How does Smuggler's Run rank in the lineup of Disney E-Ticket greatness?

[theluckyrabbit]

MFSR is a fun ride -- very fun if you have a fun crew -- potentially not fun if you have a bad crew. It's not thrilling or scary, but entertaining and fun, with a good queue. I wouldn't rate it over RSR, which I think is more immersive. And it's not nearly as thrilling as IJA. But it is a good ride -- and my evaluation might change after ROTR opens and SR is no longer the only ride in GE.

 

[Rich M]

My vote was a 4. Honestly unless you're the pilot the ride is terrible. You can't see anything from the back and are so busy hitting your buttons that you can't even see whats going on. I will try to go on again in the future to try to be the pilot one time but until that happens I won't waste my time on this ride.

 

[DLgal]

Haven’t ridden it yet but just wanted to say number 1 should be highest not lowest

That's not how survey scaling usually works. 1 is always the lowest rating.

 

[Congo Queen]

For me, the Smuggler Run's queue was really great and ranks right up there with Indy. Seeing the Falcon from multiple angles, then the awesome Hondo AA, and then waiting in the lounge of the Falcon - all amazing. The ride itself is a solid E ticket and certainly in the top 10. I would put it in the middle of the top 10 pack though.

 

[DLgal]

It's a solid 5. Gets lots of points for immersive theming. Loses points for an inconsistent ride experience which depends HEAVILY on the pilots. When you are the pilot, the ride is a 7 (because even though it's cool to fly the MF, the mission is stupid and irrelevant to most riders, especially if you haven't seen Solo). Get rid of Hondo, make Chewbacca the animatronic, and fly the Death Star Trench run with a bunch of Tie Fighters on your tail, and the ride will be a 10!

Being a gunner is boring. You press the same button over and over again, and you can't aim, so what's the point? Being the engineer, especially with crappy pilots, is STRESSFUL and there are too many buttons in different locations that you have to press, very quickly. You never have a chance to watch the screen.

I also don't appreciate the stressful loading experience. Once you enter the cockpit, the CMs start yelling at you to sit down and fasten your seatbelt and they get really manic about it. I get that the ride is on a turnstile (?)system and there is a finite amount of time before they have to shut the door and start the ride, but the whole process up to that point is super chill and laid back, and they should really prep riders when they gather your color group together that once the door opens, you need to quickly sit and secure your seatbelt. You honestly have less than 30 seconds to get settled. On our last ride, the CM was literally yelling at this old guy "we're only waiting on you...fasten your seatbelt NOW!" That has been the case on all my rides so far.

 

[StarlitNight05]

On our last ride, the CM was literally yelling at this old guy "we're only waiting on you...fasten your seatbelt NOW!" That has been the case on all my rides so far.

Yeah thats just really rude. I agree that they should prep people beforehand -- that can really suck the excitement out of an experience having someone scream at you like that.

 

[tarheelalum]

I got a chance to ride Smugglers Run last week and I feel its a disappointment. I had hoped for so much more. Its not a bad attraction, but its not a great one either. But for all the hype and money they spent, to me, it is a big let down.

 

[LSK]

It's fun, but it isn't thrilling or the best ride ever. I agree with others that if you are the pilot it is way more fun. My daughter and I were both pilots and we don't play video games so we didn't do so hot. We had a blast though and were hollering at each other the whole time trying to get it together and everyone on board was laughing. When we landed and the door opened the cast member told us to never fly again but if we did to lie and say it was our first time. I thought that was hilarious. It is not easy, you do really have to steer and video game experience would be a definite plus. I give it a nod above Mission Space for the interactive elements.

 

[bethwc101]

Haven’t ridden it yet but just wanted to say number 1 should be highest not lowest

That's not how survey scaling usually works. 1 is always the lowest rating.

I think a typical survey is "With 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest..."
But on a top 10 rank, 1 is usually the highest. And given OP is kind of asking for both, it can be confusing.

