Opened in 2005, the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride is one of the more popular attractions at Disneyland. A fun ride for both young and old, the riders interactively help Buzz Lightyear defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg by shooting down Buzz’s arch enemies and destroying Zurg’s secret weapon.

You ride in a dual-seated XP-40 Space Cruiser with a blaster gun in hand shooting at moving and fixed targets consisting of triangles, diamonds, squares and circles affixed to Zurg’s henchmen. Every time you hit a target, the target and blaster flashes to give instant feedback of your success. Once you’ve locked onto the target, continue squeezing the trigger to rack up your score.

A game of skill and chance to make the higher levels, you want to concentrate on the triangles and diamonds. These are worth 10,000 and 5,000 points. The square targets are worth 1,000 points and circles are worth a measly 100. Just squeezing the trigger 5 times, while missing the target, will give you 100 points so keep the pressure on.

With a basic triangle/diamond target strategy, you should be able to make it to Level 3 or 4. Beyond that you will need to know where some of the hidden targets are.

• Level 1 Star Cadet: 0 – 1,000
• Level 2 Space Ace: 1,001 – 10,000
• Level 3 Planetary Pilot: 10,001 – 100,000
• Level 4 Space Scout: 100,001 – 300,000
• Level 5 Ranger 1^st Class: 300,001 – 600,000
• Level 6 Cosmic Commando: 600,001 – 999,999
• Level 7 Galactic Hero: 1,000,000 +

Evil Emperor Zurg has a hidden target on the center of his chest.  Aim just below the small circle (with a “Z”) on the center of his chest, to get 50,000 – 100,000 points.  Zurg rotates so it’s one of the more challenging targets to hit.

There are three hidden targets in dark tunnel.   You should be able to hit the left or right targets from either side of the XP-40 Space Cruiser, but make sure that you hit the target at the top of tunnel just as you exit.  The top target is worth 100,000 points.  The Astro Blaster camera takes a picture of you at this point so hopefully you’re grinning ear-to-ear after jumped up a level or two.

Sometimes the ride will stop to let on handicapped or disabled riders.  Use this time wisely since this is a rare event that will push you up into Level 6 or 7.

Despite its popularity, the line moves fast with a typical wait time of under 30 minutes. Before entering the line for the first time, get a FastPass ticket which will allow you to cut to the front of the line if you return in about an hour.  Continue riding Astro Blaster two or three times in a row until the FastPass window is open to ride it for a last time.  By then your forearms should be tired to go anymore and hopefully you helped Buzz saved the Galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg.