Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland in 2019 and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios shortly after, and in the seven years since, the land has been one of the most discussed, debated, and genuinely impressive additions Disney has made to any of its parks. The immersive detail is extraordinary. The food and merchandise are some of the most creative in the theme park industry. The sheer ambition of the land, built around a fully realized alien planet with its own logic and atmosphere, is evident the moment you walk through the entrance.Credit: DisneyThe rides, though, have always generated a more divided conversation. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is almost universally considered one of the greatest theme park attractions ever built. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has a more complicated reputation. The ride itself is fun, and the Millennium Falcon cockpit environment is genuinely thrilling to sit inside, but the gameplay has felt uneven for many guests and the engineer role in particular has been a consistent point of criticism since the attraction opened. For a ride built around one of the most iconic ships in cinema history, it has sometimes felt like it was not quite living up to its potential.Disney is addressing that directly, and the scope of what is changing goes well beyond a typical attraction refresh.Starting May 22, 2026, both the Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios versions of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will debut a fully reimagined version of the experience featuring Din Djarin, known as the Mandalorian, and Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda, as permanent additions to the ride. The timing is not coincidental. May 22 is the same day that The Mandalorian and Grogu releases in theaters, marking the first Star Wars film to hit movie screens since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Disney is connecting the theme park experience directly to the theatrical release in a way that gives both the film and the attraction a meaningful opening day story.The changes going into the ride are comprehensive. New story. New characters. New destinations. New technology. A meaningfully upgraded engineer role. And critically, no closure required between the old version and the new one.What Is Actually ChangingCredit: DisneyThe current version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is set during the sequel trilogy era, specifically aligned with the broader Galaxy’s Edge timeline that places guests between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. In the existing ride, guests depart from Batuu and travel to Corellia, tasked with smuggling coaxium fuel under the guidance of Hondo Ohnaka, whose Audio-Animatronics figure anchors the pre-show.The new version keeps the Batuu departure but takes riders to Tatooine next, the desert planet that is one of the most recognizable locations in Star Wars history, before branching into one of three possible third destinations chosen by the riders themselves. Those destinations are Bespin, home of Cloud City as seen in The Empire Strikes Back; Endor, where Death Star wreckage is strewn across the landscape as seen in The Rise of Skywalker; and Coruscant, one of the galaxy’s most densely populated cityscapes featured in the prequel trilogy and more recently in Andor. The new story involves tracking down ex-Imperial officers.The rider choice element is significant. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, the simulator ride located just outside Galaxy’s Edge at both parks, uses randomized destinations to create reridability, which means guests have no control over what they see on any given ride. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is going a different direction. Riders will actively select which of the three planets they visit as their third destination, which means you can return to the ride specifically to see a destination you missed on a previous trip without hoping the randomization works in your favor.The engineer role has been transformed. In the current version of the ride, engineers are responsible for pressing buttons when prompted, a responsibility that even Disney has acknowledged is less engaging than the pilot and gunner roles. In the new version, the engineer is now in charge of communicating with Grogu and choosing the crew’s third destination. Disney has not yet revealed exactly how the Grogu communication mechanic will work, but the upgrade moves the engineer from the least coveted assignment to potentially one of the most interesting.The technology underlying the visuals is also being updated. Walt Disney Imagineering is working with Epic Games using Unreal Engine to create visuals that render more smoothly in real time as riders interact with the controls. The original ride opened in 2019 and has not received a technology update since then. Nearly a decade of advancement in real-time rendering technology is being applied to the ride’s visuals, and the results are expected to represent a significant improvement over what guests have experienced since the attraction opened.Hondo Ohnaka, the Audio-Animatronics figure who currently anchors the pre-show from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, is expected to remain in some capacity. Replacing the physical Audio-Animatronics figure would require a closure period, and Disney has confirmed the ride will continue operating in its current form through May 21 with the new version launching overnight and opening May 22 without any downtime for guests.How This Affects a Disney VacationCredit: DisneyFor guests with trips to either Disneyland or Disney’s Hollywood Studios planned around or after May 22, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is now a meaningfully different proposition than it was before. If you visited Galaxy’s Edge when the land opened and found the Smugglers Run experience underwhelming compared to Rise of the Resistance, the changes coming on May 22 are specifically designed to address the most common criticisms of the attraction.The no-closure transition is genuinely notable for trip planning purposes. Guests visiting through May 21 will experience the current version. Guests visiting on May 22 or later will experience the new version. There is no window where the ride is unavailable for refurbishment. If your trip falls before May 22 and you specifically want the new experience, adjusting your Hollywood Studios or Disneyland day to after that date is the only change required.Disney’s Hollywood Studios has additional new additions arriving close to the same time. On May 26, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets permanently opens, replacing the Aerosmith version of the classic coaster. A new stage show called Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! also debuts that day for younger guests. Later this summer, The Magic of Disney Animation opens in the building that formerly housed Star Wars Launch Bay, featuring a short film, character greetings, and a drawing class hosted by an Audio-Animatronics figure of Olaf from Frozen.At Disneyland specifically, starting April 29, 2026, Galaxy’s Edge will introduce original trilogy characters including Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Darth Vader, and Han Solo for character appearances. That change applies only to the California location, not Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Rise of the Resistance at both parks remains unchanged and focused on the sequel trilogy.If Hollywood Studios is on your Disney itinerary this spring or summer, building your visit around May 22 or later puts you in position to experience the new Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on its debut version. Check Lightning Lane availability for both Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance before your park day, as the reimagined attraction is likely to draw significantly higher demand than the current version once guests start experiencing it. Our Hollywood Studios planning guide has current wait time patterns and Lightning Lane recommendations to help you make the most of the day.The post Disney to Shutter and Reboot ‘Star Wars’ Rides Across America in Under 1 Month appeared first on Inside the Magic.