If you're heading into Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, you may notice something a little different before you ever set foot aboard the Millennium Falcon. It isn't a new character, a new destination, or a major storyline overhaul. Instead, Disney has quietly restored a piece of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run that hasn't worked as originally designed for much of the attraction's life.

A Small Fix With a Big Impact on Immersion

The large doors separating the main queue from the Hondo Ohnaka preshow room are operating again. Rather than sitting open throughout the day, those doors can once again close between groups and reopen when it's time for the next crew to step inside.

On paper, working doors might not sound like headline news. But for an attraction built around transporting guests into the world of Star Wars, this restored effect brings back an important transition that disappeared not long after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge first debuted.

How the Doors Were Designed to Work

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2019 as one of the centerpiece attractions inside Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The ride gives guests something Star Wars fans had dreamed about for decades — the chance to walk inside the Millennium Falcon, sit in its cockpit, and actually take control of the ship.

But Disney designed the experience to begin well before anyone reaches the cockpit. Part of that setup happens inside the Hondo Ohnaka preshow room, where Hondo recruits guests to help with a smuggling operation before crews continue deeper into the attraction and eventually board the Falcon.

Two large doors — one on the left and one on the right — separate the regular queue from that preshow space. When the attraction originally opened, those doors played an active role in moving guests from one part of the experience to another. They would remain shut until it was time for another group to enter, then slide open, allow guests into Hondo's room, and close behind the group.

That seemingly simple sequence helped make the preshow feel like a distinct part of the story rather than just another room in a continuous queue. It didn't last long.

The Doors Stopped Working Shortly After Galaxy's Edge Opened

According to reports, the doors stopped operating sometime after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened. Instead of repeatedly opening and closing as guests entered the preshow, they remained fixed in the open position.

The attraction could obviously continue operating without them. Guests still entered the room, watched the Hondo sequence, received their assignments, and moved toward the Millennium Falcon. Still, something about the transition changed.

Theme park attractions rely heavily on small details to control what guests see and when they see it. Doors, hallways, lighting changes, music cues, and physical barriers can separate one scene from another while helping Imagineers hide what comes next. When those elements stop working, the ride itself might remain functional — but part of the presentation quietly disappears.

Now, after years of remaining open, the Smugglers Run doors are once again moving. Guests can enter the Hondo preshow room before seeing the doors close behind them, restoring the separation Disney originally created between the queue and the preshow. That brings the attraction closer to the experience guests encountered when Galaxy's Edge was brand new.

Smugglers Run Has Already Changed Significantly in 2026

The timing of this restoration is notable, because Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has undergone much larger changes this year as well. Disney introduced a new mission featuring Din Djarin and Grogu in May at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland — an addition Disney originally announced during D23 in 2024. That update brought two of the most recognizable modern Star Wars characters directly into an attraction that had remained largely unchanged for years.

Disney also adjusted the preshow itself. Hondo remains part of the experience, but the setup surrounding his involvement has changed — in the updated version, Hondo steals the Millennium Falcon rather than borrowing it from Chewbacca. Disney also removed references to the Resistance and First Order from the preshow, a change that allows the attraction to work with the adjusted timeline of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland.

Guests Can Now Head to Three Different Star Wars Locations

The latest version of Smugglers Run gives crews multiple possible destinations instead of sending every group through exactly the same adventure. One randomly selected engineer determines which destination the crew receives. The possibilities include Bespin, Coruscant, or the wreckage of the second Death Star above Endor.

That gives the attraction something it previously lacked: a stronger reason to immediately ride again. A guest could experience one location on the first trip and receive a completely different mission the next time around. For repeat Walt Disney World visitors, that can make Smugglers Run feel far less predictable than it did during its first several years.

The Mandalorian and Grogu additions also give Disney a way to connect the attraction with the current era of the franchise. Now, the restored preshow doors add another improvement — although this one doesn't involve creating anything new. Disney simply brought back something that was supposed to be there all along.

Small Details Can Make a Big Difference in Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge depends heavily on immersion. Disney didn't design the land as a collection of Star Wars rides surrounded by conventional theme park buildings. Black Spire Outpost was created to feel like a functioning location within the Star Wars universe, and that approach extends into the attractions themselves.

Smugglers Run gradually takes guests from the streets of Batuu into Hondo's operation and eventually aboard one of the most famous ships in movie history. Each transition helps sell the idea that guests are moving through actual locations rather than simply advancing through a ride queue. That's where something as simple as a pair of doors really matters.

Closing the preshow room off from the regular queue creates a more controlled reveal. Guests enter when Disney wants them to enter, the doors close behind them, and the Hondo sequence becomes its own scene. Leaving the doors permanently open removes some of that separation — the attraction still works, but the illusion becomes slightly less complete. Restoring the original operation gives Smugglers Run one more piece of its opening-day presentation back.

Disney Is Giving Smugglers Run New Life

The return of the preshow doors probably won't receive the same attention as the addition of The Mandalorian and Grogu, and it doesn't fundamentally change the ride. But taken together, the updates show just how much attention Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has received recently.

Disney has updated its story, introduced new characters, added multiple destinations, changed portions of the preshow, and now restored an operational feature that had been missing for years. That is a significant amount of change for an attraction that opened in 2019.

Guests who haven't ridden Smugglers Run recently could encounter a noticeably different experience on their next visit. The biggest changes happen once the mission begins, especially with the randomized destinations — but the experience leading up to the cockpit matters, too.

For years, guests simply walked through doors that were permanently open on their way into Hondo's preshow. Now, those doors are doing exactly what Disney originally intended — opening for each incoming group and closing once guests are inside, restoring a small but meaningful part of the attraction's original show sequence.

After spending much of the attraction's history stuck open, one of Smugglers Run's long-missing effects has finally returned — and it arrives just as the Millennium Falcon is beginning a very different chapter at Disney's Hollywood Studios.