Movies

First Look At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge App For Disney Parks

Galaxy's Edge app slice
By Ben Pearson

Disney wants guests to have a truly immersive experience when they step into Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. One way they're looking to facilitate that is through the use of an app, which through your interactions will  ultimately decide whether you support the Resistance, the First Order, or roam around as an independent scoundrel.

Now we have a first look at the design of the app, and you can read more about this "vital tool" and how it will be used in the park below.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge App

Before we get started, I want to point out a fun little thing that the folks over at BlogMickey noticed: the filename in the header image on Disney's website uses the phrase "delos marketing," which is a shout-out to the HBO series Westworld. That sci-fi series involves a company called Delos that runs an immersive theme park – something Galaxy's Edge is aspiring to emulate. (But hopefully without all of the deaths and robot uprisings.)

Moving on. We should clarify that this is not a separate app specifically for Galaxy's Edge. It's the Play Disney Parks app, which offers games while you wait in line, trivia about the parks, Disney music, and more. Once you arrive in Batuu (the fictional planetary setting of Galaxy's Edge), that Play Disney Parks app "will transform into your galactic datapad" and become a "vital tool when it comes to living your own Star Wars story."

Here's the breakdown of how you can use the app, courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog:

  • Translate galactic languages—both written and spoken.
  • Discover precious cargo and digital goods as you scan objects all around the spaceport—including items hidden inside space-shipping crates and containers.
  • Tune into communications sent by the planet's many residents to uncover stories and secrets throughout the land—and unscramble transmissions being sent from far, far away.
  • Use the Play Disney Parks app to hack into the land's many devices, control panels and droids.

    • Each time you complete a job involving one of these activities, you'll receive "digital rewards like ship schematics, star maps, galactic credits and more!"

    The image above is our first look at the layout and design of this transformed version of the app. If that menu screen is any indication, I guess they're going for a lean, almost minimalist approach with no bells and whistles. It's kind of a bland look, but maybe they'll improve it in a future update. I suppose the designers have to keep it relatively basic so the aesthetic makes sense regardless of the allegiance guests are ultimately assigned – tracking people's actions and updating the interface on the fly based on their Resistance, First Order, or scoundrel breakdown seems like a lot of extra work. And I imagine they don't want people spending too much time with their faces in their phones studying extra details, especially considering how crowded the first several months will be after the land's grand opening.

    But maybe having an app will be useful, considering just how enormous this whole area is going to be:

    Galaxy's Edge opens in Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on May 31, 2019, and in Orlando, Florida, on August 29, 2019. For much more on the park, check out our full written breakdown and listen to this episode of our /Film Daily podcast.

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