Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run; Single Rider Style

One of my favorite things about living close to Walt Disney World is that I can go for a little while and not really do anything. Last night, I decided to drive to Disney’s Hollywood Studios so that I could see the sunset from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. My favorite scene from the Star Wars saga is when Luke watched the suns set on Tatooine. By that point when I first saw Star Wars I was totally hooked. I hadn’t yet watched the sunset at Galaxy’s Edge, so I decided to change that. It was incredible, but I digress.

Once the sun was down I took a peek at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Wait Times have been manageable since the new land opened, and I was curious. I had no intention of riding. The wait was posted at 35 minutes, which isn’t bad at all. Then I remembered the Single Rider line. I was curious as to what would be different. I decided to go for it, you know, for research. For you, of course.

When I approached the line a Villager reminded me that if you’re a Single Rider, you will take the position that you’re assigned (aka there is a 99 percent chance that you’ll be an Engineer). That was fine with me. A few days ago I heard something about a man who threw a fit because he couldn’t be Pilot when he was a Single Rider. (I don’t know the details, so I’m not saying more about it. I don’t even know if it really happened.) Telling people that they will take what they get is probably a good idea.

Part of the fun of Smugglers Run is going through the queue. You don’t get any of that if you’re a Single Rider. Instead, you will walk through a rather drab hallway and up some stairs. The theming is still perfect, you’re walking through a passageway at a shipping company, but you don’t get the extras. You won’t see the Falcon as you walk, and you won’t have as many pictures; unless you really like gray concrete.

Another thing that you won’t see if you go through the single rider line is Hondo Ohnaka. You’ll still see a couple of videos of Honda, but you won’t be part of the pre-flight instructions. If you have never seen Hondo’s spiel, go standby. You need to experience it at least once.

The single rider line meets up with the standby line in the spot where the positions are handed out. That is why you will most likely end up as an engineer, the other positions will all have been assigned. You will then all go together as a group, and yes, you will be able to see the dejarik board.

I ended up with a great group of people. I rode with a family of four and a single rider who went through the standby line. The family asked the two of us if we wanted to switch from engineer to gunner, which was fine with me. We had a really fun ride, although Hondo was not pleased with the amount of damage to the Falcon.

The Single Rider line is a great idea, especially on a popular new ride. (I wish that they had one for Flight of Passage!) It was 18 minutes from the time I decided to ride until I walked out of the building. Since I plan on spending a lot of time in Galaxy’s Edge for no real reason, I am sure that I will take advantage of the Single Rider line quite a bit. If you’ve never ridden, though, go standby. The queue is as much fun as the ride is.