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Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Soft-Opens at Magic Kingdom

The soft launch serves as an operations test ahead of the April 8 return.

Overview

  • The attraction, which soft-opened Monday, is running standby only with no Lightning Lane and still shows as closed in the My Disney Experience app.
  • Construction walls came down overnight and a new Space Command–style marquee was revealed, with Disney Parks sharing first-look images on social media.
  • Updates include handheld blasters with always-on lasers for easier aim, reactive digital targets, redesigned ride vehicles with live scoring screens, and a new pre-show character named Buddy.
  • Disney keeps April 8 as the official reopening date, and the preview period may see intermittent downtime as teams fine-tune operations.
  • The refresh extends to guest areas with a cleaner Tomorrowland façade and a reworked exit photo area, continuing a modernization of the 1998 attraction after its August 2025 closure.