We tried to keep the soul of the original attraction, but level it up Disney World transforms Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin into a real-time ride
system powered by Unreal Engine

Date:
Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Description:
Ahead of Toy Story 5, we spoke with Walt Disney Imagineering software lead Evan Klein about the massive tech overhaul powering the newly upgraded Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin from Unreal Engine-powered ride vehicles to dynamic gameplay systems and networked targets.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter We're just a few weeks away
from the Toy Story franchise returning to the big screen with Toy Story 5 , but in the lead-up, Disney has been quietly upgrading one of its most iconic attractions themed after one of the main characters at Walt Disney World .

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a Magic Kingdom staple in Orlando, Florida a classic interactive dark ride where guests board a rotating vehicle, pick up a blaster, and try to rack up points by hitting targets
while helping Buzz Lightyear and Star Command defeat Zurg. "We tried to keep the soul and old charm of the original attraction, but level it up and plus
it up where we could." Latest Videos From You may like I went behind the scenes at Mattel and its new Woody and Buzz feel like they stepped out of
Toy Story More fun, shorter waits: Disneyland says it added 1.5 million ride experiences in 2025 without new builds Less stress, smoother days: Disneyland wants your whole day to feel easier That's how Evan Klein, a Software Developer Lead at Walt Disney Imagineering, describes the approach behind the major refurbishment that has now fully reopened. It's a useful lens for what has changed here: not a reinvention of the ride, but a deep modernization of how it works under the hood in pursuit of a more fun, compelling ride. (Image credit: Disney Experiences) Spoiler: there's a lot of tech being used here. New haptics inside entirely redesigned blasters, upgraded tracking systems, and onboard computers.

At its core, the biggest shift in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin isn't visual it's interactive. The attraction has always been a competitive shooter-style ride, but the new version is built to be far more responsive
and dynamic in how it reacts to guests in real time.

That starts with the new blasters, which are no longer fixed to the ride vehicle but can be lifted and aimed freely. They vibrate with haptics and
play audio feedback to confirm when you've made contact with a target
changes that make the moment-to-moment gameplay feel far more immediate. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The more significant shift is in what you're actually shooting at. Targets
are no longer static props. They light up, change color, and carry dynamic point values that shift throughout the ride effectively turning the attraction into something closer to a real-time game than a traditional dark ride. (Image credit: Disney Experiences) Klein says that was the fundamental design goal. "The dynamic nature of the targets is the biggest leap," he explains. "Before, this was a very static attraction. None of the targets necessarily reacted. It was difficult to see where you're aiming and what you were actually hitting."

Now, targets encourage guests to scan the full environment rather than fixate on a single high-value spot. "With these targets that light up with different colors and have different dynamic scoring, it really encourages the guest to look around," noted Klein. What to read next I went inside Mattel and saw how Toy Story 5 toys are built and made interactive Disney built a walking Olaf robot in just four months and its just the start How Star Wars is blending technology, creativity, and products into the experience itself

He's quick to note that the underlying technology philosophy was "innovation versus invention" taking tried-and-true technology and deploying it thoughtfully. "A lot of what was done here is taking the best of all the different Buzz Lightyear attractions around the world, and some other attractions too, and trying to blend them into something that kept the soul
of the original, but leveled it up where we could."

The most technically surprising aspect of the refurbishment isn't something guests will see it's what's running beneath the surface, powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine . (Image credit: Disney Experiences) "Each ride vehicle actually hosts Unreal Engine for the score content that you see," Klein explains. The dynamic score screens showing your rank and progression to the next tier aren't pulling from a static asset library. Each vehicle runs two independent Unreal deployments one per player, as each car seats two generating that content locally in real time.

It's a notably different application of game engine technology than what Disney typically uses in major attractions. "This is a really interesting way to use the technology in an embedded context," Klein says, separating it from larger projection-based systems like what's used on Millennium Falcon , which itself will be upgraded on May 22 with new elements themed to T he
Mandalorian and Grogu . Beyond the vehicles, every target and all the scoring systems across the attraction are networked together. Klein notes that over 200 machines are managed daily to keep everything synchronized and
consistent. The result is a ride that behaves less like a single attraction and more like a distributed computing system.

The same engine also played a central role in the creative process particularly in collaborating with Pixar on the ride's projected media, most notably in a hyperspace tunnel scene, which is likely my favorite addition.

"We were able to work with Pixar to develop the full attraction in a pre-visualization virtual environment," Klein explains. For the Hyperspace scene in particular, Pixar's media drafts were loaded directly into the simulation, allowing Imagineerings Creative Director to walk through the
space in virtual reality and evaluate how the media read from different
angles inside the physical room. (Image credit: Disney Experiences) That mattered because the projection space is unusually shaped. "The room is oddly shaped, and so there was a unique challenge in making sure the media actually read well from all different angles and perspectives from the ride vehicle," Klein says.

The same environment was used to test motion profiles for new figures, including a new animatronic named Buddy, and to evaluate how scenes would
read from a moving vehicle at real ride speed.

It's a genuinely impressive use of the technology not just as a tool for remote collaboration across coasts, but as a shared reference point that lets different teams weigh in at every stage of the process. Especially useful for a ride like this that had teams from Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios working together.

What emerges is a version of Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin that still feels familiar on the surface but operates fundamentally differently. The layout, the story, the vehicles all preserved.

Klein's own personal best on the attraction sits at 20.1 million points a score he'll tell you required more than 100 rides and a few fortunate slowdowns to achieve.

For Disney Imagineering , the refurbishment is another step toward treating physical attractions less like static environments and more like evolving, software-driven systems that push immersion for guests to infinity and
beyond.

Or as Klein puts it: taking something beloved and "leveling it up and just plussing it up where we could." Today's best Disney Plus, Disney+ Bundle and Hulu deals Disney+ Monthly Standard With Ads 4.99 4.99 /mth View We check
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