Smugglers Run Single Rider: Yes — and When to Use It

Published September 30, 2026

Short answer: yes, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has a single rider line, and it’s one of the few genuinely free shortcuts left at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The bigger insight is what that does to the rest of your day — because if your group can split up, Smugglers Run should probably come off your Lightning Lane Multi Pass list entirely.

That’s the real planning move. Not “does the line exist,” but “what do I do with the Multi Pass slot I just freed up.”

What you’re actually trading for the time savings

Single rider lines exist to fill the odd empty seats a ride can’t pair up. The Falcon cockpit seats six across three jobs — Pilot, Gunner, Engineer — and single riders are the ones slotted into whatever’s left over. In practice that means you’ll frequently land the Engineer role in the back, which is the least hands-on of the three. You press buttons when they light up; you are not flying the ship.

So be honest with yourself about why you’re riding:

The other cost is obvious but worth saying out loud: you will not sit with your party, and you don’t pick your seat. For solo travelers, couples, teens, and adults doing a repeat lap, that’s nothing. For a family that came to be in the cockpit together, it’s the whole point of the ride.

One caveat that applies to every single rider line: staffing and crowd levels dictate whether it’s open and how fast it moves. On a packed day with a long standby, it can still be a big win. On a very light day, the gap narrows. Check the posted standby wait before you commit to being split up.

Why this is a Multi Pass trap

Smugglers Run looks like a headliner. It’s Star Wars, it’s in Galaxy’s Edge, and the posted wait can get intimidating. That combination makes people burn a Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection on it — and that’s usually a mistake at this park.

Here’s the math. Smugglers Run is a Multi Pass attraction, not Single Pass. So is Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Mania. (Across Walt Disney World, the à-la-carte Single Pass headliners are TRON Lightcycle / Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios, and Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom.) Every one of those Multi Pass rides is competing for the same selections.

Slinky Dog Dash is regularly the longest standby in the park, it’s one of the first Multi Pass selections to get scooped up, and it has no single-rider escape hatch. Smugglers Run does. Spending your scarce Multi Pass pick on the ride that already has a free workaround, while Slinky sits at 80 minutes, is how people lose an hour they didn’t need to lose.

Front-load Slinky when you make your advance picks — remember, Multi Pass selections start 7 days out for Disney resort guests and 3 days out for off-site, at 7:00 AM Eastern on your eligible day. Then treat Smugglers Run as the flex ride you solve for free.

Use Multi Pass on Smugglers Run only if: you have kids who need to ride with an adult, your group genuinely wants the cockpit experience together, or standby is ugly and splitting up isn’t realistic.

Where Smugglers Run belongs in your rope drop order

Rope drop at Hollywood Studios is chaos, and most of the crowd funnels toward Rise of the Resistance or Slinky Dog Dash the second the ropes go. A sane priority order looks roughly like this:

  1. Rise of the Resistance — but only if you’re skipping the Single Pass and it’s your must-do.
  2. Tower of Terror — if Rise is already covered, or you want to duck the main crowd flow. Veteran Studios guests sometimes peel off here first while everyone else clogs the headliners, then circle back.
  3. Slinky Dog Dash — if Toy Story Land is the family priority and you don’t have a strong Multi Pass return time.
  4. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — especially if your group can use single rider.
  5. Toy Story Mania or Alien Swirling Saucers as secondary picks when waits cooperate.

One rule that saves people real money: if you bought Single Pass for Rise, do not spend your Early Theme Park Entry minutes standing in the Rise line. Stacking free early time and a paid pass on the same ride wastes both. Put those 30 minutes into Slinky Dog Dash or Tower of Terror and save Rise for your reserved window.

And don’t rope drop food. The Ronto Wrap is a legitimately good bite in Galaxy’s Edge, but it’s a mid-morning or lunch play, not a park-open one.

The height rule and the Rider Swap workaround

Smugglers Run has a 38-inch height requirement, which catches a lot of families off guard — it’s a simulator, so parents assume it’s a walk-on for little kids. It isn’t.

If you’re on-site and using Early Theme Park Entry with a child under 38 inches, you don’t have to write the ride off. Set up Rider Swap right at the ride entrance: one adult waits outside with the non-riding child, the other rides, then you switch and the second adult goes through without re-queuing. Doing this during Early Entry, when the line is shortest, is the version of Rider Swap that actually feels painless.

Older kids in the group who meet the height? Let them do single rider while you handle the swap. That’s how a mixed-height family gets everyone through Galaxy’s Edge in one visit instead of two.

What to do while you wait it out

If the single rider line isn’t moving and standby looks rough, you have better options than standing there. Star Tours is low-friction and rarely a disaster. The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge is the adult move — grab a table in the shade and reassess while everyone else sweats. And the free Play Disney Parks app turns Galaxy’s Edge queue time into something your kids will actually engage with.

The ride also tends to behave like most Studios attractions: mornings and late evening are your friends, midday is the wall. Smugglers Run is a solid nighttime lap when the crowd thins and the land looks incredible.

This is exactly the kind of thing worth automating. SupaPark tracks live waits and operational status across Hollywood Studios, forecasts when each ride typically bottoms out, and can ping you the moment a wait craters to near walk-on — so you’re reacting to what the park is actually doing instead of guessing from a bench. Free tier covers live waits, the best-time forecaster, and the crowd calendar at supapark.com.

The one thing to remember

Smugglers Run’s single rider line is real and it works — treat it as a free substitute for a Lightning Lane, not as a bonus on top of one. Free up that Multi Pass selection and spend it on Slinky Dog Dash, the ride that punishes you hardest for showing up late with no plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run have a single rider line?

Yes. Smugglers Run offers a single rider line at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and it’s one of only a handful of attractions at Walt Disney World that does — alongside rides like Test Track at EPCOT and Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.

Do single riders get to be the Pilot on Smugglers Run?

Usually not. Single riders are used to fill leftover seats in the six-person cockpit, so you’ll frequently be assigned the Engineer role in the back, which is the least interactive of the three jobs.

Should I use Lightning Lane Multi Pass on Smugglers Run?

Only if your group can’t split up — kids who need an adult with them, or a party set on flying the ship together. Otherwise use single rider and spend that Multi Pass selection on Slinky Dog Dash, which has no single-rider option and is regularly the longest line in the park.

What’s the height requirement for Smugglers Run?

Riders must be at least 38 inches tall. If your child doesn’t meet it, ask a Cast Member at the entrance to set up Rider Swap so both adults can ride without waiting in line twice.

Is Smugglers Run a Lightning Lane Single Pass ride?

No. Smugglers Run is included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass. The à-la-carte Single Pass attractions at Hollywood Studios are limited to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

Keep planning: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run · live wait times · is Lightning Lane worth it · Will Your Kid Hate Soarin’? How to Decide (And Where to Sit)

Go deeper — the full guides: Walt Disney World Hidden Gems Most Guests Walk Right Past – The Ultimate Insider Guide · Animal Kingdom Full-Day Touring Plan: Beat the Heat and Maximize Magic

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.