Star Wars Experiences Come to Life at Disney Celebration

At Star Wars Celebration, fans got an exciting glimpse into the future of Disney Parks experiences. IGN had the opportunity to sit down with Walt Disney Imagineering's Asa Kalama and Disney Live Entertainment's Michael Serna to discuss the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu-themed update for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, the introduction of the adorable BDX droids to Disney Parks worldwide, and much more. Kalama and Serna shared insights into how they craft these immersive experiences, bringing beloved stories and characters to life in ways that create lasting memories for guests.

The Mandalorian and Grogu-Themed Update to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run Will Let Engineers Take Care of Grogu

A highlight from Star Wars Celebration was the announcement of the The Mandalorian and Grogu-themed update coming to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run on May 22, 2026. This update will allow Engineers to care for Grogu during the ride, offering a unique interactive experience. Although the attraction's storyline diverges from the film's plot, it integrates Mando and Grogu into the mission, making the Engineer's seat particularly exciting as it enables direct interaction with Grogu and decision-making on the mission's destination.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Mission Concept Art for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run

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Kalama shared, "Throughout the mission, we're going to be giving the engineers the opportunity to actually get to communicate with Grogu. So, we think it's going to be a ton of fun. There may be times when Mando has to deboard the Razor Crest and Grogu, left to his own devices, might get a little happy on the control panel. So, we love the idea of there being these fun little vignettes and moments where you're sort of on the comm with Grogu."

The update introduces a choose-your-own-adventure element, where guests must make quick decisions about which bounties to pursue, leading to destinations like Bespin, the Death Star wreckage above Endor, and Coruscant. The new storyline involves Hondo Ohnaka catching wind of a deal on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and pirates, setting the stage for a high-stakes chase across the galaxy with Mando and Grogu.

The BDX Droids Will Be Traveling From Disney Parks Around the World Right Into Your Heart

The beloved BDX Droids, featured in The Mandalorian & Grogu, are set to enchant guests at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disney. These droids, developed to enhance guest immersion in beloved Star Wars stories, are designed with unique personalities and childlike qualities to engage visitors on a deeper level.

Kalama explained, "The goal of the BDX Droids was to look at how we bring characters to life in our parks in different ways, and this is really technology merging with this piece of entertainment and a backstory we created specifically for the parks because these kind of originate with the parks. They've appeared in games and other places, but we created an original story just for us and we've sort of evolved that as we've moved on to sites all over the world."

Serna added, "So, we realized we kind of needed to identify each one of them with a personality. It made it much more interesting to engage with them and allowed us a lot of flexibility and a lot of ways to continue to expand that world. So, in the same way we love R2-D2 and other droids that we become connected to, we think you'll become connected to certain colors of the BDX droids. Each color is really a unique personality."

The introduction of BDX Droids is part of Disney's broader effort to evolve park experiences, utilizing advanced animatronics and robotics to create more engaging and immersive character interactions.

From Peter Pan and Star Tours to Creating the Future

Kalama and Serna's passion for Disney Parks was ignited by their childhood experiences with attractions like Peter Pan and Star Tours. These experiences inspired them to join the team that crafts new adventures for future generations.

Serna reminisced, "As a little kid, riding Peter Pan was most exciting for me. To fly in this vehicle... I think it really blew my mind. I had no idea how it worked. I just thought, 'Oh my God, we're flying!' And then, as I got a little older and became a huge Star Wars fan, Star Tours was really the ride that changed my life as far as what I thought theme parks can do. Peter Pan was an amazing story, but it was sort of something from the past. However, seeing something that I love from the Star Wars films represented that way... I mean, if you remember back then, we were in an era of no new Star Wars stuff and this was a new adventure and I couldn't believe I was now in a Star Wars story myself."

Kalama shared a similar sentiment, "I only had the opportunity to visit the park one time before I became a cast member, and I was probably eight years old and I was so obsessed with all things science fiction. I literally refused to leave Tomorrowland. So, the first time I ever encountered any of the other lands was as an adult. But again, for me, as Michael said, I have one vivid memory and it was Star Tours. That was *the* attraction for me. I mean, the suspension of disbelief was through the roof and I fully believed that I was on a star speeder and that I had traveled through the galaxy. I think that sense of magic of disassociation with reality and entering into this complete fantasy world is powerful, not only for kids, but I think it's just as important for adults. And so I think when we do our jobs well, we invite the entire family, regardless of how old you are right now, to feel truly transported and completely lost in a fantasy."

Their passion for creating memorable experiences is evident in their work. Serna highlighted his involvement in "Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga" at Disneyland, a projection show at Galaxy's Edge that enhances the nightly fireworks with a Star Wars narrative, even on nights without fireworks.

Serna explained, "That was actually about a two-year process of looking at something that was happening in the parks daily, which was fireworks. People would sit in Batuu and watch the fireworks, but there was no music or anything. You were just sitting there in silence watching fireworks. So, we sort of looked at that as an opportunity to say, well, maybe we need to create something here and create it in the world of Star Wars."

Kalama emphasized the attention to detail in their work, "I think something that I hope is invisible to our fans, but something that they appreciate, is that there is just an obsessive level of attention to detail that we put into everything. The number of very serious conversations we've had around the type of screw head that we should put on a panel wall, because... well... Phillips doesn't exist in the Star Wars timeline or the receipt paper that comes out of the printer when you make a purchase. We really go above and beyond to think about what are all of the small infinitesimal details that might not seem all that important on their own, but when they add up together they make the space feel truly authentic and immersive."