WE HAVE LIFTOFF!: Woody, the sheriff from the "Toy Story" films, gives a thumbs-up as the Space Shuttle Discovery launches May 31, 2008 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aboard Discovery is a 12-inch tall action figure of Woody's pal from "Toy Story," Buzz Lightyear. Woody joined thousands of launch-watchers to view the launch in Veterans' Memorial Park in Titusville, Fla. Disney Parks worked with NASA to include the Buzz Lightyear toy on mission STS-124 to celebrate the opening of a new attraction -- called "Toy Story Mania!" -- that features Buzz Lightyear and Woody. The toy on the spacecraft will be transferred to the International Space Station where it will spend several months, before being sent back to Florida later this year on a future Space Shuttle mission. A series of educational programs for school children has been planned for the toy's time in space.
Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox