For Star Wars fans, sitting at the chessboard in the hold of the Millennium Falcon is a dream come true. You’ll do that and more on Smugglers Run, a ride in which six people sit in a mockup of the cockpit of Han Solo’s battered but trusty ship. Using highly believable but non-nauseating flight simulator technology, you pilot a mission under the verbal direction of Hondo Ohnaka, a smuggler. You hear him—and sometimes see him on little cockpit screens—tell you when to steer, shoot, and punch buttons. Do well for a high score; crash into everything to annoy your narrator.

Each row has its own function: Pilots, in front, control lateral movement (left seat) as well as up-and-down movement and initiation of warp speed (right-hand seat). In the middle seats, gunners push illuminated buttons on cue to fire guns and harpoons. Third-row engineers have the least to do, pushing buttons now and then to “repair” the ship (no, I don’t know how that would work—we’re space pirates but you want to get literal now?). Ride attendants assign roles indiscriminately, but your group can always swap places before boarding. Pick an engineer’s seat if you're terrible at video games and would rather do more watching than button-banging. Pilots, on the other hand, have nonstop duties and the best view. The pilot on the right gets to pull the lever to send the ship into hyperspace, so that’s the coolest yet most demanding spot. Assign roles judiciously according to the personalities in your group.


Strategy: Since there’s often a single rider line that moves quickly, you can always re-ride until you try all the roles.