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

What score do you give Smuggler's Run as an e-ticket attraction a scale of 1 to 10?

  • 1

    Votes: 1 2.7%
  • 2

    Votes: 2 5.4%
  • 3

    Votes: 3 8.1%
  • 4

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • 5

    Votes: 8 21.6%
  • 6

    Votes: 7 18.9%
  • 7

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • 8

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • 9

    Votes: 1 2.7%
  • 10

    Votes: 3 8.1%

  • Total voters
    37
I feel like after RotR opens, it's possible that the ratings & feelings for Smugglers Run may change. Right now it's the only ride in Galaxy's Edge, so there's a bit more pressure for it to deliver home runs across the board.

We all know RotR is supposed to be one of the longest & most immersive / advanced attractions Disney has ever done, so once that is in the land....its possible guest may view Smugglers a bit differently. Yes, I know the ride SHOULD be judged on its on merits & on paper that's true.....but in reality, perception changes things.

I think Smugglers will benefit from RotR being open.
 
Does this include international parks?

Journey to the Center of the Earth is EASILY a 10/10 for me. I liked Smugglers Run, but I just didn't have that jaw dropping, what did I just experience feeling when riding Journey for the first time.

I'd give Smugglers Run a 7/10 as far as all of Disney attractions go, but I can't wait till RotR opens. That show building is absolutely massive from the rear.
 
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.

For a new, supposedly "E ticket" ride, I'm amazed how short the lines are. I was expecting 2h+ waits for our entire trip, but we've already done the ride four times, with waits of between 40m to 60m.

I've done the ride from 3 positions: right pilot, gunner, and engineer. My complaint is that in all three positions it is impossible to sit back and enjoy the ride. It would be nice to be able to just look around, without keeping an eye on which buttons need to be pushed.
 
For a new, supposedly "E ticket" ride, I'm amazed how short the lines are. I was expecting 2h+ waits for our entire trip, but we've already done the ride four times, with waits of between 40m to 60m.

I've done the ride from 3 positions: right pilot, gunner, and engineer. My complaint is that in all three positions it is impossible to sit back and enjoy the ride. It would be nice to be able to just look around, without keeping an eye on which buttons need to be pushed.

So, if you don’t press your button to “check in” at the beginning (and let the CM know it’s intentional), it goes on auto and you can just sit there. That’s what happens if there are empty seats.
 


So, if you don’t press your button to “check in” at the beginning (and let the CM know it’s intentional), it goes on auto and you can just sit there. That’s what happens if there are empty seats.

Many thanks for that! I heard the announcement about "automatic mode", but I didn't understand what that was about. The next time I do the ride, I'll do it from a non-pilot position, and refrain from pushing the "check in" button.
 
Honestly, I found it stressful! I know that sounds silly, but you have this sense that you're letting everyone down if you don't do your job well. And never having played video games (I hate them), I had no clue what was going on other than I gathered early on that as engineer, I was supposed to be firing missiles by hitting flashing buttons. But then I couldn't watch the screen and see what was happening. I also couldn't tell if anything I was doing had any effect. I thought it was entertaining but I'd rather not feel stressed out on a ride (which is not the same as a little scared or excited), and I didn't like that I missed much of what was happening. I also never saw any SW movies but I love Star Tours so I don't think that was the problem. It honestly seemed a lot like Star Tours but with personal pressure to perform. I'm glad to hear about the automatic mode, though. Interactive is probably fun but I felt it kept me from seeing much of the action.
 


That pressure is not coming from the other riders. ;)
I think you're probably right about that! It's a very annoying habit of mine to put a ton of pressure on myself, which is a great thing in some cases (like school and employment), but a lot less so for recreational activities and such. But I really feel this fear that I'm letting everyone down if I screw up my "job" LOL.
 
I think you're probably right about that! It's a very annoying habit of mine to put a ton of pressure on myself, which is a great thing in some cases (like school and employment), but a lot less so for recreational activities and such. But I really feel this fear that I'm letting everyone down if I screw up my "job" LOL.
You aren't letting everyone down. Let it go.... let it goooo.. and nobody cares if you crash a lot. If they do its their problem. :)
 
The gist I'm getting from this thread and survey are that SR is just...meh? I honestly don't really care for motion simulator rides or video games so I didn't have high hopes to begin with. I'm sure we'll ride it when we are there in a few weeks, but will probably just have to wait for ROTR for the that mind blowing Disney goodness.
 
