The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge contains a treasure trove of visual Easter eggs hidden throughout the attraction just waiting to be found by hard-core fans of the sweeping space opera saga.
We’ve scoured Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run for 20 of our favourite Easter eggs in the flight simulator attraction now open at Disneyland in California and opening Aug. 29 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The creative teams at Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm wove hidden messages, historic callbacks and inside jokes into the Smugglers Run queue, Millennium Falcon main hold and even the ride itself.
Creating an immersive experience
The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run experience begins with the iconic 112-foot-long ship docked in front of Ohnaka Transport Solutions, a shady shipping operation run by space pirate Hondo Ohnaka.
Riders walk through the maintenance bay of Ohnaka Transport Solutions to reach the Command Center of the intergalactic shipping company. There, riders get their smuggling mission from an audio-animatronic Hondo Ohnaka before entering the main hold of the Millennium Falcon. The next step: Climbing into the cockpit to fly the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
Every step of the Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run journey reveals hidden secrets and Easter Eggs planted by Imagineering and Lucasfilm. It’s up to hard-core Star Wars fans to find them all. Here’s a tip sheet for getting you started on your Easter egg hunt.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – entering the ride queue
1) A rack of proton torpedos stands in the maintenance bay of Ohnaka Transport Solutions. Luke Skywalker fired proton torpedoes into an exhaust port leading to the reactor core to destroy the first Death Star.
2) Hondo’s crew has hastily abandoned a game of sabacc atop a shipping container. Lando Calrissian famously lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in a high-stakes sabacc game in “Solo.”
3) A rack of DLT-19 heavy blasters hangs on the wall amid shipping containers inside Ohnaka Transport Solutions. The cache of weapons favoured by stormtroopers suggests Hondo is supplying weapons to the elite shock troops of the Galactic Empire.
4) Next to the big DLT-19 gun lays Jyn Erso’s blaster from “Rogue One.” The versatile A-180 blaster pistol can be reconfigured into a blaster rifle, sniper rifle or ion launcher.
5) A double-barreled rear gun from a T-47 Airspeeder rests atop a crate. Rear-facing tailgunners used the weapons aboard Rebel snowspeeders in the Battle of Hoth in “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Even more Easter eggs from the ride queue
6) A multi-armed repair droid stands next to a rack of orange jumpsuits in the maintenance bay. The WED Treadwell droid has a telescopic visual sensor surrounded by articulated arms with tool tips. The Treadwells repair machinery, droids and starships in the Star Wars universe.
7) A headless red-and-white R2 unit serves as a garbage can next to a hydraulic lift station. The disassembled astromech droid overflows with leftover pipes and parts.
8) Hondo’s technicians use an upside down Scout Trooper helmet as an oil pan in the maintenance bay. Stormtrooper biker scouts wore the headgear while riding speeder bikes on the forest moon of Endor in “Return of the Jedi.”
9) Hondo’s R5-P8 droid shows up in the Smugglers Run queue before making a second appearance in the Command Center. The trusty animatronic keeps the boss on schedule and fixes failing equipment in Ohnaka Transport Solutions.
10) A turret-mounted laser cannon undergoes an overhaul in the maintenance bay. The AG-2G quad laser cannon is similar to the weapons mounted on the Millennium Falcon. The guns are referenced again near the Smugglers Run cockpit.
In the main hold of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
11) A case in the main hold contains a training helmet and seeker droid, like those that Luke Skywalker used while learning the ways of the Force. Luke practised using a lightsaber with the blast shield down on his helmet while deflecting non-lethal blasts from the Marksman-H combat remote.
12) A pair of electrobinoculars rest atop the training helmet case like the ones used by Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in “The Empire Strikes Back.” The internal displays on the hand-held viewing devices show range, elevation and radiation levels.
13) Several Porgs nests can be found amid the equipment and cargo containers scattered throughout the Millennium Falcon’s main hold. The seabirds infested the starship after a trip to Ahch-To in “The Last Jedi.”
Tracking Easter eggs towards the cockpit
14) Keep an eye out for an alcove filled with pipes and levers just off the Millennium Falcon main hold. The hallway recreates the famous scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” where Han Solo and Princess Leia kiss for the first time.
15) A ladder just off the hallway leading to the Millennium Falcon cockpit leads to the starship’s twin AG-2G quad laser cannons. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker used the starship’s primary defensive weapons during a TIE Fighter attack in the original 1977 “Star Wars” movie.
During the ride
16) The Smugglers Run mission takes riders to the Star Wars planet of Corellia. Han Solo’s home planet is known for producing ace pilots. Corellia is home to the shipyards used to build TIE fighters and Star Destroyers for the Galactic Empire.
17) The primary mission while flying the Millennium Falcon aboard the Smugglers Run attraction is to obtain Coaxium. The rare and expensive starship hyperfuel is mined on the Star Wars planet of Kessel. The Millennium Falcon famously made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.
18) Keen-eyed riders on Smugglers Run will spot a StarSpeeder 1000 during their journey. Fans of the Star Tours attractions will recognize the familiar transport starships used by the Galactic Tourist Bureau travel agency.
Easter eggs as you exit the Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
19) A Rathtar remains frozen in Carbonite along the exit hallway. The ferocious creature with octopus-like tentacles and razor-sharp teeth was first seen in “The Force Awakens.”
20) A red and black warning sign painted on the wall at the exit to the ride issues a warning in the Star Wars language of Aurebesh. The message: Danger! Ventilation Shaft, Maintenance Only.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge photos kind courtesy of Brady MacDonald.
