When to Ride Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run With No Line

Published June 26, 2026 · Updated September 9, 2026

If you are heading to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, flying the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy is probably high on your list. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is an incredibly popular attraction, but it is also a high-capacity ride. That means the line moves steadily, but it still swells to 60-plus minutes during the midday rush.

You don’t need to wait that long.

Because most guests flock to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the exact same time, the wait times for Smugglers Run are incredibly predictable. Here is exactly when you should ride, what to do if you miss the window, and a few insider hacks to bypass the standby line entirely.

The Smart Rope Drop Strategy

If you arrive at Hollywood Studios before the park opens (and you absolutely should), you have a choice to make. Most of the crowd is going to sprint directly to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Slinky Dog Dash.

Let them.

While everyone else is standing in a 90-minute line for Slinky Dog Dash at 9:00 AM, you can knock out several major attractions in the first hour. If you head straight to Smugglers Run at park open or during Early Theme Park Entry, you will usually encounter a wait of 15 minutes or less.

The smart move: Hit Smugglers Run first, then immediately knock out Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Star Tours. You can easily finish all four rides before 10:00 AM while the rest of the park is still stuck in their first line of the day.

The “After Dinner” Drop-Off

If you cannot get to the park early, do not jump in line for Smugglers Run at 1:00 PM. That is when the line is at its absolute worst.

Instead, wait until the evening. Hollywood Studios tends to clear out as families with young children head back to their resorts, and the remaining crowds usually gather for Fantasmic! or nighttime projections.

By 8:00 PM, the wait time for Smugglers Run frequently drops to 25 minutes or less. On many nights, especially in the last hour the park is open, it essentially becomes a walk-on. Riding at night also gives you the added bonus of experiencing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge after dark, which is arguably when the land looks its best.

The Single Rider Cheat Code

If you sleep in and miss rope drop, and you cannot stay late, you still have a massive advantage: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is one of the few rides at Disney World with a dedicated Single Rider line.

The Single Rider line is almost always a fraction of the standby wait. If the posted wait is 70 minutes, you can often get through Single Rider in 15 minutes or less.

The catch: You will be split up from your party. The Cast Members use Single Riders to fill empty seats in the six-person cockpit. You will not sit next to your friends or family, and because you are filling the leftover spots, you will almost certainly be assigned the role of Engineer rather than Pilot or Gunner. If flying the ship as a Pilot is your dream, skip Single Rider and use Lightning Lane Multi Pass or ride early. If you just want to experience the attraction without waiting, this is the ultimate cheat code.

The Early Entry Rider Swap Hack

If you are staying at a Disney resort and using Early Theme Park Entry, but you have small children who do not meet the 38-inch height requirement for Smugglers Run, you do not have to skip it.

You can use Rider Swap during Early Entry.

Here is how it works: Have your whole group go to the ride entrance and ask the Cast Member to set up a Rider Swap. One adult waits outside with the non-riding child while the other adult rides. When the first adult finishes, the waiting adult gets to go straight into the Lightning Lane without waiting in the standby line.

This means both parents get to experience a top-tier ride early in the morning without giving up the Early Entry time advantage.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass Strategy

Smugglers Run is included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Because it is a tier-one attraction (and very popular), return times can get pushed into the late afternoon or evening if you do not book it quickly.

If you purchase Multi Pass, Smugglers Run is a solid choice for one of your initial three advance selections, but it is not the most urgent. Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway tend to run out of return times faster.

The SupaPark strategy: If you plan to rope drop Smugglers Run, do not waste a Multi Pass selection on it. Book Slinky Dog Dash or Toy Story Mania instead. If you prefer to sleep in, book Smugglers Run as one of your advance selections to guarantee you skip the midday standby line.

The Takeaway

Do not wait in the midday line for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Ride it in the first 45 minutes the park is open, jump in the Single Rider line, or wait until after 8:00 PM when the crowds clear out. Check supapark.com to monitor the live wait times—when you see it dip below 30 minutes in the evening, that is your signal to head to Galaxy’s Edge.

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SupaPark tracks live wait times and crowd forecasts, and pings you the second a hard-to-get reservation opens or a ride goes walk-on — free to start at supapark.com.

Keep planning: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run · live wait times · is Lightning Lane worth it