One of our favorite family traditions is right at Magic Kingdom park opening is to run for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and ride it 2-3 times in a row while there is no line. We may be having fun but it is serious business as we compete for Galactic Hero. Here are a couple of my tips for beating your family every time. moment a
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The Backstory
The ride is based upon the 1999 Toy Story 2 movie in which we learn that Buzz Lightyear has an archenemy by the name of Evil Emperor Zurg.
The story begins as you enter Star Command Headquarters, home of the Universe Protection Unit. You find yourself being recruited by Buzz Lightyear for a secret mission.
The Evil Emperor Zurg is stealing crystillic fusion cell (i.e. batteries) from our favorite Little Green Men (LGM). You have been called upon to travel to Zurg’s home planet, Planet Z, to defeat him and recover the fusion cells.
Hint: While in the queue keep your eyes open for a number of Hidden Mickeys.
How the Ride Works
The ride itself is a shooting gallery style dark ride where you board a two-person XP-37 Space Cruise equipped with two twin ion cannons. The cannons are used to shoot at targets of varying point values and the joystick allows full 360-degree rotation of the vehicle.
Note: The ride uses a continuous loader (moving walkway). If you have mobility issues they can slow or stop the belt so you can climb aboard.
The vehicle also has a dashboard that shows your score throughout the ride so you know how bad or good you are doing. At the end of the game you can compare your score to the Status Board to see what Level of Cadet you are.
- Level 1 Star Cadet: 0 – 1,000
- Level 2 Space Ace: 1,001 – 10,000
- Level 3 Planetary Pilot: 10,001 – 100,000
- Level 4 Space Scout: 100,001 – 300,000
- Level 5 Ranger 1st Class: 300,001 – 600,000
- Level 6 Cosmic Commando: 600,001 – 999,998
- Level 7 Galactic Hero: 999,999
Tips for Becoming the Galactic Hero
Here are three of my tips for getting the level of Galactic Hero. Not saying there is not a bit of cheating involved. It is all about winning after all.
Look for High Value Targets
There are a few 50,000 and 100,000 point targets that can easily get you to Galactic Hero
- First room – The left hand of the robot and the claw on the ceiling have 100,000 point targets. For the claw it is easier to hit this target once you have past it by turning your vehicle around backwards.
- Second room – The top target on the volcano is worth 50,000 points.
- Third room – The target below Emperor Zurg is worth 100,000. This target is easier to hit as you approach it. It is hardest to hit when you are directly in front of it.
Take Advantage of Vehicle Stops
If the ride slows down DO NOT stop shooting – this is valuable time to rack up some points.
Even if you think you have stopped at a bad point shoot at blank walls. There are sensors everywhere and you may just discover another unknown high point target.
If you happen to stop in range of a high point value target you will easily make Galactic Hero.
Leverage Joystick Control
This is a serious decision when competing.
If you can multi-task it is in your best interest to control of your ride vehicle. You can position yourself to have a better shooting position and reduce the effectiveness of your fellow rider.
Now if your fellow rider CANNOT multi-task definitely let them control the joystick and just rack up the points!
Bonus Tip – Toddler Power – If you have a toddler traveling with you make sure they are in the other vehicle and takes control of the joystick. (Telling the toddler that Daddy said he could drive is a valid strategy. There is no shame in it at all.) The toddler will now make getting Galactic Hero an uphill battle for their fellow rider.
Preserving Your Win
In the last scene of the game your vehicle will be photographed. It is always fun to check out the photos and I have yet to figure out a pose that works for me but my husband always goes for extreme concentration.
If you like the photo you can purchase a couple of ways: (at the time of this article)
- Purchase Disney Memory Maker : Includes all photopass and ride photos. $169.00 3 days in advance/$199.00 on site
- Purchase the digital download at the Photo Sales Center: $14.95 – $16.95 for a single photo
- Photos are included in the price of an Annual Pass
Now you even get a video of your experience.
You can also stop at the photo desk on the way out and tell them you got Galactic Hero. You will get a sticker that you can wear proudly and remind your family who is the best.
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Pierre and I have the same “friendly” competition. But interestingly enough, on our last trip, our little Emily, who we thought had no idea what she was doing, got 999,999. Needless to say, she put the rest of to shame with her score!
Go Emily!!! That’s the way to do it. Quiet but deadly.
Love Buzz! My dad and nephew once debated their scores.
LoL! We have had those too. It’s interesting to see what they do to defend or dispute their scores.
This is a fun post. I must admit that I suck at Buzz but it is so fun to watch my family compete. Now that I have a baby granddaughter, she and I ride and I let her do the joystick and turn us all around since I can’t play it well anyway. Thank you for the great post!
I have let Little Man do that. While she is spinning shoot the gun directly ahead. I swear I have hit high value targets on blank walls. I think there are hidden targets to account for the toddler driver. Tell me if you find one.
I accept your challenge! I love competitive family traditions. 🙂
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My daughter loves this game :)) Thanks for the great tips! I will share them with her :)) I usually let my husband take her on this.. and I take the opportunity to either ride Space Mountain for the umpteenth time or relax on the TTA 😀
This is one of our favorite rides, my boys, husband and I try to outdo each other on this ride. My husband always beats us, me coming in second!
I’ve only been on this ride once, but I can’t wait for the day when I can bring my kids to WDW and play with them! I know my kids would be super competitive about it!
Just made tentative plans to visit Disney World in spring of 2015 – so excited!! Will be visiting your site often!
that sounds like a lot of fun 🙂
We LOVE Buzz! We also really love the Toy Story game in Hollywood Studios, too. They are always must do rides for us.
Now that my youngest is 14 we cannot ride together and agree on the joystick situation – SO we fixed the problem!! NOW, we pretend we don’t know each other when we board the vehicles so that we can ride in our own… BTW: We usually are there at off peak times so we are not inconveniencing others – keeping family peace is worth something, right? My daughter always gets 999,999 and sometimes on both guns in her car! They give you a button celebrating being a galactic hero if you tell them in the gift/photo shop!
Lol! I love the ‘not knowing’ each other part. That definitely takes care of the joystick fight. I can tell you as my kids are getting a bit older that fight is getting a bit harder.