Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - July 14, 2005 - Disneyland - queue, ENTIRE ride, exit

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (BLAB) opened in Tomorrowland on March 17, 2005, part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth - Disneyland’s 50th anniversary. On May 5, 2005 there was an opening ceremony as part of the celebration, so some publications say the ride opened May 5. The soft opening was on March 10, 2005. This laser shooting dark ride was based off the 1999 animated film Toy Story 2. It was built in the old Circarama theater which housed the Rocket Rods queue from 1998-2000. In this attraction guests board a Space Cruiser XP-40 and serve in the Galactic Alliance to save the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg. In this 5 minute experience the honorary Space Rangers fire laser cannons at light up targets, earning them points and ranking them in Buzz’s elite squadron. About a month before my July 2005 home video, Disney launched an online component where gamers at home can play along with guests on the ride, but that only lasted a few years. Luckily the ride is still successful at Disneyland.
In this 2005 home video you will see…
Exterior. In some very quick exterior shots you see the sign out front and underneath it says “Inspired by Disney·Pixar’s Toy Story 2”. Up above there is a mural of flying Space Mountains, rockets, and planets. This sadly covered the beautiful Mary Blair tile mosaic that used to be there from 1967-1997. Below the mural are Fastpass machines and to the right of that is the Little Green Men Store Command gift shop. The entrance has the old “Stand-by Entrance”, “Fastpass Return”, and “Fastpass Distribution” sign. According to the clock, I entered at 12:18 PM.
Queue. Inside we see posters (murals) showing the “Green Squadron” of Little Green Men, a wanted poster for Zurg “Galactic Enemy #1”, a squid-like alien with a spaceship, instruction cards about the Cruisers, cannons, and targets “Aim for the Z, bonus when lit”, computer board “Welcome future space rangers!”, and a “You are here: Star Command” galaxy map with hidden Mickeys, which you can see at WDW too. An audio-animatronic 12-foot Buzz Lightyear tells us our mission through his computer animated projection face. An Etch-a-Sketch is used to illustrate it. At WDW a Viewmaster is used. For the ride, Buzz is voiced by Pat Fraley. We pass by another mural of Little Green Men with a laser cannon and they have a score of 020464. What does that mean? Another mural before boarding shows what the targets look like.
The mission. The evil Emperor Zurg is stealing crystallic fusion cells (batteries) from toys to help power his space vehicles and a new weapon. We are recruited by Buzz Lightyear (Zurg’s son) to be Junior Space Rangers to help save the galaxy. This story is supposed to be a sequel to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at WDW.
Load. The back mural features a light up “Z” target, which WDW does not have. Eighty-one Space Cruiser XP-40 vehicles are on an omnimover system, and the vehicles can spin 360° by using a joystick. The laser cannons can be removed and they light up when fired, unlike WDW. The individual scores are displayed with yellow numbers in front of each cadet. At WDW they are red and the vehicle is an XP-37. The max score is 999,999.
Ride. This ride/game travels through 10 show scenes full of targets to fire at. Unlike WDW’s standard “Z” in a circle, this ride features 4 shapes of targets, worth different amounts. Round (100 points), square (1,000 points), diamond (5,000 points), and triangle (10,000 points). There are bonus points if they are lit, which they don’t do on the east coast. If the ride stops, you can still fire at targets and get points. According to the set pieces we encounter, we are the size of a toy. Zurg is voiced by Toy Story writer Andrew Stanton. The Little Green Men are voiced by Jeff Pidgeon and Debi Derryberry. 725 little green aliens are in the attraction. The musical score was done by George Wilkins, using Toy Story songs by Randy Newman. We travel through Planet Z and a star tunnel. One scene has a Scrabble piece with a hidden Mickey on it. In our final battle with Zurg, he is in the same spaceship as WDW, but it is half destroyed from the battle on the east coast. At the end, Zurg is boxed and returned to Al’s Toy Barn. We arrive at the Green Planet Station’s Star Cruiser Landing Bay.
Point levels. The status board at the end tells what level you earned: Star Cadet, Space Ace, Planetary Pilot, Space Scout, Ranger 1st Class, Cosmic Commando, and the highest: Galactic Hero.
Exit. The exit hall is about 3 times the length of WDW. On the way out you can view your picture from the ride and also email your photo and score. The top 10 scores are displayed on a leaderboard. The website for the online interactive game is displayed: disneyland.com/buzz. The link now just takes you to the attraction description.
Reference:
Secret Stories of Disneyland, Jim Korkis, 2017, Theme Park Press
The Disneyland Encyclopedia Third Edition, Chris Strodder, 2017, Santa Monica Press

[@PuniChanFam]

so fun to play, always enjoy going for the high score! all about the hidden target on Zurg 😉 thanks for sharing ✨

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

I have not mastered the DL version, and I'm only around 300,000 good at WDW.

[@dutchchann9317]

This is ride is awsome

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

I like better than the WDW version.

[@jesshavinfun3547]

To Infinity and Beyond!!!!!!! We missed this one on our first Disneyland trip & I hear it's better than the one in WDW! Next time! 🥰

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

I like it better.

[@eliassmeke3991]

Do you remember the opening sequence of Toy Story 2 about the Buzz Lightyear video game played by Rex the green toy 🧸 T-Rex 🦖?

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

Yaeh, it's like that. 😂

[@eliassmeke3991]

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is located in Tomorrowland, it’s based on the 1999 Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 2 and we can shoot at the aliens 👽 and more!

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

And the targets light up, unlike WDW.

[@eliassmeke3991]

I had a question 🙋‍♀️, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters opened on March 17, 2005 after it had its soft opening on March 10, is that true?

[@ShareaDreamComeTrue]

Yes, but some publications say May 5, because that’s when the opening ceremony was.