Unlocking Secret Grogu Mode & Tips for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run’s New Mandalorian Mission

There’s a new Baby Yoda and Mandalorian mission on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. Here are details for the new gameplay for each position, plus how to unlock the special “Grogu Mode” that’s hidden in the attraction.

Starting May 22, 2026 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will allow guests to control the iconic hunk of junk like never before. One highlight of this is a new gameplay addition that allows the engineer positions to care for and communicate with Grogu during the mission.

From the moment your crew is recruited by Hondo Ohnaka inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, your mission is to track down elusive bounties amid high-speed chaos and collect crates for Hondo. We’ve had a chance to experience the new version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run about a dozen times, doing all three destinations at least three times each, and experiencing multiple flight and gameplay “branches” within those. Here are some tips & tricks for the new Mandalorian & Baby Yoda mission…

As before, each new mission relies on two pilots working in tandem to steer the Millennium Falcon through danger, dodging obstacles, evading speedy TIE fighters, and keeping the ship intact as you track down your bounty. Each pilot plays a role in how the mission unfolds, controlling half of the motion and more, setting up gunners and engineers for success throughout the flight.

Here are some tips & tricks via Walt Disney World, along with my own anecdotal advice…

Pilots’ Path

The left pilot is in charge of the ship’s side to side movement. This will be key as you hope to maintain a smooth flight path and as your gunners prepare to line up with incoming targets. Some might say weaving gently back and forth helps pepper blasts over a wider area, though. Not my friends who were subjected to that “strategy” as I piloted one of our recent missions, but some might say it.

There’s also a boost button to accelerate past looming danger that is available to utilize at various points during the flight, so long as you act fast. Many walls, towers, canyon obstacles, and ships can damage the Falcon and cause your credits to drop, so adept steering is important to completing your mission.

The right pilot controls the vertical movement of the ship, pushing forward to go down and pulling back to go up. Right pilots avoid the ground and incoming obstacles, and also make the jumps to hyperspace at a few points during the mission. Precise timing is likewise important, especially at points where there’s natural terrain, debris or enemies to swoop under or over.

The pilot position hasn’t changed tremendously with the new mission, but another difference is that there are a few flight path decisions that can be made in each voyage. Think of these like shortcuts in Mario Kart, except not faster or intended to be secret. Just branching paths giving you a bit of control to chart your own course or choose your own adventure. It’s a nice touch.

Gunners’ Guide

As you strap in your seatbelt and take your position, gunners can choose from an automatic mode or a manual mode by pressing buttons on the pad to your side. That is, after this position first enables the secret Grogu Mode, should you so desire. More on that in a minute, though.

In automatic mode, targets are tracked automatically horizontally and vertically by using one button, which fires blasts in bursts of five. Automatic mode for auto-locking on targets is great for small children, first-timers, and others who want a low-stress option. It also can be good for guests who want to sit back and enjoy the show.

In manual mode, targets are tracked automatically horizontally, with each seat having its own targets on that half of the ship. More notably, each gunner has three buttons arranged vertically that intuitively correspond with a high, middle, or low targeting zone to fire on incoming enemy ships.

Manual mode is the more challenging and competitive option. It also opens up the potential for a higher score, should you be good at aiming. It also opens the door for a potentially lower score.

Personally, gunner is my favorite position in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. That was true before and it’s probably still true today. I actually recommend manual mode to most guests because all you need is three fingers locked on the buttons, and you can keep your eye on the action, not being distracted by the buttons and only half-paying attention to the visuals.

Engineers: Baby Yoda Babysitting & Beyond

Once the consensus worst position in Smugglers Run, Imagineering has overhauled the engineer role with expanded responsibilities. From the third row of the cockpit, the left and right engineers are responsible for tracking enemy ships, picking the planet destination, and collecting cargo to earn credits. They are also the babysitters of Baby Yoda, but that’s more of an honorary title. You basically just have a baby monitor for the little fella.

On each mission, one randomized engineer on board will choose your crew’s next, brand-new flight destination following the chase on Tatooine: Bespin, the wreckage of the second Death Star around Endor, or the bustling city-planet, Coruscant.

These new destinations follow Tatooine, but they’re not secondary. They compose a good portion of the mission, and I’d argue they’re the highlight. Diehard Disney or Star Wars fans will want to experience all three.

If you’re only going to ride once for whatever reason, I’d recommend Coruscant. There are several reasons for this, from Starship Halcyon Easter Eggs to music to the coolest visuals. We’ll have a full review soon discussing destinations and other gameplay changes, though.

The other engineer in your crew will launch homing beacons toward each of the bounty ships before taking off to your next destination. I want to emphasize the random nature of this. You might read elsewhere that it’s the left or right seat that chooses the destination; that’s wrong.

Engineers can also click the call icon button to drop-in on Baby Yoda. Even if you don’t actively call on Grogu, he’ll appear from time to time. It goes without saying that this is cute, but it’s also distracting. With these new missions, there’s a lot of action to see through the cockpit window.