 

[poptart90]

It's a solid 5. Gets lots of points for immersive theming. Loses points for an inconsistent ride experience which depends HEAVILY on the pilots. When you are the pilot, the ride is a 7 (because even though it's cool to fly the MF, the mission is stupid and irrelevant to most riders, especially if you haven't seen Solo). Get rid of Hondo, make Chewbacca the animatronic, and fly the Death Star Trench run with a bunch of Tie Fighters on your tail, and the ride will be a 10!

Being a gunner is boring. You press the same button over and over again, and you can't aim, so what's the point? Being the engineer, especially with crappy pilots, is STRESSFUL and there are too many buttons in different locations that you have to press, very quickly. You never have a chance to watch the screen.

I also don't appreciate the stressful loading experience. Once you enter the cockpit, the CMs start yelling at you to sit down and fasten your seatbelt and they get really manic about it. I get that the ride is on a turnstile (?)system and there is a finite amount of time before they have to shut the door and start the ride, but the whole process up to that point is super chill and laid back, and they should really prep riders when they gather your color group together that once the door opens, you need to quickly sit and secure your seatbelt. You honestly have less than 30 seconds to get settled. On our last ride, the CM was literally yelling at this old guy "we're only waiting on you...fasten your seatbelt NOW!" That has been the case on all my rides so far.

Love your idea of the Death Star Trench!! That would've made it a 10 for me too!! Agreed with the engineer bit - one ride I basically missed the whole thing cause my board was lighting up all over.

Can't believe that loading experience. That's horrible! I mean it's the Falcon, right? Isn't everybody dying to get inside and look around for a sec?? No CM behaved that way when I rode - would have diminished the experience for sure. Perhaps they should have created a couple more Falcon cockpits once the ride was over for pictures and looking around at all the details? Could be on your way out...I would've loved a photo inside that cockpit. Bet others would too!

 

[figment_jii]

I have mixed feelings about Smuggler's Run. I think that it can be a fun ride depending on your position and the crew you're flying with. To me, I would rank it fairly low (maybe a 2 or so) because there are too many variables that seem like a fairly common occurrences that lead to a "bad" (aka "not fun") ride. I'd rank it above Mission: Space, but below Star Tours. (Full disclaimer, I didn't really love FOP either, so I'm not a huge fan of simulator attractions.)

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I like the ride. I’ve ridden it 19 times now, and I’ve had a variety of experiences. I do find my overall enjoyment quite comparable to Star Tours (when you’re not stuck with the ST options for the 187th time in a row ).

One thing that is stressful for me is that my six-year-old DESPERATELY wants to be a pilot every time, but then she’s not a great pilot, so I feel bad for the other people riding with us. She’s actually pretty decent now (better than me, but I’m an uncoordinated mess), but I still see a lot of people complaining about kid pilots, so then I feel cringey about bringing one on!

When I say the experience is variable, I mean EVERY part of it - the order positions are handed out in, the amount of time in the pre-boarding room, the CM interactions, the ride experience itself... so take any singular experience with a MASSIVE grain of salt.

They do usually hand out pilots first (but not always), they will sometimes take requests, you don’t always have enough time for a photo at the game table, but sometimes you’re in there for five minutes, sometimes you have to rush to get strapped in and sometimes you have plenty of time, some groups are chatty and cheer and other groups are dead silent... there’s a lot that varies.

 

[GatorChris]

Man, for all the wait and expectation and money, I figured this would be a 10! I'm sure it'll the be the first ride everyone goes to each day for a few years. But it sounds like it'll eventually move into the same category as a Big Thunder or Splash, with the exception that all the SW fans will be hitting it all the time. Here's hoping it is NOT like Flight of Passage and perpetually a 2-3 hour wait.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Man, for all the wait and expectation and money, I figured this would be a 10! I'm sure it'll the be the first ride everyone goes to each day for a few years. But it sounds like it'll eventually move into the same category as a Big Thunder or Splash, with the exception that all the SW fans will be hitting it all the time. Here's hoping it is NOT like Flight of Passage and perpetually a 2-3 hour wait.

