Buzz
Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Tomorrowland
Pilot your Star Cruiser
through imaginative, immersive worlds as you careen through a comical
cosmos! Spin and fire your personal laser cannon to score points...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Be a
junior Space Ranger and pilot your Star Cruiser through imaginative,
immersive worlds. You are the pilot as you careen through a comical
cosmos! Go on a daring space mission to save the toy universe from the
sinister Emperor Zurg. Spin and fire your personal laser cannon to score
points.
Good
luck, Space Rangers!
This
was a great way for Disney to spice up Tomorrowland, and the new rumors
about turning this into a Disney alien-land may make it even better. You
ride in Haunted Mansion-style cars with guns mounted on the front shell.
You can also spin you car which could be more fun than trying to shoot the
aliens. Men in Black at Universal Studios is a superior ride because of
its teshered guns and more realistic scenery. The mounted guns on Buzz can
make it difficult to hit some of the targets, and this one seems much more
like a shooting range than MIB. Fastpass is highly recomended for this
very popular attraction, but it's continuous load means that the line
never stops moving.
Pilot your own star cruiser as you save the galaxy from the sinister
Emperor Zurg. Spin through outer space scenes and fire your laser cannon
at interactive targets. With practice you may be able to score enough
points to place you in the ranks of Galactic hero.
Is Disney too worried about marketing these days? Here's another ride
brought forth to capitalize on a popular product. This time it's the 'Toy
Story' characters. Is Disney looking for an easy draw from a conceivably
temporary fad, or are they placing legitimate stock in the lasting value
of this feature? I sincerely hope it's the latter. I do enjoy the Toy
Story movies, but the American public is such an insatiable group.
'Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin' isn't exactly
based on the regular Toy Story continuity - it's more of a spinoff (no pun
intended). I like the way they've added depth to the Buzz Lightyear
storyline in order to construct a viable attraction. Only Disney could
flex enough marketing muscle to turn an action figure into a cartoon
series, whereas it's typically vice versa. Anyway, you're assigned the
role of a Space Ranger for the Galaxy Command with intent to seek out and
destroy the evil Emperor Zurg. Nothing complicated here, folks. What they
basically mean is to shoot everything you see.
The car is orbish with two seats and two slightly
ridiculous laser guns stationed on the front. The lasers have got
relatively limited movement, but a joystick between them allows you to
spin the car freely around. A digital readout keeps track of each gun's
respective score. The object is to hit circular targets emblazoned with a
large letter 'Z'. It could only be a certain degree of masochism that
possesses an evil emperor to adorn his minions with large targets bearing
the first letter of his name. Some targets are easier to hit and some are
worth more points than others.
This building was formerly the home to If You Had
Wings/If You Could Fly/Dreamflight/Take Flight, collectively the ultimate
'wimp ride'. A person with a relatively good memory and constructive mind
should be able to close their eyes and not tell the difference. It seems
that the entire layout is still exactly the same, just now covered in
extravagant outer-space ornamentation instead of posh airport carpeting.
Even the automatic sliding doors still remain to grant you entrance. Now,
if they'd only kept the theme song...
The centerpiece of the queue area is a large
animatronic figure of Buzz Lightyear spouting encouragement and mission
briefings to everyone standing in line. This is nicely done, but you may
be briefed a number of times before you actually get to ride. This ride
will crowd up considerably during heavy days, so be wary. It might be a
good idea to grab a Fastpass or to ride later in the evening during the
dinner rush.
. ThereÍs numerous mildly animated, toy-themed villains
to battle, all of whom youÍll probably be oblivious to if youÍre looking
for a high score. The only thing youÍre concerned about are the ïZÍs
plastered everywhere. Precision isnÍt your primary concern, either. The
Space Ranger Spin is not an elaborate war game ¿ itÍs more like an
overblown, life-size arcade game. The scenery hardly holds together as a
ride if youÍre only interested in watching.
As far as incentive goes, wellƒthereÍs none. I maxed
out my score at 9,999,999 halfway through and expected that maybe thereÍd
be a victory celebration, a medal, or at least a free t-shirt waiting for
me at the other end. Instead, a sign posted near the exit verified my
score as that of a ïGalactic HeroÍ (or something like that). Unlike an
arcade game, I didnÍt even get to enter my initials.
