Friday, October 8, 2010

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a video-game-inspired ride at Magic Kingdom theme park based on the exploits of Buzz Lightyear and the Evil Emperor Zurg from Disney·Pixar's film Toy Story 2.

Accept the role of a Junior Space Ranger, board XP-37 space cruisers and blast away at Evil Emperor Zurg's robot minions with laser cannons. Zurg is attempting to steal batteries from helpless toys to power a weapon of ultimate destruction, and Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear is tasked by Star Command to stop him. Now Buzz needs the help of Junior Space Rangers to thwart the Evil Emperor's dastardly plans.

Spin your space cruiser any direction you wish. Every time you hit a target, you're rewarded with fun sounds, special effects, and points are added to your total score. Players can compete with each other for the highest score or try to attain a new personal best. You are even assigned a Star Command rank, based on your performance. The lowest rank is the humble "Space Cadet," but advanced players can challenge themselves to reach the highest rank, "Galactic Hero."

The attraction mixes familiar video game elements with a neon-colored physical environment to create a dazzling new experience that will entertain both expert gamers and Guests who have always enjoyed classic Disney dark rides.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is located in the central hub of Tomorrowland, just southeast of Astro Orbiter's towering rocket ship.

Opened: October 7, 1998

Ride length: 4 minutes, 3 seconds

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is one of the most fun attractions in Disney World. You're literally in the middle of a giant arcade game, shooting lasers and racking up points as you head to the ultimate showdown with the evil emperor Zurg.

You ride in XP-37 Space Cruisers. These are designed to seat two. The Space Cruisers glide along an "Omnimover" and rotate a full 360°. The car's ability to swivel and spin is controlled by the riders. There is normally a long line for this ride, but the cars are relatively quick loading.

Souvenir photos will be available for purchase at the end of the ride.
Disney history buffs will want to note that this site was originally "If You Had Wings" which was sponsored by Eastern Airlines and was in operation from 6/5/72 through 6/1/87.

From 6/6/87 till 1/3/89, it became "If You Could Fly" sponsored by Delta Airlines. It was shut down until 6/6/89 when it reopened as the "Delta Dreamflight."

After Delta ended its sponsorship on 1/1/96 it was renamed "Take Flight". On 1/5/98 it closed and on 10/7/98, became Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

Fastpass available.

Accessibility: Guests will have to transfer out of their wheelchairs for this ride.

Scoring Tips:
Aim for the center of the "Z's".
The targets that are further away and those that are moving are worth more points.
Hit the top of the volcano for 100,000 points.
After passing the "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots," pivot your car around and see if you can hit the target on the back of the robot's wrist for 100,000 points.
Look for the spider after the robots and see if you can shoot it.
In the room where the targets are projected, don't stop shooting.
Try hitting the batteries in the front to knock them down and rack up points.









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