- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin reopens April 8
- The refreshed ride kicks off Disney World’s “Cool Kid Summer”
- It’s just the start, with more refreshed rides and new experiences following in short order
Walt Disney World is gearing up for a big few months — and ultimately several significant years — with multiple new lands on the horizon. In the short term, though, one of my all-time favorite attractions finally has a reopening date, and Disney is bringing back ‘Cool Kid Summer’ in a massive way.
While the summer event kicks off on May 26 with new experiences for the whole family and special ticket offers, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is starting the buildup — maybe sending it to infinity and beyond — when it reopens at Magic Kingdom on April 8, 2026.
The attraction has been closed for several months and will return with a major tech infusion, including a brand-new animatronic to help with training, redesigned blasters with haptics and improved LEDs, and entirely new targets.
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Space Ranger Spin is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a dark ride where you sit in pairs (two to a vehicle) and pick up blasters to hit “Z”-shaped targets as you join the Space Rangers to help defeat Zurg. It’s a classic Toy Story — or Star Command — adventure.
And I got the chance to preview the new blaster experience and see the updated ride vehicles at an event in August 2025, and it’s a big improvement. The blasters are no longer bolted to the ride vehicle and can instead be picked up, making them far more ergonomic to hold. That change, paired with improved haptics and LEDs, helps make the experience more immersive — and should make it easier to rack up points.
The blasters will glow and vibrate in distinct ways when you hit a target, while the targets themselves will react with built-in LEDs and spinning elements.
Speaking to TechRadar, Kimberly Alison, Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering shared, “It’s exciting to take a classic attraction that’s been a hit for almost 30 years and get to infuse today’s technology — like our reactive targets, and blasters with haptics, lighting, and sound cues — to elevate the guest experience while still immersing super fans and new guests alike into a story we all know and love.”
Altogether, it’s a meaningful upgrade that should make longtime fans feel right at home while also enticing new riders to try it. It might even give Disney World’s version of Space Ranger Spin an edge over Disneyland’s.
The displays integrated into the ride vehicles are also getting a modern refresh, letting you see your score in real time and showing which level of Galactic Hero you achieve. The PhotoPass experience — the on-ride photo captured mid-action — is also being upgraded, with your score displayed beneath the image.
In true Disney fashion, it’s all connected behind the scenes and will automatically link to your account after the ride.
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Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin reopens on April 8, 2026, and it’s really just the beginning of several upcoming experiences across Walt Disney World. The timing also lines up nicely for Disney, as the refreshed attraction arrives ahead of Toy Story 5 hitting theaters.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a pair of new offerings arrive on May 26, 2026: “The Walt Disney Studios” courtyard, which will serve as a precursor to the Magic of Disney Animation with Olaf Draws opening later in 2026, and Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live!.
Both will likely be hits for families and showcase the latest work from Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Live Entertainment. They also arrive shortly after a major update to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios.
That attraction will feature all-new missions inspired by The Mandalorian and Grogu when it reopens on May 22, 2026, the same day the film hits theaters. The update will launch simultaneously at Galaxy’s Edge West at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
There’s more still on the way, including the refreshed Soarin’ Across America, which reopens on May 28, 2026, at EPCOT as part of a broader celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The ride will once again lift guests into the air in a specialized ride vehicle, using a massive immersive screen and other elements to simulate flying over iconic landmarks across the country.
This refreshed version will feature newly recorded footage captured with specialized camera rigs mounted on helicopters and planes, then stitched together to create the ride’s sweeping scenes.
And those are just some of the confirmed reopening dates. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom is also set to reopen in early May 2026 following its refurbishment, while the retheming of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster to The Muppets is expected to debut later this year. In the meantime, you can pass the time by watching The Electric Mayhem in The Muppets Mayhem on Disney+.
Beyond the rides, Walt Disney World will officially launch Cool Kid Summer on May 26, 2026, running through September 8. The seasonal event will introduce new family-focused experiences across the parks, including GoofyCore at EPCOT, Jessie’s Roundup: A Rip-Roarin’ Revue coming to Magic Kingdom, and Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station in Animal Kingdom.
The latter marks the highly anticipated arrival of Bluey at Walt Disney World, where guests can meet Australian animals, take photos with Bluey and Bingo, and experience scenes inspired by the show.
Guests can also catch the Better Zoogether shows at Animal Kingdom — and spot the impressive Clawhauser animatronic while they’re there.
Disney is also pairing the summer rollout with new vacation deals. A 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket will start at $109 per day (around $436 total before tax) and grant guests access to all four Walt Disney World theme parks, with one park per day, between May 26 and October 3, 2026.
On top of that, Disney is offering up to 30% off select Disney hotel rooms for stays of five nights or more for arrivals most nights between July 30 and October 3, 2026, giving families another incentive to plan a visit during the resort’s packed summer season, and the chance to make the visit a bit more affordable.
And while all of this makes the months ahead at Walt Disney World look busy, it’s really just the beginning. Between the refreshed Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, returning classics like Big Thunder Mountain, and a wave of new shows and experiences, the parks are clearly gearing up for a much bigger transformation — including the long-teased Villains Land and Piston Peak expansion at Magic Kingdom, and the future Monsters, Inc. land at Hollywood Studios.
For now, though, we’ll happily start by aiming at a few “Z” targets when Buzz returns — because if this is the opening act, the next few years at Disney World are going to be pretty incredible.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
