button targets up, the middle targets in front of you and the lower button targets down. If you choose automatic it will light up which one to push.
I also got to experience Engineer and I did right side and did better with that position. The buttons are not so rapid as Gunner and you have time to look at the screen and enjoy the attraction more. When the ship gets damaged you have to push buttons to repair stuff.
Another tip is if you want to accrue your "money" have your Disney Parks Play App open and as soon as you get off open it and accept the "job" and get your "pay"!!!
When we went they did have the boarding party system up. It was really easy to go on the Disneyland App and Join a boarding party. We ended up getting in in the early afternoon. It really wasn't very busy in the Parks when we were there. I have seen many Youtube videos and social media comments that it means Galaxy's Edge and Smuggler's Run are failures. That is far from the truth.
When you walk under the rock entry and you see the light sconces change from frontier themed to more eclectic outer space themed then you walk out from under the entrance and you see the marketplace of Black Spire Outpost in front of you. You see droids that are broken down and left to rust in the elements of the landscaping, you hear sounds of speeders going by and you are there. It was an awe inspiring site. Something you have to experience.
Then seeing the Millennium Falcon at what is pretty close to life size. I wouldn't say actual size because I think it would have to be bigger to survive in space but it's LARGE! For anyone who likes themed content, Star Wars or sci-fi...it's a dream come to life!
The main reason Disneyland has been empty is NOT Galaxy's Edge. It's because Disneyland is primarily a locals Park and Disney decided to block out all but the highest Annual Pass because they were afraid of large crowds. I do know people who decided against a Disneyland vacation this summer because of that fear also. So for the people who decided to brave the crowds (like us), we had an amazing experience!!! So I would like to say thank you to all who have run scared and Disney for providing us with one of the best trips I have ever had to Disneyland!!!!!
I hope this article helps you if you are disabled and want to experience Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run just like Disabled Disney did!
If you are looking for a Disney vacation package use this link . If you book a 2 night hotel and ticket package you can use promo code DD2019 for $10 off. You can get just discount tickets through the link as well. It is a few dollars cheaper then going through Disney and Get Away Today is an authorized Disney Retailer!
Have you experienced it yet? Tell me in the comments! Do you have questions? Ask me in the comments!
If you get motion sick the back doesn’t move as much! And you can look at your buttons instead of the screen! Your welcome it was so much fun!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've been wondering what the new ride was like. I was there last September and experienced Pandora so I can only assume this will be just as good. I'm not sure if thosnride would be for me as I get bad motion sickness. Sounds like you had a great time though x