Disney Adults Are WORRIED It's About to Get WAY Harder to WIN at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Winners are about to become LOSERS in Magic Kingdom.

Cinderella Castle

What’s better than absolutely throwing down competition-style with your family while you’re on vacation? Forget keeping the peace, we want to BATTLE! If that’s your style, there are two different rides in Disney World that allow you to score points and duke it out with your loved ones, and the Magic Kingdom attraction is about to get some big changes.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is getting a big refurbishment in Magic Kingdom, and some changes are coming to how you play the game! The ride is set to close in August 2025 and will reopen sometime in 2026 with a new show scene, updated ride vehicles, and “gameplay enhancements.”

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

So what’s going on? Well, a few things! The main changes are that Disney World is swapping over to handheld blasters, similar to what’s available in the Disneyland version of the ride. These will allow for a wider range of aim, and you’ll get to use those handheld blasters on NEW interactive targets that light up when you hit them.

©Disney

The ride vehicles are getting a facelift with a new paint job and the installation of video monitors for real-time scoring updates. Also, the attraction will begin with a new show scene where a robot named Buddy shows you how to use your blaster and lets you shoot at some practice targets.

©Disney

But there’s one big question that Disney Adults have about this change — will we still be able to achieve the status of Galactic Hero?! For those who don’t know, Galactic Hero is the title for those who max out the score on the ride by getting 999,999 points. It’s a pretty fun accomplishment, and many have made it their mission to learn all the best ride hacks in order to make that ultimate score.

We did it!

There are a few reasons why it may be more of a challenge to get Galactic Hero status once this refurbishment is complete. First of all, you’ll have to relearn how to aim! If you’d previously practiced over and over on the ride vehicles with the stationary blasters, then there will definitely be a learning curve for using the handheld versions.

We are Galactic Heroes!

Also, it’s about to be a lot more obvious when you hit targets, since they’ll light up. This will make the game a little bit easier for everyone, which means that the people around you are likely to become better players overall. Previously, people could be aiming for those high-value targets, miss their shots, and not know it. Now that it’ll be more obvious when you miss, people will be retaking shots, and more players will be aiming at the same targets at the same time.

©Disney

Of course, those light and sound effects that Disney’s adding may also add to the distraction factor of the ride. If you’re waiting to see the reaction effects, those are precious seconds that you’re not moving on and shooting at the next target.

©Disney

Finally, there’s the unknown factor of whether or not Disney will even keep the targets or point values the same. We’ve had the same high-value targets for YEARS, and Imagineers might decide that it’s time to switch things up with this refurbishment. We’ll have to wait and see!

Zurg

Overall, these changes are probably going to make the ride experience more fun for the average guest. It may be frustrating at first for those who’ve spent years honing their Galactic Hero status, but you’ll probably adjust to the new ride system over time. We can’t wait to see the improvements for ourselves!

To learn more about changes in Disney World, check out the video below!

Stay tuned to DFB for all the ride updates from Disney World!

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