First look at the new Buzz vehicles.
First impressions; it's a nice modernization of the old vehicle. It still has all of the elements, just brought from the Star Command cartoon aesthetic into the modern Toy Story 3 thru 5 aesthetic. I do have a lot of nostalgia and love for the older cars, but the new one fits the modern franchise far better. I like that the decals out front still look like flat stickers. And keeping XL-37 printed on the side, that's a cute little detail that could've easily been missed.
A few nitpicks though. For fun!
The new car looks like Buzz, but it doesn't really look like a toy! The bright Laser Tag paints used thru the rest of the ride are gone. I also miss the Double-A batteries on the back of the vehicles. They are a major element of the ride, being represented as the primary power source in the world across lots of scenes.
Maybe that's purposeful? Maybe this is supposed to be a real Star Command center. You're a real space ranger fighting actual aliens. Not a toy pretending to do that with other toys. Then .. are they planning on redoing the whole ride? The toy inspiration is a major part of the ride's aesthetic, between the giant orange Toy Robot in the first scene, the cutout aliens throughout that feel just like the kinds of cheap cardboard targets included with shooter toys, Zurg's ship looking like a playset using the same AA batteries as the Buzz ships, etc.
I worry that the new ship looks good in isolation, but might clash with the overall aesthetic of the attraction, which looks to be remaining firmly
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and not
Toy Story 3
The overall improvements to the ride seem to be as substantial as they are obvious. But I do worry about this artstyle issue, and I hope that we don't end up with an attraction with a muddied and split aesthetic when it reopens.