Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is located in Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Help Buzz Lightyear defeat the villainous Emperor Zurg on this exciting interactive adventure.
Ride Information Restrictions Accessibility Location Fun Facts Top 5 Tips
Ride Information
Opening Day: November 3, 1998
Type of Ride: Interactive, dark ride
Age Recommendation: All ages
Duration of Ride: About 5 minutes
Typical Queue Time: Moderate to long; typically between 30 minutes and 1 hour
Single Rider Line: No
Chicken Exit Available: Yes
Baby Swap Available: Yes
Type of Vehicle: XP-37 Star Cruiser
Type of Restraint: Lap bar
Attraction Open During Extended Evening Hours: Yes. See our Extended Evening Hours page for more information.
Ride Photo Available For Purchase: Yes
Ride Restrictions
Height Requirements: None
Flash Photography or Video Allowed: No
Safety, Accessibility, and Guest Policies
Accessibility:
- Guests must transfer from wheelchair
- Audio Description Available
- Handheld Captioning Available
Guest Policies: Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.
Location
Park Map of Magic Kingdom:
Other Rides/Attractions In the Area:
This attraction is located in the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.
Shopping: Guests exit Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin through the “Buzz’s Star Command” gift shop. Here plush dolls, action figures, and t-shirts pertaining to the Toy Story franchise are available for purchase, in addition to on-ride photographs.
Dining/Refreshment: Near Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland, guests can enjoy counter service meals at The Lunching Pad and Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. The former location serves loaded hot dogs and pretzels while the latter eatery offers burgers, hot dogs, and chicken and rib combo meals. Guests preferring a sit-down meal can enjoy one nearby off Main Street USA at the Plaza Restaurant. The Plaza Restaurant features a plethora of sandwiches and ice cream treats.
Restroom: Restrooms convenient to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin are situated between Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress and Space Mountain, and Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies and Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, respectively.
Smoking Location: Smoking is permitted in designated smoking areas only. Disney parks are smoke free.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Fun Facts
Did you know?
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is based on Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, especially Toy Story 2 (1999).
- A animatronic version of Buzz Lightyear features in the queue.
- Each ride vehicle, called a “XP-37 Star Cruiser,” seats up to two guests. The rider can spin their vehicle throughout the ride via a joystick. Each Star Cruiser has two laser guns, one for each rider. The practical goal for riders is to hit targets, marked with a Z insignia. Glowing space creatures, each with their own target, scatter throughout the attraction. The individual insignias award varying point totals. Each vehicle displays the rider’s score next to their blaster.
- The maximum score on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is 999,999.
- Guests receive one of seven ranks at the end of the attraction based on their score. From the lowest rank to the highest rank, the designations are: “Space Cadet,” “Space Ace,” “Planetary Pilot,” “Space Scout,” “Ranger 1st Class,” “Cosmic Commando,” and “Galactic Hero.”
- Buzz Lightyear interacts with guests throughout the day near Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
- Spinoff attractions of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin feature at all four Disneyland parks around the world. Said attraction is called “Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters” in California, Tokyo, and Hong Kong and “Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast” in Paris.
- Whereas the laser guns on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin are bolted to the vehicle, the lasers on the spinoffs attach to the vehicles via cords, making shooting easier.
- Another arcade-type dark ride based on Toy Story, Toy Story Midway Mania!, opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008. Toy Story Midway Mania! is also featured outside Walt Disney World at Disney’s California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea, respectively.
History
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin utilizes an omnimover track system. The attraction retained the same layout from the building’s previous attractions: “If You Had Wings” (1972-1987), “If You Could Fly” (1987-1989), “Delta Dreamflight” (1989-1996), and “Take Flight” (1996-1998). Opened with the sponsorship of airlines, Eastern Air Lines for “If You Had Wings” and Delta for “Delta Dreamflight,” these attractions were promotional and educational in nature, focusing on travel destinations and the history of aviation, respectively. “If You Could Fly” and “Take Flight” represented retooled versions of their immediate predecessors after Eastern Air Lines and Delta dropped their respective sponsorship.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin marked the first appearance of Emperor Zurg. The antagonist made his film debut in Toy Story 2, which released a year after the ride opened. A similar scenario also occurred at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1998. The 3-D show “It’s Tough to Be a Bug!” debuted with the park on April 20, 1998, while its corresponding theatrical film, Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, was not theatrically released until November 25, 1998.
Hidden Mickeys:
- Pay attention to the planet Pollost Prime, which is seen twice in the queue and twice in the attraction proper. Find a Hidden Mickey as a landmass on the planet.
- Sponsored Ad: Learn more about Hidden Mickey details and location throughout Walt Disney World in A Field Guide to Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets
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.Top 5 Tips for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Have a friendly competition with other members of your party for the highest score.
- Due to its competitive and interactive nature, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is a great attraction to re-ride if time permits. Consider riding immediately after park opening or when waits are short.
- Consider watching Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999) prior to your visit in order to better appreciate Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
- Consider purchasing an on-ride photo,. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is one of the eleven photo-equipped attractions at Walt Disney World—the others are Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and TRON Lightcycle/Run at the Magic Kingdom, “Test Track” Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, “Rock ‘n Roller Coaster” Slinky Dog Dash, and “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and “Expedition Everest” and “DINOSAUR” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
- Spin your ride vehicle to help with aiming at targets. Some of the harder to get targets are worth more points!