Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Florida (also known as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in California, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in Paris and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue in Shanghai) is an interactive shooting dark ride attraction located in the Tomorrowland area of the Disney theme parks. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, this attraction combines a carnival game and a third-generation Omnimover system. It is inspired by Disney/Pixar's ''Toy Story'' franchise, and contains several elements loosely based on the cartoon series ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command''.

The attraction first opened at Magic Kingdom on November 3, 1998. Subsequent versions can be found at Disneyland, Disneyland Park in Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland. Although each ride may have a different name, all share the same major plot and characters. The ride formerly existed at Hong Kong Disneyland under the name ''Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters'', but was closed in August 31, 2017, and Tokyo Disneyland ''Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters'', but was closed in October 31, 2024. For a brief period from the Shanghai version's opening in 2016 until the Hong Kong version's closure in 2017, and Japan version's closure in 2024, the attraction was only one of two that could be found at all six Disney castle parks worldwide (the other attraction being Dumbo the Flying Elephant).

Plot

The backstory of the ride revolves around the attempts of Evil Emperor Zurg (voiced by Ken Mitchroney in Space Ranger Spin, Tesshō Genda in Astro Blasters at Tokyo Disneyland, Andrew Stanton at Astro Blasters in Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland and Laurent Gamelon in Astro Blasters in Disneyland Paris, and an unknown actor in Planet Rescue) to steal the batteries (known as "crystallic fusion cells") used to power the space vehicles of the " Little Green Men" (voiced by Jeff Pidgeon). Participants are "Star Command" raw recruits sent to defeat Zurg. The queue area is awash in the chartreuse, white, and bright blue hues of Buzz Lightyear himself (voiced by Pat Fraley, who does voice for all Buzz Lightyear attractions inus the Shanghai and Japanese rides. Since Buzz Lightyear is a toy, the attraction is cleverly scaled to give the illusion that one has just been reduced to the size of an action figure, featuring such detail as giant, exposed Philips screw heads and an explanation of the interactive phase of the ride that resembles a toy's instruction sheet, only on a gigantic scale. An Audio-Animatronic Buzz Lightyear figure and giant Etch-a-Sketch (Disneyland) and/or View-Master (Walt Disney World) provide explanation of the "mission" to destroy Zurg's secret weapon with your blasters. While his body is audio-animatronic, Buzz's face is actually a screen with a projection of computer animation, allowing better lipsync and more expressive features, making him look like a more realistic representation of the character from the films.

Technical aspects

"Astro Blasters" and "Space Ranger Spin" are equal parts shooting gallery and dark ride. Visitors board an Omnimover space vehicle featuring two laser pistols and a joystick. The pistols are used to shoot laser beams at targets of varying point values. Targets that are hit while lit up will produce much higher scores. A digital readout on the dashboard shows the player's score. The joystick allows full 360-degree rotation of the vehicle to assist in aiming. During the ride, if the ride slows down or completely stops (this is a result of either a disabled guest or a ride breakdown), this allows for "bonus points" as the pistols and targets do not turn off. There are 4 different shaped targets which are worth different numbers of points: round (100 points), square (1,000 points), diamond (5,000 points), and triangle (10,000 points).

At the conclusion of the ride, the digital score flashes L1-L7 displaying the ranking or level achieved for the below scores:

* Level 1 Star Cadet: 0 – 1,000
* Level 2 Space Scout: 1,001 – 10,000
* Level 3 Ranger 1st Class: 10,001 – 100,000
* Level 4 Planetary Pilot: 100,001 – 300,000
* Level 5 Space Ace: 300,001 – 600,000
* Level 6 Cosmic Commando: 600,001 – 999,998
* Level 7 Galactic Hero: 999,999+

Some of the rides feature an on-ride photo, which depending on the park may be available as a free electronic postcard via e-mail at the exit, or be available for purchase on the Disney's PhotoPass system. The photos include the player's score. If the score is in the top 100 highest of the day, the player's ranking may be included in the photo. The Top 10 players' scores are shown on the scoreboard at the exit queue. The top person gets their face posted on the screen. The Disneyland version once featured at-home play tied directly to the attraction itself via the Internet, however this is disabled.

The installation at the Magic Kingdom utilizes an existing ride system by Arrow Development, originally constructed in 1972 for If You Had Wings. The ride was designed and manufactured by Sansei Technologies, Inc. with the corporation of Walt Disney Imagineering.

History

Magic Kingdom

The layout and systems of the ride date back to 1972. This space was originally home to If You Had Wings, an aviation themed ride sponsored by Eastern Airlines. Eastern Airlines dropped sponsorship of the ride for financial reasons in early June 1987. All Eastern themes were removed, and the ride was renamed If You Could Fly. If You Could Fly was closed down in January 1989.

