Just hours after announcing a major construction project at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney Imagineers filed a permit to make it happen. Here’s what you need to know.
On Wednesday, March 26, Walt Disney World Resort announced plans to close Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin for refurbishment and modernization. This Toy Story (1995) attraction opened at Magic Kingdom Park in 1998 and is one of a few kid-friendly options in Tomorrowland.
Walt Disney World Resort revealed that the reimagined attraction will feature a new opening scene with a female support-bot named Buddy, interactive targets that respond when hit, and redesigned ride vehicles painted in Star Command colors. When hit, the new targets will light up in a corresponding color for each rider.
The upgraded attraction vehicles will have onboard video monitors and improved handheld, always-on astro-blasters with haptic feedback. The modernized astro-blasters should make aiming and targeting much easier, solving a common complaint from guests on board the 26-year-old Magic Kingdom Park attraction.
Moments after announcing the changes to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Walt Disney Imagineering filed a Notice of Commencement to “install set elements” at an address corresponding to the Tomorrowland ride. The permit lists Icarus Exhibits as a third-party contractor working on the project.
Icarus Exhibits has been contracted for several projects around Walt Disney World Resort, including the ongoing refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the transformation of It’s Tough To Be A Bug! into Zootopia: Better Zoogether! inside the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Although the permit offers scarce details about the scope of the project, it suggests that Icarus Exhibits will fabricate and install various physical sets inside the attraction. Walt Disney Imagineering will need to file more construction permits for any necessary work on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will close in August 2025 and is expected to welcome Disney Park guests back sometime in 2026. Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t announced the exact dates for the attraction’s closure and grand reopening.
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