Walt Disney Imagineering originally planned to offer a variety of Star Wars missions aboard Disneyland’s Millennium Falcon attraction that lets riders pilot the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy just like Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, according to a new report.
The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed lands at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios was designed with five different missions, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
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Imagineering opted to open Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on both coasts in 2019 with only one mission due to budget and time constraints, according to the WSJ report.
The Millennium Falcon flight simulator ride puts riders in the cockpit of the fastest ship in the galaxy as they battle Imperial tie fighters during a mission to bring back a pile of loot to a vengeful space pirate. Disneyland plans to unveil a new Smugglers Run mission in May.
The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride at Disneyland cost at least $55.7 million, according to building permits submitted by Disney to the city of Anaheim in 2018.
The full-scale Millennium Falcon docked in front of the attraction cost $4.4 million, according to Anaheim building permits.
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While building permits issued incrementally throughout the course of construction can’t provide a complete picture of the massive project, they do offer an intriguing glimpse at the scope of the work on the attraction. Cost estimates made by contractors typically don’t include late changes or interior furnishings.
The entire Galaxy’s Edge project in Anaheim was estimated to cost $1 billion, according to Themeparx, a theme park construction website that tracks the progress of projects around the world.
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Offering Smugglers Run riders an option to choose between five missions or delivering the missions at random sounds like the approach Disneyland has taken with Star Tours following recent upgrades.
Star Tours currently visits 12 planets in the Star Wars galaxy, according to Touring Plans. The destinations: Tatooine, Hoth, Batuu, Coruscant, Kashyyyk, Naboo, Jakku, Crait, Seatos, Kef Bir, Exegol and Geonosis.
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will venture to three Star Wars planets first visited in the original film trilogy of the 1970s and ‘80s when the rebooted Disneyland ride embarks on a new adventure with the Mandalorian and Grogu.
The refreshed Smugglers Run ride will visit Tatooine, Endor and Bespin when the updated attraction debuts the new mission on May 22 at Disneyland.
Smugglers Run has long had a secret “Chewie Mode” that changed the ride experience without altering the overall mission.
The video game-like hack that unlocks Chewie Mode replaces instructions from space pirate Hondo Ohnaka with an Easter Egg version of the ride filled with Chewbacca roaring at riders for 5 minutes in the Wookiee dialect of Shyriiwook.