It’s been a month; we can talk about it, right? Actually, before I get into that, it was recently brought to my attention that there are a month’s worth of guests who have visited Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and are confused by the QR codes scattered throughout the land. Then again, the QR codes have probably confused seven years’ worth of guests. A recent change by Disney made it even tougher to find the answer.
What Are the QR Codes in Star Wars Land?
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- The QR codes belong to the Star Wars Datapad, a feature of the Play Disney Parks app that Disney discontinued on September 16th.
- Disney installed an Oga’s Cantina poster over the former Batuu Bounty Hunters signage.
- Datapad missions also carried Galactic Starcruiser guests down to Batuu.
Sunsetting the Play Disney Parks App
I won’t make you read an entire treatise on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to find the answer. The short answer is that the QR codes were part of the recently sunset Play Disney Parks app. On September 16th, Disney discontinued the Play Disney Parks app. It’s unclear why the app was discontinued, but I’d imagine a lack of popularity played a part.
With the sunsetting of the app came the sunsetting of a “game” within the app called the Star Wars Datapad. The Star Wars Datapad was an area within the app that turned your phone into a “datapad”, allowing you to interact and engage with elements within Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It was one of the more immersive offerings of the Play Disney Parks app, and it was an attempt to make good on the promise of Galaxy’s Edge being more immersive than any other land Disney had ever created.
Now that the Play Disney Parks app is gone, so too is the interactivity within Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In fact, there are dozens, if not 100+, QR codes still on display within the land. You’ll mostly find them on crates. Scanning the QR codes used to “reveal” what was inside the crates as you collected items as part of your missions within the Datapad. Specifically, Disney utilized the QR codes for the “scanning” feature. More on that in a second.
Here’s a look at some crates that we snapped photos of during a recent visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As you can see, Disney hasn’t covered up the QR codes or made any changes to the crates. They’re still on full display a month later. In fact, we saw two families wondering what the QR codes were for, trying to use their own phone cameras to scan the crates. Nothing happened, and that was the impetus for this article.
PHOTOS: QR Codes in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Batuu Bounty Hunters
Now, that’s not to say that Disney didn’t make any changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge following the sunsetting of the Play Disney Parks app. Allow me a slight detour before we get back on track.
Back in July 2022, Walt Disney World debuted the MagicBand+. With this upgraded version of their original MagicBand wearable, Disney introduced some interactivity within their theme parks. Disney marketing zeroed in on three enhanced experiences exclusive to MagicBand+ purchasers. The Disney Fab 50 Quest allowed you to interact with golden statues around the four Walt Disney World theme parks for the 50th Anniversary. Disney also touted effects during the since-retired Harmonious and Disney Enchantment nighttime spectaculars. However, it was the third offering that was, in my opinion, the best. Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters invited guests to use their MagicBand+ as homing beacons to find and “capture” bounties around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Here’s how Disney described it:
Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters
On Batuu, the bounty hunting business is booming. MagicBand+ is your guide to seeking numerous virtual bounties hidden across Black Spire Outpost with the Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters experience. Vibrations and lights on MagicBand+ guide you down the right path. When you find your Bounty, you can use the Play Disney Parks app’s augmented reality thermal viewer to reveal who’s hiding in the shadows. Local guild master Raga Bua will reward you with galactic credits. Do you have what it takes to join the guild?
We have a full review of the experience in our August 2022 article. Ok, getting back to my earlier thought. Disney did make one change in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge following the sunsetting of the Play Disney Parks app. They installed a poster over the former Play Disney Parks signage for the Batuu Bounty Hunters game. The poster is an advertisement for the Oga’s Cantina bar within Galaxy’s Edge. The Oga’s poster advertises “great music” and that it was rated the 4th-most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the galaxy. Oga’s got some work to do. Here’s a before/after.
How Disney Described the Datapad
Getting back to our look at the Datapad, here’s how Disney used to describe the Star Wars Datapad, and the interactive ways that guests could immerse themselves in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge through the app:
When visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, travelers will be able to interact with the land in a way unlike anything they’ve seen before in a Disney park, and will be able to play on their Star Wars: Datapad for a landwide interactive experience through the Play Disney Parks mobile app. Through the app, visitors will be able to turn their mobile device into their own Datapad and within it will find several tools at their disposal to use while exploring the planet Batuu, and may even uncover some surprises!
Use the “hacking” feature to interact with certain door panels or droids to see their memories, or open your “scanning” tool to peek inside of cargo crates you may spot while walking around. The handy “translation” tool will help you understand Aurebesh (the written language of the Star Wars galaxy) signs throughout Black Spire Outpost, and you can even tap into and decrypt signals from antennas or communications devices and listen to secret messages with the “tuning” feature.
Throughout Black Spire Outpost, the First Order is trying to install surveillance devices in door panels to spy on the Resistance. Use your Datapad to join in “Outpost Control,” a landwide game, and choose to support either side as they vie for a hold on the land. Winners may even find themselves rewarded with galactic credits for their efforts.
Your Star Wars adventure continues when you make your way to get in line at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. While getting ready to board the most famous ship in the galaxy, you can even take on a job for Hondo Ohnaka, the pirate turned “legitimate” businessman operating Ohnaka Transport Solutions out of Black Spire Outpost. Reroute misplaced cargo, learn how to keep your cover under pressure and prep the Falcon for your flight in this in-queue game!
Beyond Batuu Bounty Hunters and the Star Wars Datapad, the Play Disney Parks app was also home to the Datapad for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser immersive hotel experience. Guests were either given a device or used their own. They unlocked a special area within the Star Wars Datapad to use during the multi-day Starcruiser experience. During the second day of their Starcruiser experience, guests were tasked with going to Batuu to complete “on-planet” missions. Those missions used the same QR codes and Datapad features that they may have been familiar with.
The story seamlessly transitioned from the Galactic Starcruiser “ship” down to the “planet” of Batuu. Missions would take anywhere from an hour to three hours, depending on your determination to get back to the air conditioning of the Halcyon.
So, long story short? The QR codes are an abandoned element of the interactivity promised for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge by way of the sunsetting of the Play Disney Parks app a month ago today.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!