Are you having trouble keeping track of all the big changes happening in Magic Kingdom? Well, we get it, because a lot is happening: Frontierland is getting a huge Cars-themed expansion, and a new Villains-themed land is being built behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which is also getting a huge update).
So the big update to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin might not have been on your radar unless you recently visited Disney World to ride it and saw that it was closed. Well, the ride has finally soft opened in Magic Kingdom, and Emperor Zurg better be scared of us!
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is part ride and part game where you shoot at targets to help Buzz Lightyear defeat the mighty Zurg. The first thing you’ll notice when you get on the updated version of the ride is that the ride vehicles are 100% new!
Not only that, but when you step into the ride vehicle and grab the blaster, you’ll notice that it’s now separate from the vehicle, which will make aiming and shooting a LOT easier.
The game has also been VASTLY improved with interactive targets that now change when you hit them. Before, you never really knew when you were hitting targets because they didn’t react. Now, they light up green when you hit them. They’re also a lot easier to spot!
There’s also a brand new scene with a new character, Buddy. Buddy will tell you everything you need to know about getting ready for your big mission. This is now the first scene of the ride, so you’re ready to go.
Remember that tunnel you go through towards the end of that ride? Well, now it has Zurg releasing space mines that you can shoot to earn more points. This is a pretty big change!
One of the best parts of the ride is the ride photo you get at the end, but let’s face it…the ride photo hasn’t always looked great. Well, that’s been updated now, too. So be ready to pose, smile, serve face, or whatever you want to do!
During the soft opening, the wait time was only about 30 minutes when we stopped by, which isn’t too bad! The ride is going to fully reopen on April 8th, so it may or may not be operating over the next week before the 8th officially comes around. The ride did see some operational issues throughout Cast Member previews, so there are no guarantees that it will be open before April 8th.
Cast Members told us the ride will be closed for sure on Wednesday, April 1st. They also said that if they can open the ride outside of that day, they will try to, but again, there are no guarantees.
We’ll be covering more Disney World news, so check back with AllEars again soon for more.
6 Things Cast Members Wish You’d Stop Doing When Getting on Disney Rides
What do you think of the changes to this ride? Share with us in the comments!
What about tomorrow 3/31?