Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Now Connects to Fortnite at Disney's Hollywood Studios

By entgrove · August 16, 2026

Disney announced at D23 that Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Disney's Hollywood Studios now links to Smugglers Gambit, a new Star Wars island in Fortnite, starting August 16, 2026. Crates collected on the ride unlock rewards that carry into the game at no extra cost with park admission, with missions accepted through the My Disney Experience app in the queue.

Riding Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Disney's Hollywood Studios can now start, or continue, a mission in Fortnite. Announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite connects the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction with Smugglers Gambit, a new Star Wars island in Fortnite, beginning August 16, 2026. The tie-in is included with regular theme park admission.

How the ride and the game connect

The experience works in both directions. A guest can accept a special mission while waiting in the Smugglers Run queue, fly the Millennium Falcon, and then pick the story back up at home in Fortnite. Or a player can start on Ord Ryla in Fortnite and later step into the cockpit at the park. During the smuggling run itself, riders collect crates for Hondo Ohnaka, the pirate who runs the operation from the attraction's queue. Those crates can unlock rewards that carry over into the game, so the flight does not end when the cabin doors open.

Disney says this is the first experience of its kind, and it was built by Disney Games and Digital Entertainment together with Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm. On the Walt Disney Imagineering Center Stage at D23, Ray Gresko of Disney Games and Imagineering's Asa Kalama, joined by host Ashley Eckstein, explained how Unreal Engine 5 makes the ride customization possible and described the tie-in as an early example of linking a physical Disney attraction with a digital world. In the announcement trailer, Hondo himself extends the invitation: "Hello, my fellow smugglers! Come find me on Ord Ryla."

Smugglers Gambit, a new corner of the Star Wars galaxy

The Fortnite side of the experience is Smugglers Gambit, an island developed in-house by Disney Games and Digital Entertainment. It is set around Mersa Veta Station on the planet Ord Ryla, out in the Outer Rim territory where Hondo does his risky business. Players team up for co-op missions, battle pirates and Imperial remnants, run into dangerous wildlife, unlock new gear, and build a reputation across the Outer Rim. Disney Games worked with Lucasfilm to create new characters, locations, and stories for the island, while coordinating with Imagineering so the game connects back to what guests experience on the attraction.

How to accept the mission and claim rewards

At Disney's Hollywood Studios, guests accept the mission while in the attraction queue using the My Disney Experience app. Any guest logged into the app can accept it. To claim the post-ride rewards in Fortnite, including the Forsworn Trooper Outfit, guests need to link their MyDisney account with an Epic Games account, or have linked the two previously. Riders who are not eligible to link accounts instead receive a code to redeem in Fortnite. Disney notes that guests under 18 should get a parent's permission first, and that standard message and data rates apply for app use.

The experience launches the same day at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, and Smugglers Gambit goes live in Fortnite worldwide on August 16 as well.

What this means for Galaxy's Edge fans

Smugglers Run has flown guests to Batuu since Galaxy's Edge opened at Hollywood Studios in 2019, and the mission has always ended at the unload dock. This is the first time the ride's story follows guests home. It also costs nothing extra, which makes it an easy add for anyone already planning to ride: open the My Disney Experience app in the queue, accept the mission, and the crates collected on the flight turn into rewards waiting in Fortnite that night.