{"id":17702,"date":"2019-10-17T17:07:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T17:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=17702&post_type=story"},"modified":"2023-11-20T20:24:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:24:49","slug":"millennial-falcon","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/millennial-falcon\/","title":{"rendered":"Millennial Falcon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2019 | By Nicole Dudenhoefer \u201917<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What seemed to be a distant fantasy\u00a0for Star Wars<\/em> fans is now an exciting\u00a0possibility in a not-so-faraway galaxy: flying the Millennium Falcon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Within the past year, the 14-acre Star\u00a0Wars<\/em>: Galaxy\u2019s Edge has been added\u00a0to both Walt Disney World Resort\u00a0near Orlando and Disneyland Resort\u00a0in Anaheim, California. Among the\u00a0attraction\u2019s immersive experiences is\u00a0Millennium Falcon<\/em>: Smugglers Run,\u00a0a simulation ride that allows up to\u00a0six people working together as pilots,\u00a0gunners and engineers to complete a\u00a0mission in real time.<\/p>\n

One of the leaders on the Walt\u00a0Disney Imagineering team behind\u00a0the ride is civil engineering<\/a> grad\u00a0Jacqueline (Cade) King \u201912<\/strong>. While\u00a0a senior at UCF, she was connected to\u00a0an internship opportunity with Disney\u00a0through the American Society of Civil\u00a0Engineers student organization. Once\u00a0she graduated, King\u2019s role at Disney\u00a0evolved before she landed the gig as an\u00a0attraction producer for Smugglers Run.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to school to build bridges, and\u00a0I ended up building spaceships,\u201d says\u00a0King, who grew up watching Star Wars\u00a0films with her family. \u201cWorking with\u00a0Imagineering is one of the best jobs you\u00a0could ask for. No day is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

King\u2019s job is to ensure the creative\u00a0vision of the project is delivered on\u00a0time and on budget. Acting as a liaison\u00a0between Imagineering and other teams,\u00a0she oversaw aspects on the project\u00a0from major conceptual developments\u00a0to the smallest painted elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all had that dream of flying\u00a0the Millennium Falcon<\/em>, and meeting\u00a0those expectations was one of the most\u00a0exciting and challenging parts of the\u00a0project,\u201d King says.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”18119″ title=”Gallery_1200x800-2″ alt=”jacqueline king wearing hard hat and reflective vest standing inside millenial falcon” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

King on the new themed experience and ride:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Force Is Strong in her Family<\/strong>
\nWhile creating Smugglers Run, King\u2019s team became tightknit. Her husband, mechanical engineering<\/a> grad Gabriel King \u201915<\/strong>, also worked on Galaxy\u2019s Edge. Ultimately, King says for her, Star Wars is all about bonding. \u201cWatching all of those characters come together, they truly become more than friends, they become a family. The Millennium Falcon<\/em> becomes the home base everyone unites in.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

Traveling Through Hyperspace<\/strong>
\nSeeing Galaxy\u2019s Edge finally come together was a surreal experience for King, and she says your journey through the land will be too. \u201cThe amount of detail the entire team put into making you feel like you\u2019ve truly entered a different world is astounding. Our partners worked really hard to take you out of the theme park and into Batuu.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

Fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy<\/strong>
\nFor four years, King worked with Disney and the Lucasfilm teams to get every detail of the ride right. From studying the films to poring over 20-foot drawings of the Falcon<\/em>, her team was able to create the nearly 110-foot-long spacecraft to scale. \u201cThis is the first time anybody has seen the Millennium Falcon<\/em> as expected from the films. You don\u2019t have to pretend you\u2019re anywhere because you\u2019re truly there.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

More than a Bucket of Bolts<\/strong>
\nDeveloping the technology behind the ride to deliver real-time feedback was a huge undertaking, King says. Disney worked with Epic Games to make it happen. \u201cWe had to make sure the game engine could process all of the visuals at the quality we wanted, as well as have six guests control the vehicle and make sure they\u2019re working toward the same goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”18118″ title=”Gallery_1200x800-1″ alt=”photo of the inside of the millenial falcon” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Let the Wookiee Win<\/strong>
\nWhile waiting to board the spacecraft, riders pass the iconic location where Chewbacca and R2-D2 played a holographic chess game. \u201cOn the ride you can also unlock another Easter egg we call \u2018Wookiee Mode.\u2019 It actually allows Chewie to communicate with you throughout the entire mission.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

Stay on Target<\/strong>
\nWith about 200 controls in the Millennium Falcon<\/em>, some riders may feel overwhelmed. King says it\u2019s important to keep in mind the sense of realism behind the ride. \u201cPilots should make sure they are not hitting objects, gunners should focus on shooting everything coming at you, and engineers should keep reeling in the cargo.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":18124,"template":"","categories":[999],"tags":[248,148,1414],"class_list":["post-17702","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumknights","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-innovation","issues-1348","issues-fall-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nUCF Grad Helped Create Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As attraction producer for the new Star Wars ride, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Jacqueline (Cade) King \u201912 helped bring a fantasy to life for fans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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