Credit: DisneyTim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear has once again been stripped from a Disney park.
Everyone’s favorite space ranger made his debut in Toy Story (1995) but remains one of the most iconic characters from Pixar Animation Studios to this day.
Voiced by Tim Allen, the Toy Story franchise sees Buzz go from believing that he is a real space ranger to understanding his role as a toy and befriending fellow toy, Woody (Tom Hanks). Memorable catchphrases (such as “To infinity and beyond!”) have cemented him as a cinematic legend who, like all popular Disney characters, has been integrated into the majority of Disney’s theme parks.
The Toy Story universe is a firm fixture in Disney’s theme parks, with versions of Toy Story Land currently present in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Walt Disney Studios Park, as well as other Toy Story attractions present at Disney’s California Adventure Park, Tokyo DisneySea, and Tokyo Disneyland.
Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
At one point, you could find a variation of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – an interactive shooting dark ride attraction – in all six of Disney’s castle parks, making it one of just two rides to hold that status (the other being Dumbo the Flying Elephant).
This has sadly since closed at Hong Kong Disneyland, where it was replaced by Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! as a part of the park’s Stark Expo expansion. It will also close at Tokyo Disneyland at the end of the month, with a Wreck-It Ralph attraction brought in as its replacement.
That leaves the versions of the ride at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, and Disneyland Resort. At the latter, it’s known as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, where you can “take aim and fire your laser to defeat Zurg during a thrilling space battle.”
Ongoing Updates to Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
However, one part of the ride is notably missing right now. The giant animatronic of Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear that usually stands in the attraction’s queue is currently missing and seemingly inoperable.
On a recent visit to Disneyland Resort, we noticed that the entire animatronic is currently blocked from view by a 360-degree curtain. While Disney hasn’t confirmed why this is the case, one Reddit user suggested that it had something to do with the recent update to the ride’s cameras.
This may have improved their quality, but allegedly “took up an extra 5 watts of power. Enough to mess up the tight balance of wattage available to the building. Buzz and said camera are on the same circuit breaker. They chose to shut off Buzz while they come up with fix.”
We can’t verify this claim right now, but it does make sense. The cameras were updated in the last few weeks (leaving the ride photos notably less grainy), which is around when the animatronic went missing.
The Curious Case of Missing Buzz Lightyears
This isn’t the first time Buzz Lightyear has disappeared from the parks. In May, the character was temporarily removed from Walt Disney Studios Park (soon to be Disney Adventure World).
There were previously concerns about the effect Pixar’s Toy Story spinoff Lightyear (2022) – which followed the fictional inspiration for Buzz Lightyear action figures in the Toy Story universe – would have on the traditional character in the parks.
However, considering how resoundingly the film flopped at the box office (it’s thought to have lost Pixar Animation Studios an estimated $106 million and sparked mass layoffs at the studio), it’s safe to say that the OG character’s position is pretty safe.
Hopefully, his next outing will be less financially disappointing. Toy Story 5 is officially on the way in 2026. While we don’t know much about this sequel yet, we do know that Hanks, Allen, and Joan Cusack (who voices Jessie) will return and that it’ll be directed by Pixar alumnus Andrew Stanton. One actor who sadly won’t return is Don Rickles (Mr. Potato Head), who passed away in 2017.
What’s your favorite Toy Story ride?