Now, obviously, countless people go through this ride a
day, and IÍm sure that many max out their scores. But Disney could at
least be somewhat imaginative and think up a trivial reward ¿ a button, a
certificate, anything. A high score wonÍt even affect the outcome of the
ride. Emperor Zurg goes down in flames at the end regardless of whether
youÍve been shooting like a lunatic or if youÍve fallen asleep.
Conclusively, this isnÍt a bad ride. Beating your high
score is enough reason to try again, unless, of course, youÍve already
maxed out. The interactivity is a fun concept, and will continue to draw
crowds as long as the license is fresh. It may not challenge you
intellectually, but isnÍt what what Disney World is all about? I canÍt see
any reason not to give it a few tries.
A journey through Buzz Lightyear's
hyper-imagination awaits Magic Kingdom¬ guests as the computer-animated
world of Disney's "Toy Story" magically transforms into reality at the
newest Tomorrowland attraction, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
The new video game inspired space
adventure lasts for 4.5 minutes and features 10 interactive scenes in
which guests can zap targets with twin laser cannons and activate sound
and light effects.
Note that the wait time for this
attraction can be quite long, mainly because it's one of the newer
attractions in the park and everybody wants to try it out, but also
because it is a very good, and in the classic genre of video games, very
addictive, attraction which people tend to want to try again and again.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
occupies the location of the former "If you had wings" attraction, which
in turn was previously Dreamflight (sponsored by Delta Airlines) and Take
Flight.
If you have a little one that loves Toy Story he/she will surely love this
ride. I also found that the adults loved this right just as much if not
more as well.
The props and entertaining areas before you even get
into the ride is fantastic. Disney is really taking advantage of todays
technology and really giving you quite an experience.
The ride is made up of individual "spaceships" which is
equipped with a control stick, two laser guns and a score keeper. The
purpose of the ride and to hit as many targets along the way, kill Zurg
and gain points. You have full control over the movement of your vehicle
which is a nice feature. The laser guns are fun but tiring to your hand!
The visual aspect of the ride adds to the entire experience. We had so
much fun we rode this ride 3 times.
This ride is great for little ones all the way up to
adults. If you have a buzz lover in your house, well, then they are really
in for a great time : )
Definitely get a "fast pass" on this ride as well as
any other ride. It is worth not having to wait in line for hours and being
able to walk right on.
To infinity and beyond!
The Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride in Tomorrowland at Disney Worlds
Magic Kingdom is a brand new type of ride. It is interactive! No where
else have I see this kind of ride where you don't just ride, you are in
the ride and participating in what is going on around you.
The fun starts when you get in line and get to the
building. The line winds around all the toys from the movie "Toy Story"
but only they are huge! There is a huge Etch-a-Sketch on the wall with
writing on it amoung other things. My youngest thought this was soooo
neat! Then when you are closer to wear you get on the ride, Buzz Lightyear
him self is standing there, in all his glory, telling you about the
mission that you are about to embark on. Very real seeming to a young
child.
This ride, by the way, really attracted my 4 year old.
My other two children who were 7 and 8 at the time loved the ride too but
were not as amazed as the four year old. His age was perfect for really
believing in what the ride was about.
You then are loaded into a four seater space ship that
has four laser guns and digital point keepers. You are then sent down the
line, at a medium speed, and are to start shooting the "bad guys" with
your laser gun. Your digital point keeper keeps actual score of what you
hit. There are easy targets, for the young ones, and harder targets to get
at, for more points, for the adults. This is so fun.
The ride itself is not at all scary. You just move
along slowly like in a train. You dan spin your ship around but it only
spins slowly. The object is more centered on the game than on the ride.
The sights are awesome as well. Everything is dark and
flourescent. Very awe inspiring. This is definately a fun ride for the
whole family and I highly suggest NOT missing it. You can also see who has
the highest score at the end of the ride, ride it again and see if you can
better your score.
Have fun at your Magic Kingdom trip!
|
