New upgrades at Disney's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: Here's what we know

New upgrades at Disney's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

New updates are coming to Walt Disney World's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom. The upgrades will include a new show scene, updated ride vehicles and gameplay enhancements. To prepare for these updates, Disney officials said the attraction will temporarily close in August and reopen next year.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Calling all space rangers! New updates are coming to Walt Disney World's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom.

From a new show scene to updated ride vehicles and gameplay enhancements, here's what you can expect from this iconic Tomorrowland attraction next year.

New updates announced

What we know:

Here's everything we know about the new upgrades from Disney officials so far.

Brand-new scene

Disney leaders said guests of the attraction will now be greeted by an all-new character — a friendly robot named "Buddy."

Officials said Buddy was created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios to play a key role on the Star Command team. As a support-bot, Buddy "makes sure departing Space Rangers are fully prepared for their mission, enthusiastically providing encouragement, final system checks on their Star Cruisers and a chance to hone their blaster aim," according to a press release from Disney.

This will offer guests the time to check out some of the new, interactive target features before blasting off to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg and save the galaxy.

New ride vehicles

Star cruisers will also receive a face lift with a new design inspired by the colors of Buzz Lightyear and Star Command.

Disney leaders said each enhanced vehicle will also now come equipped with video monitors that provide real-time scoring updates and other exciting features.

Handheld blasters

Each ride vehicle will now also include handheld blasters for better aim, helping guests to score even more points.

Officials said the new blasters will be perfect for younger riders, allowing them to participate more in the experience. The blasters will also now include an always-on laser and come in two different colors per star cruiser, in addition to new lighting, sound and vibration effects, so players know where they’re aiming throughout the mission.

Disney's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin upgrades preview

New updates are coming to Walt Disney World's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom. The upgrades include a new show scene, updated ride vehicles and gameplay enhancements. FOX 35's Stephanie Buffamonte had the opportunity to try out some of the new handheld blasters coming to the attraction.

Interactive targets

Disney leaders said the static Z targets found in the attraction today will be upgraded with new technology that will allow them to react and light up when hit.

This also opens the door for a few other ideas Imagineers have in mind.

Fellow Imagineers were recently invited to participate in a playtest of the new targets, blasters and gameplay ideas. Officials said playtests are a critical part of the design process, where the project team is able to try out variations of a concept in a real-world setting, gaining critical insights into which ideas work best and how the experience can be improved.

"It’s all part of delivering an out-of-this-world experience for our guests," Disney leaders said in a press release.

What they're saying:

"Everyone had a great time, and our team learned a lot," Disney project creative director Justin DeTolla said. "We’ve been working on this project for quite some time now, so it was exciting to see it all come to life for the first time in the field."

What's next:

To prepare for these updates, Disney officials said the attraction will temporarily close in August and reopen next year.

What is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin?

The backstory:

Disney's Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is located in the Magic Kingdom theme park in the Tomorrowland area.

The ride first opened on Nov. 3, 1998. It was the first interactive Omnimover ride of its kind.

The ride is based off of the movie "Toy Story 2" by Disney and Pixar, and guests are tasked with helping Buzz Lightyear defeat Zurg, his enemy, by shooting targets. Guests use a joystick to control their XP-37 space cruisers and shoot targets, and they are ranked based on their performance, from "Space Cadet" to "Galactic Hero."

Versions of the ride can also be found at Disneyland, Disneyland Park in Paris and Shanghai Disneyland.

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