The installation of Space Ranger Spin also impacted the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, which runs through the south show building. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority, or TTA as it is often called for short, had opened in 1975 as the WEDway PeopleMover. At that time, If You Had Wings was the attraction occupying the south show building. Three diorama windows were also positioned on the track: two on the right and one on the left. These allowed the Mexico, Jamaica, and Trinidad scenes to be visible to riders on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in such a way as to hide all projectors, lights and other show support equipment.

The diorama windows were altered once more when If You Had Wings was transformed into Delta Dreamflight. This was done because the windows no longer correctly lined up with show scenes. The first window was replaced with backlit panels depicting the ride's barnstormer scene. Window two looked into the Parisian Excursion scene, from a viewpoint which heavily distorted the tableau's forced perspective. The third window would have had TTA riders looking directly into an extremely bright light and so was completely obscured with plywood and black fabric.

In October 1997, Disney announced that Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin would be added to Magic Kingdom. When Delta Dreamflight transitioned yet again into the current attraction in 1998, the first window was refitted with the diorama of the hair salon, and the second left open to look into the new attraction, though concern was expressed over the fact that this view allows TTA riders to look directly into banks of high-powered blacklights. At one point during Space Ranger Spin, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the TTA passing through the building. The ride was briefly sponsored by Mattel from opening day to 1999.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was named the 2004 Disney Magazine Reader's Choice Award winner for Best Magic Kingdom Park Attraction for Young Kids. On March 26, 2025, Magic Kingdom announced that the original version of the attraction would be temporarily closed on August 17, 2025 for refurbishment, and it would be reopen in 2026, with new vehicles, blasters, targets, animatronics, and scenes, as part of Walt Disney World Resort's 55th anniversary celebration.

Disneyland

Like the Magic Kingdom version at Walt Disney World, it uses infrastructure from previous attractions. Its show building originally housed the Circle-Vision 360° theater. In 1997, as part of a major makeover of Tomorrowland, the Circle-Vision theater was removed and the space became part of the queue for Rocket Rods, which operated from 1998 to 2000. This space was then unused until 2005, when Astro Blasters opened.

Queue

Magic Kingdom

The queue of the ride shows different pictures of Buzz Lightyear and the Little Green Men. It also shows the battery cells and pipes plugging into Star Command. The rookie Space Rangers then pass Buzz himself, briefing the new recruits on their mission to battle Zurg, as a large wanted poster that declares Zurg public enemy number one is stationed next to the viewmaster. Rookies are directed to leave the briefing room, and report to the flight deck, allowing them to board XP 37 Star Cruiser. Attached to them are ion laser cannons and a joystick to spin the cart, and in the flight deck is a mural featuring Buzz and the Green Squadron battling Zurg's forces (which has since been updated to resemble the ones found at Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris).

Tokyo Disneyland/Disneyland/Hong Kong Disneyland/Disneyland Paris

This ride's queue (as well as the other clones with these blueprints) includes a walkie talkie with Buzz Lightyear on it reading his wrist communication device. The speakers provide the following backstory to the ride: Zurg is attacking Green Planet, home of the Little Green Men, as well as several Space Rangers being attacked and possibly neutralized by Zurg himself and the Giant Robot army in Sector 9. Zurg himself patches in a call declaring his plan, claiming that not even Buzz Lightyear can stop him now. The queue, as well as featuring posters from the Florida attraction, also features a poster depicting Buzz Lightyear shooting a purple, green and orange colored alien, and one depicting Lightyear leading a team of Space Rangers, which includes a character that strikingly resembles Princess Mira Nova from the film and the TV show Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. The rookies enter the briefing room to see Buzz himself, who (much like the Florida attraction) debriefs guests about the mission. The only difference between the two debriefs is that the future versions of the attraction included a line about Zurg's reason for his use of the batteries, which is followed by Buzz firing an Astro Blaster at the Etch a Sketch, which will feature a drawing of Zurg, before disintegrating into nothing. The rookies proceed down a long Corridor seeing the LGMs testing the Blasters, maps of the Galactic Alliance, or the targets. The rookies then board their star cruisers on the flight deck, equipped with Astro Blasters, and (in the case of the California, Hong Kong, and Paris versions of the ride), surrounded by a mural of Buzz, alongside some LGMs, battling Zurg's robot army. Each of the queues are different in each iteration, but all are similar in design and concept.

Shanghai Disneyland

This queue takes on a more futuristic and grounded approach to fit within the more futuristic Tomorrowland as opposed to the more cartoony and colorful variations found elsewhere. The backstory is also slightly changed, with Zurg being based on his homeworld of Xrgthung, the same planet from the opening Toy Story 2. Zurg plans to utilize a massive laser cannon to destroy the homeworld of the Little Green Men. Buzz Lightyear himself has traveled to the planet in an attempt to stop him, and asks the rookie Space Rangers for help, allowing them to be jetosenned on Star Cruisers equipped with two laser blasters.

