To Discoveryland... and Beyond!

Not all the futuristic elements of Discoveryland come from the science fiction of the past. In the case of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (the name is different in Paris, allowing for easier translations), the inspiration is fairly contemporary. In fact, Disneyland Paris was the last of the parks to receive the popular Buzz Lightyear attraction, replacing the former Le Visionarium (the original Timekeeper CircleVision production) with the ride in 2006.

The oversize toy elements, which have become a trademark of the Toy Story-based attractions, are in full effect here. Before you even enter the building, you discover the Fastpass distribution location is actually a charging station. Banks of batteries are placed in chargers and actually plugged in to overhead outlets.

Inside, the toy aesthetic continues with details like a 2-way radio and foldout instruction sheets used to tell the story of the attraction. I particularly enjoy seeing familiar expressions, like "Aim for the Zs," conveyed in French. Since French and English aren't the only languages spoken here, though, some of the key story points must be communicated visually. Passing through the queue, "windows" into other chambers of Star Command Headquarters show us a robot attack in progress and LGMs demonstrating how to use the Astro Blasters.

A giant Wanted poster lets us know Emperor Zurg is "Galactic Enemy #1." Zurg is a more subtle presence, too. Check out the Lite-Brite panels, giving the impression of a couple familiar faces.

Enough playing with toys! We have a mission to get to! In the next room Buzz Lightyear himself relays the details of the plan... by Etch A Sketch, of course.

Once we've been briefed, it's off to the hangar to board our XP-41 Space Cruisers bound for Planet Z. Heading down the corridor, there are windows to the left and right. Some (actual) windows open onto the hangar bay, while others (painted murals) offer views of a neighboring space station - one that bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain mountain.

Our mission is a success, as we defeat the robots and stop Zurg just before he arrives at the Green Planet. Along the way, if you weren't too caught up in the action, you may have noticed a couple bits of Hidden Disney. In the Robot Attack scene, sharp-eyed riders can spot 9-Eye from Timekeeper near the Box-O-Bot, and here in the finale, take a look at the brand name on that wrench. It's a Binford Tool, a nod to the voice of Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen, and his 1990s TV series, "Home Improvement."

In the end, the Green Planet and the rest of the universe are saved, and Zurg gets returned to the store! Naturally, a store is our final destination. The Constellations shop at the exit of the attraction offers fairly standard merchandise, but it also has a nice star field ceiling and one of the most clever fixtures you'll find anywhere - a Vendobot.

Mountains in Space

Along the outside of the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters building is this mural, dramatically depicting various spacecraft in flight. It's designed to mirror the Star Tours mural across the way, but it also puts an interesting spin on an old Tomorrowland story. The image shows Star Command ships blasting through space. We're also shown enormous space stations resembling none other than Space Mountain. Look closely, and you can even see little passenger rockets flying in and out of the docking bay.

Space Mountain opened in Tomorrowland in 1977 (after a successful 1975 launch at Walt Disney World). It was conceived as a futuristic version of the Matterhorn, but with a story line that positioned it as Tomorrowland's space port.

The interior of Space Mountain further establishes this story, as guests board their rockets inside the large docking bay. A cargo transport is docked overhead, and you can see a star field through the forward windows.

When Space Mountain at Disneyland reopened in 2005 after a lengthy refurbishment, the story was enhanced with additional effects in the docking bay and on the ride itself. It was also at that time that the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters mural debuted. Tying it all together, the queue passages leading into Space Mountain were dressed as corridors and air locks within Space Station 77.

The temptation is to hurry through this space and get to the ride as quickly as possible. Slow down to read the graphics, though, and you'll be rewarded. In addition to those details which support and enhance the story, you'll also come across this bit of Hidden Disney. The mention of Captain J. Hench refers to John Hench, the legendary Imagineer responsible for the design of the Space Mountain attractions here and around the world.

Store Command

Adjacent to Star Command Headquarters in Tomorrowland is Little Green Men Store Command. Leave it to those LGMs and their Uni-Mind to come up with a way to capitalize on Buzz Lightyear's success and market products to all the new recruits.

From within Store Command, you can see hoards of LGMs outside the window, just waiting for a chance to get at the location's array of merchandise, from Buzz Lightyear action figures and collectables to their very own Astro Blaster cannons. There's even a rocket ship on the platform loaded with items, ready to blast off with them to distant space ports, helping satisfy the demand. Disneyland history buffs may recognize this craft as one of the original Rocket Jets ride vehicles that soared over Tomorrowland from 1967-1997, when the ride was replaced with the Astro Orbitor.

Along another wall is a display of various trophies, awards and honors bestowed upon Star Command. All of them, it seems, have been earned by Buzz Lightyear. There's The Golden Claw trophy, the Laurel of Heroism, Triangle of Bravery and others, along with photos of Buzz with alien dignitaries and a certificate for Gamma Quadrant Protector of the Millennium, presented to Buzz Lightyear "for consistently thwarting Emperor Zurg's evil plans of galactic domination."

Back where recruits land their XP-40 Space Cruisers and leave the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters adventure behind, another portal in the wall provides a view of Zurg's most recent fate. He's been captured and "repackaged."

Nearby, a couple of LGMs are marking the receipt to return Zurg from whence he came. Close inspection of the receipt reveals some of the other items purchased from Al's Toy Barn: a Space Cruiser, Dreadnought Play Set, Star Command Play Set and Astro Blaster Target Play Set. It also looks like Zurg was a real bargain. He only cost $8.99. I guess it's true what Al says. "I'll save you bucks, bucks, bucks!"

It's an Astro Blast!

Across from the Star Tours spaceport in Tomorrowland is the entrance to Star Command Headquarters and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. As soon as we step inside, we get an alert over the walkie talkie: Evil Emperor Zurg and his robot army are attacking, stealing power to fuel his ultimate secret weapon. Our help is needed to defeat Zurg and protect the Galactic Alliance.

Just around the corner, Commander Buzz Lightyear is instructing all of us new recruits on our mission, with the help of a giant Etch-A-Sketch (this is the Toy Story universe, after all). Look closely in this shot, and you can make out Zurg's weapon on Etch's screen. You can even see the Green Planet, home to the LGMs, through the window behind Buzz.

The star map alongside Buzz details the path we must take on our mission. We're currently at Star Command Headquarters in the Gamma Quadrant (if it looks familiar, check out this article). You can see the position of the Green Planet, along with our destination: Planet Z, way beyond the Danger Zone in Sector 9.

While many of these place names and details come directly from Toy Story 2 and the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" TV series, the names of the other planets on the map were created just for the attraction. In fact, if you read them carefully, you'll realize they're derived from the names of Imagineers. For example, Planet Chokbloo refers to none other than Imagineering artist Chuck Ballew, who created the map.

After the Briefing Room, we get instructions on how to operate our Astro Blaster, and then it's off to the Flight Deck where our XP-40 Space Cruisers await. The craft that transport guests through the original version of this attraction in Florida are XP-37s, but since the Disneyland version opened several years later, these are more advanced models. It's also worth noting that the name of the attraction was changed from Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin in the Magic Kingdom, since it turned out that most guests wanted to move their Space Cruiser to aim but didn't actually spin it. (Besides, a completely different attraction named Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters is part of DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World.)

Once on board, the LGMs gather outside the window to wish us luck. We follow the cone signals and blast off on our mission to save the universe!