What is up with Buzz Lighyear's Space Ranger Spin?

[Walt's10thOldManZach]

I've never had the chance to ride this attraction, though I know it is a popular one for all ages. One thing I can not wrap my mind around about this ride is why they just couldn't get the proper voice talent needed to make this ride feel authentic enough. There is no Tim Allen voicing Buzz himself and Zerg sounds awful and nothing like the character in the Toy Story films. Why is this? It feels cheep to me and It also makes me not want to experience this ride and would rather travel to Hollywood Studios for a more upgraded, authentic Toy Story attraction I'm sure you all have heard of. They had Don Ricklels voice Potato Head for that Q line animatronic, why not the same for Buzz?

I've just watched Oliver's "Love It, Hate it, or Update It" for Buzz Lightyear and noticed that not only once is the animatronic not Tim Allen, but at the very end of the ride the voice is awful! I feel like that would've been simple as Tim Allen does the voice for Buzz in every marketing campaign and toy you can find while I know Tom Hanks has his brother do the voices for the toys etc. Anyone agree? Don't get me started on the Toy Story park characters either. Sheesh!

 

[HopperFan]

My biggest pet peeve is that most the guns do not shoot straight and by time you figure out where your laser is hitting the ride is about over.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It needs to be totally "reimagined" (torn down and rebuilt) IMO

 

[Robo]

There is no Tim Allen voicing Buzz himself and Zerg sounds awful and nothing like the character in the Toy Story films. Why is this? It feels cheep to me and It also makes me not want to experience this

In the film Toy Story 2, the voice of Zurg was performed by one of the film's writers, Andrew Stanton.
On the Buzz ride, the voice of Zurg is performed by Brad Garrett.
Garrett played Ray Romano's brother Robert in the TV hit Everybody Loves Raymond,
and he is one of the most sought-after voice performers in Disney and other films.

 

[pattyw]

My biggest pet peeve is that most the guns do not shoot straight and by time you figure out where your laser is hitting the ride is about over.

Same here- I never know where I'm shooting!! and I think it's time to replace this! Toy Story Mania is so much better!

 

[HopperFan]

Same here- I never know where I'm shooting!! and I think it's time to replace this! Toy Story Mania is so much better!

Meh ... TSMM is okay (best part is the queue and decor for me) ... I like the goal of a perfect score on Buzz. I do believe it needs major work but I think nothing will happen until they come up with a long term plan for Tomorrowland. Buzz would likely be one of the last they address (I see SM and COP staying as is).

 

[tessio]

I believe the ride is actually based on the 2000 movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins.

 

[Robo]

I believe the ride is actually based on the 2000 movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins.

In that production, the voice of Zurg was performed by Wayne Knight.

NEWMAN! from Seinfeld.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I tend to have widely varying scores on Buzz due to the "lazers" I do have a Galactic Here button but there have been times it's really been a struggle. We love the ride and when the family is with me we typically hit it 3 or 4 times but this January it was just too crowded...waits were 45 minutes and up it seemed whenever we were near.

 

[BrianL]

I like Buzz just fine, but it could a little sprucing up. I wish they had the guns like they have a DL that you can pick up and hold as opposed to being on a turret. It should also be easier to tell when you hit something. Really, just use the DL version and all is good!

 

[declansdad]

Same here- I never know where I'm shooting!! and I think it's time to replace this! Toy Story Mania is so much better!

No way! While I enjoy both, Buzz Lightyear is a much better ride. TSM does have a better queue.

 

[wilkeliza]

Well to answer the OPs question it is money and commitment. Some voice actors don't mind also signing on for any future endeavors like rides or toys. Some sign on just for the movie where they get big bucks and usually continue to make money off of at home sales but do not sign on for toys etc. It is often that the voice actors won't even be the same between movie and toys.

I'm not sure who does Buzz's voice but Tim probably wasn't in the budget. One thing I have always found interesting about the greater Toy Story voicing over the years is that in most video games and extra products Tom Hank's brother actually plays Woody. They sound almost identical so most people don't realize it.

 

[theyoungs07]

My son and I enjoyed this ride mostly because you can almost always get it as FP+ #4/5/6... We were fortunate that it paused during a few of our rides which helped us get perfect scores more than once. I like it, we fight over the steering, Buzz is something that is fun to re-ride to try different targets...etc. I just wish more rides would have in-ride pictures for fun. I like TSMM, but the line is too ugly most of the time, Buzz is a good one for busy nights when you can get the FP+ later if you don't want to wait in 30+ minute lines for other attractions. If we could do Laugh Floor without the pre-show stuff, we'd spend most of our MK evenings in Tomorrowland.

 

[MaC410]

Is there some trick I'm missing to the shooting on this ride? The ride itself is a lot of fun but I just find it impossible to actually figure out if I'm hitting the targets. Right now that's why I'm one of the people who prefer Toy Story Mania. The ride isn't the most exciting since it's just you looking at different screens but at least you can easily tell where you are shooting and that makes it fun.

 

[loves to dive]

Is there some trick I'm missing to the shooting on this ride? The ride itself is a lot of fun with but I just find it impossible to actually figure out if I'm hitting the targets. Right now that's why I'm one of the people who prefer Toy Story Mania. The ride isn't the most exciting since it's just you looking at different screens but at least you can easily tell where you are shooting and that makes it fun.

This is me, too. I just shoot never knowing what I'm aiming at or if I'm actually hitting something.

 

[BrianL]

Is there some trick I'm missing to the shooting on this ride? The ride itself is a lot of fun but I just find it impossible to actually figure out if I'm hitting the targets. Right now that's why I'm one of the people who prefer Toy Story Mania. The ride isn't the most exciting since it's just you looking at different screens but at least you can easily tell where you are shooting and that makes it fun.

I fire a few test shots as soon as the lasers come up. I try to aim at a blank area where no one else's red dot will be. I can usually follow it after that, but sometimes I lose it. It's tricky. This is why I would prefer the handheld guns, because it is more natural to tell where you are shooting (and at DL the targets react when hit).

 

[Robo]

(and at DL the targets react when hit).

The targets react when hit at MK.

 

[wilkeliza]

Is there some trick I'm missing to the shooting on this ride? The ride itself is a lot of fun but I just find it impossible to actually figure out if I'm hitting the targets. Right now that's why I'm one of the people who prefer Toy Story Mania. The ride isn't the most exciting since it's just you looking at different screens but at least you can easily tell where you are shooting and that makes it fun.

As soon as the lasers come on I shoot on the black before you enter the first room to "find it" and then don't have much trouble keeping track from there. If I don't do that I purposefully chose very close targets at first to get a feel then go for the further ones. I have gotten max out scores twice and right under Commander almost every time.

 

[MaC410]

The targets react when hit at MK.

How do they react? What happens?

 

[BrianL]

The targets react when hit at MK.

Yeah, some of them do move and such, but the DL version has a lighted area around the target that flashes and makes it much easier to confirm a hit, even on the wall targets that don't move. I do not recall the version at MK doing that.