ROTR has the potential to be that kind of draw. This will only be the first ride people go to until that opens in January!

 

[tarheelalum]

Man, for all the wait and expectation and money, I figured this would be a 10! I'm sure it'll the be the first ride everyone goes to each day for a few years. But it sounds like it'll eventually move into the same category as a Big Thunder or Splash, with the exception that all the SW fans will be hitting it all the time. Here's hoping it is NOT like Flight of Passage and perpetually a 2-3 hour wait.

Big Thunder is a better ride, I'd say Star Tours as well. But I've only been the engineer one time so maybe I'd like it more if I wasn't in the back. But the very fact that 2/3 of the ride is not a amazing experience is a big mistake on Disney's part. For a billion bucks, every role should be freaking awesome.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I enjoyed it more than Star Tours, but that's probably partially because I always dreamed of piloting the falcon and partly because I get nauseous on Star Tours. I think in general it's a solid ride for families to go on together. It's not scary or fast or particularly thrilling. It's like playing a really immersive video game. But, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not the best ride ever, but it's not the worst either.

I can totally relate to the people complaining about the craziness in boarding. My group couldn't hear when we were being called because there were so many groups waiting in the holding room and we had a soft spoken CM, so our entire group was rushed in and even then, I swear the ride started before the CM fully made it out of the cockpit.

 

[Aurora0427]

FOP is my top ride in all of Disney that I've been to. I would rank Smuggler's Run high.. maybe 4th (1 being FOP).

FoP is definitely the coolest ride Disney’s ever done. It is so realistic. Our daughter was 6 when she rode, and screamed “We’re not gonna make it!” She seriously thought we were flying. It was awesome.

 

[njchris]

Big Thunder is a better ride, I'd say Star Tours as well. But I've only been the engineer one time so maybe I'd like it more if I wasn't in the back. But the very fact that 2/3 of the ride is not a amazing experience is a big mistake on Disney's part. For a billion bucks, every role should be freaking awesome.

I think you have to ride it more than once. The first time you get a feel for it (I still had a blast as engineer.. any position was fun!). But the second time I rode i had more fun and prob missed some of the lights flashing but I watched and balanced it out. It's fun even with bad pilots. It's all how seriously you take it. I rode Star Tours this past Sunday after having rode Smuggler's Run a bunch of times the past few weeks and Star Tours, to me, is in no way better.

 

[McKelly]

My vote was a 4. Honestly unless you're the pilot the ride is terrible. You can't see anything from the back and are so busy hitting your buttons that you can't even see whats going on. I will try to go on again in the future to try to be the pilot one time but until that happens I won't waste my time on this ride.

I completely agree with this. I was an engineer and didn't see a thing, I was really focused on hitting all those flashing lights!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

One thing that is stressful for me is that my six-year-old DESPERATELY wants to be a pilot every time, but then she’s not a great pilot, so I feel bad for the other people riding with us. She’s actually pretty decent now (better than me, but I’m an uncoordinated mess), but I still see a lot of people complaining about kid pilots, so then I feel cringey about bringing one on!

You should not feel “cringey” (great word choice, lol). Let her be pilot and have fun! Since she’s trying and not purposely attempting to crash and whatnot, why shouldn’t she be able to pilot? I’m sure she’s better than I would be!

When we rode (one time so far), the CM handed a pilot card to my 4 year old (seemingly on purpose, which was nice). But he was nervous already about the ride and he’s never played a video game (or even an iPad game really) so I was a bit alarmed that wouldn’t be a great choice. So I asked him if he wanted to “shoot guns” or be the pilot and he said he wanted to shoot guns, so I handed his card to another adult in our party (fellow DISer LesleyWake in fact!). It was definitely a good call for our first ride, but if he wanted to be the pilot on subsequent rides I think it would be fair to let him try. Nothing can be worse than that story of the family all crying and fighting and the mom taking selfies the entire time instead of piloting the ship.