As before, engineers repair the ship as it takes damage throughout your mission. You’ll see several buttons light up near you. To fix the ship as soon as possible to allow for a steady flight, spam any button that’s illuminated. Again, this strikes me as a distraction from the action.

Once you’ve jumped to your destination of choice, engineers will work together to grab up to six crates of valuable cargo (up to three on each side) from your bounty. When searching for the loot, an alert may sound and a masher button nearby will glow if potential shipments are in range. To secure the cargo, hit the button and watch as these valued possessions are brought toward the ship via the ship’s tractor beam.

These decisions give the engineer position more direct control over the mission, setting up what’s to follow by determining which bounty your crew will immediately pursue. This allows engineers to play a more active role in the mission than before. It’s a pretty big course-correction from the original Smugglers Run.

As the right pilot makes the final jump to hyperspace and the ship safely touches down back on Batuu (hopefully with as little damage as possible), the new mission comes to an end. Mando and Grogu have secured one of their bounties, while you’ll have brought back crates of loot for Hondo. Keep an eye out in the hangar bay to spot Mandalorian and Grogu securing their latest prized possession from the pursuit, as carbonite gas spills out from the Razor Crest.

Inside the hangar, Hondo tallies your crew’s performance, indicating how many crates your team managed to recover during the mission. Again, keep an eye out, as surprises await inside, from galactic credits to a load of Kyber Crystals, or even baby Rancors.

Each haul directly impacts your overall cabin score depending on what’s inside each crate, and each seat’s individual performance and skill is added up. According to Disney, there’s an elusive “Employee of the Month” honor that’s saved for a select few who secure the highest of high scores. I have yet to see this. I also, admittedly, am only okay at Smugglers Run. Part of this is probably due to capturing photos aboard the flight.

Grogu Mode

There’s a new secret mode or Easter Egg aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, dubbed “Grogu Mode” by the Imagineers who worked on the project. This is similar to Wookiee Mode (also known as Chewbacca or Chewy/ie Mode), which wasn’t “discovered” until a while after the ride originally opened.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Wookiee Mode, it requires a full crew of 6 and each position to press a specific button sequence to activate, all before the ride launch initiates. I’ve only done Chewbacca Mode once, but have attempted it several times and failed.

I have not tried to do it since that one successful run. It’s cute, but it has Chewbacca replacing Hondo, and unless you speak Wookiee, that may be more amusing than it is informative. It’s fun for repeat riders because, instead of Hondo’s smug guidance, you’re getting the howls and bleats–or whatever Wookiee sounds are called–of Chewbacca. That’s funny, especially if you’re used to the regular narration.

Grogu Mode, by contrast, is much more toned down. Like Chewy Mode, it does replace portions of the narration with the coos and vocalization of Baby Yoda. The displays are also replaced with a live feed of Grogu, as he does his thing in the cockpit of the Razor Crest. It’s cute, and it didn’t strike me as over-the-top as Chewie Mode.

Activating Grogu Mode requires less speed and precision, as only the gunners have a role in the activation. Everyone else just has to not press any buttons upon entering the cockpit until it’s been activated. After seat belt check, the gunners will press the buttons pictured below, simultaneously:

The other side is the mirror image of this, meaning the big circular button and the back button on the horizontal row under the display. Both buttons must be held down at the same time on each side, but both gunners don’t have to do it simultaneously.

Here’s another look at the buttons just in case it’s difficult to ascertain the previous photo:

This is much easier to activate than Chewie Mode, which requires an elaborate sequence that no one could discover by chance. Mastering that feels like achieving a feat of strength. This is easier, but still unlikely to be accidentally stumbled upon given that it requires the precise pushing of both buttons by both gunners, and before anyone else in the cockpit has touched anything.

And as with Chewie Mode, you can always ask a Cast Member for assistance, although that may be hit or miss until more time passes and they’ve all learned about Grogu Mode. This one won’t be a race against the clock, so they should easily be able to assist after seat belt check. (Just be sure to do that first.)

Disney and Star Wars fans love hidden gems and secrets, so there’s going to be the temptation to do Grogu Mode as soon as possible. As with Chewie Mode, we’d recommend logging a few regular flights first.

Grogu Mode is not for a first ride-through, but it’s definitely worth checking out for ride 4 or 5. Part of the reason for that is that the amusement comes in familiarity with what it’s replacing, which you don’t have if you’ve never ridden. Over time, I expect Grogu Mode to be quite popular.

The feed of the child is cute, arguably to the point that it’s better than a standard mission feed. The “dialogue” is less over-the-top, for better or worse, as it’s not laugh-out-loud funny like Chewie Mode. Unlike that, Grogu Mode is something I’d do again and will introduce to friends.

I hope there are more secrets and Easter Eggs locked away for guests to discover, and from what we’ve already seen, that appears to be the case. The gameplay is more enjoyable and approachable, while also having more depth and discoveries along the way.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Will you attempt Grogu Mode? Are you excited to see the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run? What do you think about the expanded engineer role? Excited to be Baby Yoda’s babysitter or choose from 3 new destinations? If you’ve already experienced the Mando mission, what’d you think? Favorite of the new destinations? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!