Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Rode this one 3 times today. Love being the pilot. I was engineer the other times. Highly recommend the single rider line on this ride. 4/5 stars

The best ride in Disneyland.

The queue is easily one of the best anywhere with incredible views of the Falcon and interactive elements accessed through the Disney Play app. My one gripe about the queue would be that the lines moves a bit too briskly, meaning that if you're trying to perform interactive tasks on the app, you probably won't have enough time to complete them as the line moves too quickly by the designated spots in the queue. The Hondo animatronic in the pre-show room is about as realistic as they come, and the Dejarik room is like stepping onto a real movie set.

The ride itself is a blast, taking typical shooting dark rides to a new level. The combination of video game and motion simulator was surprisingly good with realistic motions and fun interactions. The only drawback is the rapid decrease in the quality of the experience from the front of the cockpit to the back. Disney really should have done a better job here so that everyone in the cockpit has a great view of the action (there are only 6 people in there, so it shouldn't have been that hard).

Still, even if you get stuck in the back of the bus, it's a jaw-dropping experience from beginning to end.

I have now been on this ride twice.
There are 3 jobs available, pilot, gunner, and engineer.
The ride itself is a motion simulator with 6 positions, similar to the layout on the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars.
Once inside the building, everything looks great. In fact, the whole land looks great. After a great introduction room, similar to the Tower of Terror room where a large group is given a backstory, one is funneled to the proper ride entrance. This is where your job is assigned. I have not been the pilot.
Next is the “chess” room. This is where C-3PO was beating Chewbacca at the holographic game and Han advised to let Chewy win. Again, the room looks great. In addition to a job, there is also a color for the 6 crew members. The room is uncrowded, and there is time to wander around and take photos and push buttons before your color is called. Entrance to the ride starts when your color is called.
The cockpit is set up with 6 seats, 3 to a side. There is a big screen, similar to a windshield of a car, but bigger. The pilots have an unobstructed view, but the other positions do not have a full view of the screen. Once the ride starts the pilots need to navigate from the launchpad. At this point a small screen, 90 degrees from the main screen, instructs you how to do your job. Pardon me while I vent.
NON-PILOT ISSUE #1: I am no longer looking forward, but I do get to push buttons that affect the mission.
NON-PILOT ISSUE #2: I am focused on the side panel, not on the visuals from the main window.
GUNNER ISSUE: I’m supposed to keep pushing a button, but there is no “targeting”. The gunner positions on the Falcon had interactive seats. The seat would move as you acquired a target. This ride is just pushing a button.
ENGINEER ISSUE: This is just silly. Push the flashing buttons as quick as you can. Again, this takes my focus from the main screen to a panel 90 degrees away. I have no idea what this ride looks like.
Note that the Disney Play app was interesting, once I figured out how to use it for this ride. But the app is still not ready for prime time.
In summary, the queue is terrific, but the ride is a disappointment. It doesn’t seem to be a fully thought out experience. Think Star Tours, blindfolded. Mission Space (Walt Disney World) blindfolded. Tower of Terror, with the Introduction Room as the best part.
My suggestion for improvement would be to use stadium seating in the cockpit, and move the button layout in front of the position, instead of 90 degrees from the main screen.

Awesome ride! I don't understand the negativity at all.

Honnestly, what a huge disappointment. Nothing more than an upgrade to mission Space.