With the permanent closure of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters at Tokyo Disneyland just weeks away, the Oriental Land Company has announced that the special overlay of the ride will return for a limited time. “Astro Hero Time!” is set to return from July 2 to September 18, 2022. However, there is much more to the celebration and it will continue until the official closing date.
Astro Hero Time, returning for only its second run, will encourage guests to improve their scores and defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg with even more targets to hit throughout Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. From our recollection of the last time this overlay was provided, it’s really just an opportunity to ride the attraction with less of the targets in motion, making it easier to score higher.
However, in classic Disney fashion, it does have a special bit of backstory to it:
The world of toys is in a serious crisis due to the plot of the evil emperor Zurg, who is plotting to conquer space. Wow, Zerg is extracting a large amount of batteries from good toys in order to activate the ultimate secret weapon! Now is the time to face the evil emperor Zurg and his robot troops!
This time, Star Command secretly succeeded in improving the Astro Blaster mounted on the XP-38 Space Cruiser. Your mission is to recover the stolen battery with Buzz Lightyear and save Green Planet and Star Command from the evil emperor Zurg! Now, make full use of the Astro Blaster in power-up mode and go out with Buzz Lightyear!
“Astro Hero Time!” attraction website
Part two of the farewell celebration will take place from September 19 through October 31, 2024. Tokyo Disney Resort is promising there will be special merchandise released, and of course, a special popcorn box throughout the park during this period. A special cardboard popcorn box was just recently made available for the closing of Space Mountain and is still available through July 31st, while supplies last.
Also similar to Space Mountain’s ongoing “The Final Ignition” event, Cast Members will distribute a special sticker for free to guests to mark the occasion of “Complete the Mission”. Sadly, no art for the merchandise, popcorn box, nor the sticker has been released as of yet, but we will be sure to share it once it is.
Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters is closing at the end of October 2024 to be replaced with a Wreck-It Ralph shooting attraction in 2026. The adjacent Planet M store will also be renovated and rethemed during this process.
While the building and track will be retained, the technology in the ride will receive a major upgrade. The new blasters and ride vehicles resemble those in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle at Hong Kong Disneyland, a ride that also replaced Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. A similar new shooting-ride-system originated with the Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue attraction at Shanghai Disneyland in 2016.
In the new attraction, guests will team up with Vanelope and Ralph for an adventure in the video game world. Riders will help save the digital landscape of “Sugar Rush”, which is about to be destroyed by the bugs created by King Candy. Working together, players will return the sugar bugs back to delicious sweets such as cookies and cakes.
The above concept art shows how the building will be transformed on the outside to match the updated Tomorrowland aesthetic introduced with The Happy Ride with Baymax and The Big Pop. This transformation will continue here in 2026 and with the brand new Space Mountain in 2027.
Are you excited to say goodbye to Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters at Tokyo Disneyland? Should the other versions of the ride around the world also close? Let us know in the comments below!
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