Attraction

Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom's version of the ride, known as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, is the first Buzz Lightyear attraction, and the third Omnimover ride to operate in Tomorrowland's south show building. Unlike other versions of the attraction, Magic Kingdom's version features laser guns that are stationary.

The ride begins when the cart enters the "Astro-Accelerator." The ride then enters a robot attack scene. An orange robot called the Box-O-Bot (originally labeled as a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot during the Mattel sponsorship), a blue and purple robot called the Gigantobot, a green robot called the Battery Bot, and a Dog Bot are all present in this scene. The ride then slopes down a short hill into Planet Z. Here guests encounter many aliens including space chickens, space spiders, and others. There is also a volcano that is shooting green goo. The guests then enter Zurg's fortress where they see a battery delivery and Zurg commanding his guards to seize the guests and "their little green friends, too." Zurg is in his spaceship, which he calls his Spiderbot. In the next room the aliens show the guests that Zurg has escaped. The next room is the projection tunnel and in it Zurg is shooting at the guests, telling them to "PREPARE FOR TOTAL DESTRUCTION" and that they'll never catch him. The final room shows Buzz Lightyear fighting with Zurg in the now destroyed Spiderbot. The Little Green Men help Buzz tear it apart. Then the unload area shows Buzz Lightyear thanking the guests while holding Zurg in the claw. Zurg then threatens us that he'll be back. Guests will then exit the ride into Buzz's Star Command where they can purchase a photo of themselves on the ride.

Mattel, having just transferred its sponsorship from the It's a Small World attraction thus in turn making that attraction sponsorless in nearby Fantasyland originally sponsored the Walt Disney World attraction from its opening to 1999 when all references to Mattel were removed from the attraction. The Disney World version has been without sponsorship ever since.

Disneyland

Disneyland's version of the ride is called Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

A key difference between this ride and its counterpart at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is that its laser guns can be removed from their mounts to allow for more accurate shooting (similar to Men in Black: Alien Attack). The laser guns at Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom cannot be removed from their mounts and have limited movement.

The ride begins as the rookies are jetosenned out into space and encountering Zurg's robot army. Despite repainting and repositioning, the army still consists of the Box-O-Bot, the Gigantobot, the Dogbot, and the Batterybot. The Guests enter Zurg's Dreadnought down a hallway shooting batteries until you reach his laboratory. Zurg himself is seen firing his ion blaster, infuriated of the guests' presence, their aim, their devotion to Star Command, and being knocked out of orbit. As the rookies leave the Dreadnought, a few robots attempt to land it safely, only to be electrocuted by the rookies and the failing equipment of the Dreadnought. The rookies enter Planet Z (In the French Version of the ride Buzz Lightyear says "Attention Space Rangers, you've landed on Planet Z! Be ready for anything"), encountering the hostile alien lifeforms surrounding the volcano. Before leaving Planet Z, Zurg, in his secret weapon, gloats at the rookies, taunting them of his supposed victory, declaring that Star Command will be his next target after he conquers Green Planet. The rookies re-enter space via a light speed tunnel with Zs around it. Out in space, the rookie find Buzz Lightyear is using an Astro Blaster working alongside Green Squadron to take down Zurg's Secret Weapon, Zurg distraught and frustrated at his failure. The rookies arrive on Green Planet, where the LGMs signing the receipt to return Zurg to Al's Toy Barn. Zurg promises revenge as the Green Squadron and Buzz Lightyear thank the rookies. Buzz proceeds to remind the guests to put the Blasters in their holsters and to check their final score on the status board. Guests exit the ride to the gift shop (ie Little Green Men's Store Command or Star Command Suppliers).

Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland

The Tokyo version of the ride is called Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters and it is the original version of the second version of the ride and all of the ride's audio is in Japanese. At Hong Kong Disneyland, the ride was called Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and a highly identical clone of the Tokyo version with a more elaborate queue, with its entrance Buzz Lightyear statue being taken from the defunct DisneyQuest Chicago's Astro Blasters bumper car attraction. The Hong Kong version was also entirely in English, and only trilingual for safety rules. Those two versions also featured a floating Planet Z outside of the DreadNought. Their version's cruisers are called XP 38. On November 22, 2016, Disney announced that the Hong Kong version of the ride would be closing on August 31, 2017. In its place was the park's second Marvel-themed ride, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!, which became part of a new land, Stark Expo. However, Tokyo Disneyland's version is still operating today, until it was announced on April 26, 2024 that this version would close in October of that year, to be replaced with an attraction themed to the ''Wreck-It Ralph'' franchise to open in 2026.

