Smuggler's Gambit OR how to earn a virtual character by going to a real place!

 

I think that everyone already knows that I love Disneyland. And I think everyone also knows that I love Star Wars. (I don't hide these loves at all) But you might not know that I really love playing Fortnite. I literally play it every day if I can. It's goofy, it's always changing, and it lets me dress up as both Batman and Boba Fett.

So when I learned that there was a Star Wars themed skin that you could earn by going to Disneyland - a place that I visit about once a month - I had to get it! 

But, I'm also a game designer who once worked for Disney Imagineering making virtual experiences like this for Disneyland, so I was fascinated to see how well they managed to pull this off.

The event is called Smuggler's Gambit, which is a sub-game in Fortnite. In Smuggler's Gambit, you are a mercenary who is performing a variety of tasks - hunting space pirates, fighting the Empire, downloading codes and capturing cargo, you know, Star Warsy stuff. Overall, it's pretty fun to blast stormtroopers and live out your best Han Solo life.

The Smuggler's Run promotion gives you the opportunity to earn a "free" skin - the Forsworn Trooper. You can only complete this next part by going to Disneyland or Disney World Park. I happen to live in Los Angeles and the park is only a few hours drive from where I live. 

Keep in mind, the average admission to Disneyland is between $119 - 194 depending on the day of the week and time of year. Don't forget that parking is $40. Hardly a "free" skin! I have a "magic key" which allows me admission into the park and discounted parking. But it's still expensive.

 
       

The first thing to do is to update your Disneyland app. Once you are in the park, make sure that location access is always ON. On the map of Disneyland, select the Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run attraction on the map. Now go to Galaxy's Edge and enter the queue for the attraction.

BEFORE you go to Disneyland, make sure your EPIC account is linked with your Disney account, otherwise none of this will work. You can do this through the EPIC app or website. Once you've linked your accounts, you are good to go.

   

Select the attraction on the map. Then on the ride description page, scroll down and select Fortnite.

 

     

This will take you to a "message accepted" page which has the description of the Smuggler's Run experience and a FAQ about it. 

If you've never been on the Smuggler's Run attraction before, it's a pretty impressive replica of the interior of the Millennium Falcon (that cargo hold where Luke practices with his lightsaber) and the cockpit. 

    

Up to six players can participate - two fly the ship left and right and up and down, two to work the guns and two are the engineers. You work together to try to shoot enemy ships, avoid taking damage and capture the crates.

 

 

The ride was recently updated to add the Mandalorian and Grogu and in my opinion, it's a better experience than it was when it first debuted back in 2019. However, the "game" can be confusing and rough for new players. I stick by my review that it's a better attraction than a game. 

 

 

The worst part of the "game" in my opinion, is that no matter how well you do, Hondo still insults you for messing up the ship. Nobody wants to be told they're a loser at Disneyland!

 

 

Once the attraction is over, you will get a notification on your app that the mission was a success.  

    

Even if you do poorly, you will still earn one crate. There is a FAQ if you have questions.

 

 

Now comes the fun part. You have to leave Disneyland and drive home. For me, it's a 2-4 drive depending on traffic.

 

      

Once I got home, I ran into some issues. Even though I had received the mission accomplished message (and an email), I still didn't have my prizes! I had to make sure that my Sony account was linked to my Epic account since I only play Fortnite on my PS5.  

In Fortnite, enter the Island Code: 7474-2686-2725. This will take you to the Smuggler's Gambit event screen. 



You will see your character standing in the environment like this. (If you are ever merc'd in Fortnite by Boba Fett in his updated armor, it's probably me.)

 

There is a start screen and a title screen that looks like this. 

 

In the spaceport level, go to Hondo, he's all the way in the back of the level, and ask him about your crates. If everything goes ok, then he'll have crates for you equal to the number of crates you captured in the attraction.

I had to update my game again to get everything to work, but I was eventually able to get Hondo to inform me that he had my crates. Two of them!

I opened the two crates and inside was not only the Forsworn Trooper skin, but several other rewards - XP, credits and a droid security guard! I was not expecting the extra loot and I think if you go on the attraction several times, you might be able to get more crates with his "mission".

And there you have it! The Forsworn Trooper skin will be in your locker for you to wear. It looks pretty cool - kind of a cross between a stormtrooper and a sandperson. Good luck getting your own Forsworn Trooper in Smuggler Gambit in Fortnite!

Overall, I love the idea of an exclusive skin for those who can achieve it. Disneyland really needs to embrace the interactive side of themed entertainment. The infrastructure is there, they just need to capitalize on it. I hope that there are other Star Wars related skins and goodies offered in the future. It shouldn't be too hard for EPIC to make them.