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 Review of Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin @ Magic Kingdom
0 Rating Posted by: Canobie Coaster on 7/27/2005 11:07:00 AM
Back in 2000, I rode Buzz Lightyear and was absolutely blown away by it. No it wasn’t because I was obsessed with Toy Story (I only really liked both movies, okay?), but it was because I had never been on another attraction quite like it. The idea of combining a dark ride with a shooting gallery is an ingenious idea, and it was a totally new concept to me back then leading to multiple rerides on this heavenly attraction since nothing could compare to it. Now flash forward to 2008, and after riding various other versions of these shooting dark rides and reriding the one that started it all for me, how does Buzz stack up? While it’s not as unique anymore, it is still far and away one of the best of the genre out there!

Replacing Take Flight, Buzz fits in perfectly with Tomorrowland. I mean Buzz Lightyear, come on, he’s practically synonymous with futuristic technology. But Disney as usual decorated the attraction’s exterior very nicely, and the theming continues into the queue, which is highlighted by an impressive Buzz Lightyear animatronic which greets future space cadets cheerfully prior to their intergalactic adventure to take down Zurg’s army.

Buzz definitely has a colossal capacity as most of Disney’s attractions do, as this one utilizes the Omnimover technology, but nonetheless decent sized lines do form thanks to the attraction’s immense popularity among all ages. Typically lines are around 30 minutes in length, which are totally worth it, but if waiting isn’t your thing, Fastpasses are available for Buzz.

Once seated, I immediately can’t help but notice two distinct features that make Buzz dramatically different than all other installations of shooting dark rides I’ve been on. First and foremost, riders can rotate the vehicles 360 degrees at ease with a joystick in order to better target the attraction’s wide array of targets that surround riders on all sides. Secondly and most importantly, is that the guns are mounted to the car, leading to some frustration during the ride due to their lack of maneuverability. While I guess that the rotation does make up for the lack of range of the guns somewhat, it’s still quite frustrating when I had a target in sight, only to be unable to reach it like I would with the handheld guns featured on all other versions I’ve been on.

Onto the actual attraction itself, it’s absolutely stunning. The sheer number of targets featured throughout the attraction in each room is astounding. Not only are there a plethora of targets at ground level, but up above there are various targets valued higher than the others that provide a stern challenge to hit, but boy do they do wonders for your score if you’re successful in hitting them. And also as I said earlier, targets surround riders on all sides, leading to dramatically different rides each time. Along with there being an infinite amount of targets, they all look incredibly detailed as well. Buzz is also a considerably long attraction (near 5 minutes), along with being highly entertaining.

Buzz is a pioneer that opened the amusement park industry up to an entirely new genre of attractions that continue to wow me every time I ride one thanks to the fun they provide ride after ride, and despite its age, Buzz is still easily one the best of the breed. While it has been triumphed by Universal’s mind-blowing Men in Black, Buzz sits a firm number two thanks to the wide array of detailed targets featured throughout. Really the only negative is the utilization of mounted guns, but nonetheless Buzz is far and away one of the park’s best attractions that one can simply not skip while visiting the park.
 
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