Disneyland Paris

At Disneyland Paris, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast replaced the Circle-Vision 360° production '' Le Visionarium'', which closed in 2004. This version of the ride is much like the Disneyland version, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, except for the presence of a tribute to ''Le Visionarium'' in the robot attack scene with a hidden 9-Eye (the Circumvisual Photodroid from ''Le Visionarium'').

In the Paris version of the ride, the dialogue is the same but translated into French as well as English. In the queue, the Buzz Lightyear animatronic speaks English, as well as French. Some areas of the ride provide both dialogues, but in the scene where Zurg's weapon is half-destroyed, it switches from English to French in a 6 dialogue loop as it does in the California version of the ride. This ride's cruiser is called the XP 41 calling back to the California version. This is also the version with the second longest indoor queue.

Shanghai Disneyland

The most recent version of this attraction is called Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue. It is based on the opening sequence of ''Toy Story 2'', set on Zurg's home planet of Xrgthung, and featuring the robots with similar designs to those seen in the film.

The rookies are brought onto the surface of the planet, encountering several Zurgbots, all of which are easily neutralized with their laser guns, and with the help of the Little Green Men, and Buzz Lightyear himself. The battle is mainly on the surface before being brought into Zurg's bunker, in which the defense systems are activated to prevent the rookies, Little Green Men, or Buzz himself from stopping the operation. Buzz continues to assist the rookies in destroying the defense systems and robots, and eventually encounter Zurg, having thwarted his plan. The evil Emperor swears vengeance as Buzz and the Little Green Men congratulate the rookies for their assistance to Star Command.

Other appearances

In 2005, the Walt Disney Company premiered a home version of the ride in the form of an internet video game that allows users to connect with guests at the parks. The scores of each guest from the dark ride are tallied with the internet gamer and increase the points won.

There was also a bumper car attraction at Walt Disney World's DisneyQuest with the name "Buzz Lightyear's Astroblaster" where players rode and controlled enclosed bumper cars while shooting "asteroids" (black foam soccer balls) at each other. Getting hit by a ball at a specific target caused the cars to spin around and flash lights for a few seconds. However, that attraction was closed when DisneyQuest shut its doors in 2017.

The 2019 video game ''Kingdom Hearts III'' features a virtual version of the ride as one of its "Attraction Flow" theme park-inspired attacks, allowing the player to attack enemies with similar mechanics and visual style as the real ride.

Voice cast

English version

* Pat Fraley as Buzz Lightyear
* Ken Mitchroney (Walt Disney World), and Andrew Stanton (Disneyland) as Zurg
* Jeff Pidgeon as Green Squadron
* Peter Renaday as Space Ranger #1 (Disneyland versions only)
* TBA as Space Ranger #2 (Disneyland versions only)
* B. J. Ward as Space Ranger #3 and Star Command (Disneyland versions only)
* Jeff Fischer as Space Ranger #4 (Disneyland versions only)

French Version

* Richard Darbois as Buzz Lightyear
* Laurent Gamelon as Zurg
* Christophe Lemoine as Green Squadron
* TBA as Star Command
* TBA as Space Ranger #1
* TBA as Space Ranger #2
* TBA as Space Ranger #3
* TBA as Space Ranger #4

Gallery

File:DisneylandMar6 051.jpg, A space cruiser vehicle at Disneyland
File:High Score on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.jpg, The maximum score of 999,999 on a Disneyland vehicle. The only way to view the actual score after surpassing 999,999 points is by e-mailing the onboard photo.
File:Ticket Fast Pass.jpg, A Fast Pass ticket for the attraction.

See also

* Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment history
* List of current Disneyland attractions
* Tokyo Disneyland attraction and entertainment history
* Toy Story Midway Mania
* Men in Black: Alien Attack, a similar ride at Universal Studios Florida based on the ''Men in Black'' film series

External links

Disneyland Official Website

Magic Kingdom Official Website

Disneyland Paris Official Website

Shanghai Disneyland Official Website

References

{{Shanghai Disneyland Park

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Amusement rides introduced in 1998
Amusement rides that closed in 2025
Amusement rides introduced in 2004
Amusement rides that closed in 2024
Amusement rides introduced in 2005
Amusement rides that closed in 2017
Amusement rides introduced in 2006
Amusement rides introduced in 2016
Amusement rides manufactured by Arrow Dynamics
Amusement rides manufactured by Sansei Technologies
Dark rides
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Magic Kingdom
Tokyo Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Shanghai Disneyland
Pixar in amusement parks
Tomorrowland (Disney Parks)
Toy Story
Omnimover attractions
Audio-Animatronic attractions
Outer space in amusement parks
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Buzz Lightyear