1.Flight of Passage
2.Pirates Disneyland
3.Radiator Springs Racers
4.Haunted Mansion
5. Splash DW, Splash DL
6.Indiana Jones
7.Mine Train
8.Space mountain DL
9.Matterhorn
10.Star Tours
11.Millenium Falcon
12.Rock n Roller coaster
13.Test Track
14.Toy Story

All the Rest.

Sorry that's a little more than ten. But I would put smugglers run in the middle of the pack. Although walking into the cockpit, and Hondo is amazing, the ride is really good, but not great.
No Expedition Everest?!?!
 
I give MFSR: 6 if riding with “observers” and 8 if riding with “players.” For the poll, I voted 7 in-between.

A few other personal rankings for context:
  • Soarin’ over California: 7 (lower fo the ‘World’ version due to video issues)
  • FoP (WDW Animal Kingdom): 4 (just don’t care for this attraction; not enough motion)
  • Star Tours: 7 (mostly for the randomized story sequences)
  • Space Mountain: 8
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds: 8
  • Mission Space (WDW Epcot), full motion version: 8
  • RSR: 9 maybe 10 for the theming and story line
  • Incredicoaster: 8 maybe 9 for the new story line
But my context shows that I like MOTION and speed.
 
If you asked my 4 year old daughter, she'd rate Smuggler's Run #2 behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I would say it's #5 for me at Disneyland, behind Space Mountain, BTMRR, Soarin, and Radiator Springs.
I have to disagree that Smuggler's Run is like Navi's River Journey. That ride is the perfect ride for very young kids that I've seen a few people say they want in SWGE: very pretty, and not that interesting.
 
I have to disagree that Smuggler's Run is like Navi's River Journey. That ride is the perfect ride for very young kids that I've seen a few people say they want in SWGE: very pretty, and not that interesting.

I compared the two because ROTR is going to be SWGE's Flight of Passage
SR is going to become second fiddle, like Navi River Journey. (It won't be THE ride of Batuu, and some will pass if line is too long)

Both SR and NRJ left me saying "that was it?"
 
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 :sad2:).

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.

are people actually complaining about kid pilots? that's really bothersome to me.
 
I haven’t been on Smugglers Run yet but for me to rank it (once I have) I’d consider time context as well. For example, when I went on Pirates and HM as a kid in the 80’s at DL (and by then both of these rides were not “new”) I was blown away at the realism, the immersiveness, and the whole idea of “creating an outdoor environment indoors”. I had never been on a ride like that before, never would have considered it possible. In particular, the cloudy night skiy of both attractions. As an adult I learned to focus further away at the ceiling to see that beyond the clouds were the black acoustical drop down ceiling tiles….but even then I was still blown. Later, as a pre-teen riding Star Tours at DL for the first time, I was blown away all over again. It was absolutely mind boggling, from the queue experience. I went on it again two years ago and wasn’t as blown away of course, seeing that the ride at that point was more than 30 years old. So when I do get to ride Smugglers, I’m going to consider both it’s technical achievements and immersiveness but with regards to context of the present day and whether or not they’ve done something particularly innovative to break the mold of not just themed rides in general but Disney rides. For me, I would still put Pirates and HM as no. 1 and 2.
 
I went on Smugglers Run twice during the early preview.

The ride. Meh. Worth maybe a 20 minute wait - not more. The nearest E-tickets are far superior (BTMRR and Splash)

The Good:
  • Queue design
  • Preshow
  • Waiting area before getting on the ride
  • Design of the ride vehicle

The Bad:
  • Premise of the ride. I want to interact with characters I know - Han, Luke, Rey, R2, C3PO. Who is Hondo? Seriously, Disney?
  • The screen quality in the preshow and on the ride. It's like they used LCD screens from the early 2000s. Low brightness and poor resolution.
  • Illusion of interactivity. It's incredibly obvious that what you're doing has very low input into the outcome of the ride. Either make it fully interactive or not interactive. Astro Blasters ... heck Astro Orbiters is more interactive than this ride.

The ride could be amazing if they really just change the whole premise. Give us a more exciting story-line. PLEASE.
 
  • The screen quality in the preshow and on the ride. It's like they used LCD screens from the early 2000s. Low brightness and poor resolution.
  • Illusion of interactivity. It's incredibly obvious that what you're doing has very low input into the outcome of the ride. Either make it fully interactive or not interactive. Astro Blasters ... heck Astro Orbiters is more interactive than this ride.

Yeah, this is kinda what I was referring to in my earlier post.....all that fanfare and all the technology we have at our disposal in the year 2019 and this is where we're at? Hmm. I would still try it to see for myself, but to hear this is disappointing. Referencing Star Tours yet again.....that ride video was incredibly back in 1986!
 

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