Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is coming to Fortnite called Smugglers Gambit
Disney announced Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite at D23, linking the physical attraction at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios to a new Fortnite island called Smugglers Gambit. It goes live Sunday, August 16, at no extra cost with park admission.
Disney announced Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite at D23 on August 15, connecting the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios to a brand-new Fortnite island called Smugglers Gambit.
It launches Sunday, August 16, when the parks open. The Fortnite side goes live the same day.
The best part for anyone already planning a trip: it’s included at no additional cost with valid theme park admission.
How the ride connects to the Fortnite island
The connection runs both directions, which is the genuinely new part.
You can start in the queue at the park, or you can start on Ord Ryla in Fortnite at home. Either entry point feeds the same story.
During your ride on the Falcon, you’ll collect crates for Hondo Ohnaka. Those crates unlock rewards that carry over into Fortnite, so what you do inside the attraction changes what’s waiting for you in the game.
What Smugglers Gambit actually is
The Fortnite side is a full island, not a promotional lobby.
Smugglers Gambit is set around Mersa Veta Station on the planet Ord Ryla, a new corner of the Star Wars galaxy built for this. You team up with friends on co-op missions, fight pirates and Imperial remnants, run into dangerous wildlife, unlock gear, and build a reputation across the Outer Rim.
Disney Games worked with Lucasfilm on new characters, locations, and stories, then coordinated with Walt Disney Imagineering so the game ties back to what happens on the actual ride.
Given that Hondo is running the operation, Disney is fairly upfront that missions can go well or go sideways. That’s the character’s entire personality.
How to actually take part
Here’s the practical part, because there are a couple of steps and one real requirement.
To join, accept the mission while you’re in the attraction queue using the Disneyland app or the My Disney Experience app, or start from the Smugglers Gambit island inside Fortnite. Any guest logged into either app can accept the mission.
Claiming the post-ride rewards is where it gets fiddlier. To get them, including a Forsworn Trooper Outfit, you need to link a MyDisney account to an Epic Games account, or have already linked them. Guests who ride but can’t link accounts get a code to redeem in Fortnite instead.
Fortnite itself is free on PC, console, and mobile, so there’s no purchase involved beyond park admission. Disney notes that anyone under 18 should get a parent’s permission before linking anything.
Disney built this one itself
Smugglers Gambit was developed in-house by Disney Games and Digital Entertainment. Disney didn’t license the work out or hand it to a third-party studio. It built its own Fortnite island.
Ray Gresko, who heads product and development for Disney Games and Digital Entertainment, and Asa Kalama of Walt Disney Imagineering discussed the project on the Imagineering Center Stage with host Ashley Eckstein. They pointed to Unreal Engine 5 as the piece making it work, enabling ride customization on the attraction side.
Unreal Engine 5 running in the physical attraction is what lets a theme park ride talk to a video game.
Disney has spent this week making the case that games are where its next generation of fans shows up, and calling Epic and Fortnite a central part of that plan. This is the first time that pitch has produced something you can actually walk onto at a theme park and then finish at home.
Whether more attractions follow we don’t yet know, but Disney called this an early example rather than a one-off. Hondo would be proud, or at least would find a way to charge you for it.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (August 15, 2026), Rain Blanken’s announcement of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite, the August 16 launch, the Smugglers Gambit island details, the crate and reward mechanics, the account linking requirements, and the Gresko and Kalama panel discussion