Disney filed the first permit for the major overhaul of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Construction Permit
The Notice of Commencement filed in Orange County, Florida is to “Install set elements” at the ride’s address. It expires in one year and contracts frequent Disney collaborator Icarus Exhibits, Inc.
Icarus Exhibits is also working on Disney’s new “Zootopia” show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will close for updates this August and reopen in 2026. The major overhaul will include a new scene with a new character, Buddy the robot; new ride vehicles for the first time since 1972; new handheld blasters; and new interactive targets. We got to play-test the new blasters and targets.
Though Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin opened on November 3, 1998, the basic ride has been in place since 1972, when it opened as If You Had Wings, sponsored by Eastern Air Lines. After Eastern Air withdrew their sponsorship in 1987, Disney renamed the ride to If You Could Fly. It closed in 1989 and reopened as Delta Dreamflight, sponsored by Delta Air Lines, which Space Ranger Spin then replaced.
The digital projectors of the ride’s Speed Tunnel, which goes back to the original If You Had Wings, were recently updated.
Watch our Back To The Future retrospective on all versions of the attraction:
The Space Ranger Spin updates will modernize the ride’s technology, making it similar to Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue at Shanghai Disneyland and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! at Hong Kong Disneyland. These updates are also likely what is in store for the Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters at Tokyo Disneyland, which is opening next year.
Watch our video of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! below for an idea of what the updates will look like.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is one of the only attractions to have had a version at every Disney castle park, albeit with different names. At Disneyland, it’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which the now-closed versions at Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland were also named. In Disneyland Paris, it’s called Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. We already mentioned that it’s dubbed Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue at Shanghai Disneyland.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.