The Hilton's true colors

[USS Intrepid]

^^^^^The fact that there is a monorail station at the Hilton, ironically, right outside where the Experience used to be, might be their only draw. If you go to Vegas without a car, and don't want to be raped by the prices of the taxis, you're left with the monorail.

The monorail is over-priced, albeit fast. The Deuce is vastly cheaper, albeit slower.

I was also reading somewhere that The Hilton is not even renewing Mainlow's contract, so one has to wonder aside from conventions what is going to be the draw to wander off the strip to go there? I guess they're banking on the elvis statue in the lobby.

If true, it may simply be that the long-running rumours of the Hilton being imploded may come to something. Can't say it'd be much of a loss now.

I remember Churoq insulting a friend of mine by saying "A warrior's blade should match his wit, here this is perfect for you" picking up a butter knife and handing it to him.

Ha ha. Classic Churoq. Always had a blast trading insults with him. I'm really going to miss that.

 

[Kords21]

I always liked using the monorail and how it would drop you off right at STTE. I always stayed at Harrah's so it was convient for me especially after a mini-warp core and a liquid latinum.

Besides seeing the Hilton building and being reminded of all the good times at STTE, I wouldn't miss it if they imploded it.

The actors/staff/bartenders are really what made that place special beyond the atmosphere. Even after all the budget cuts, the staff sill put in 100% effort. They definatlely will be missed.

 

[Keith1701]

Of course she was saved. Just because ST:TE has lost its lease, doesn't mean that the Hilton was going to simply throw it away. It isn't their property to begin with. It still belongs to Cedar Fair Entertainment, who I'm sure wouldn't simply let Hilton destroy their property. They'll dismantle it, store it someplace, until they decide where to reopen ST:TE at sometime in the future.

Relax. We have not seen the last of The Experience. Not by a long shot.

I hope so.....it's very sad.

 

[SeerSGB]

And honestly, I didn't any real emotional response to seeing the 1701 model disassembled, it was just a replica not the studio model. And even then, it's just fiberglass and wires in either case. If anything I feel sorry for the people put out of work with the closing.

Actually, it is the one model that was used in the ST films. It was supposed to light up like the other models but the interior wiring had degraded too much and they never had the time/money to replace it.

You sure about that? Cause Chrisities Auction sold the refit filming model for 280K a couple of years ago. And I don't recall/think that the refit model was that big.

As somebody who can now see fandom from the "normal" side of life, I have to say, I am very glad I got out of it.

Same here. Yeah, at one point I was a hardcore fanboy canonist then I grew up. These days I enjoy the shows, enjoy talking about them-- debating them from time to time, might pop for a comic or a novel now and again-- maybe a model kit if I'm feeling nostaligic-- but that's about it. If anything, these days I'm far more fancinsated by the behind the scenes production side of the franchise than anything else.

 

[trekker670]

Are you sure that was a filming model?

Besides it being auctioned off a few years ago, a ship that size would not be practical to film with.

I'm almost positive ALL the ships were replicas, I know for SURE the the E-D, BOP and Voyager were. In the behind the scenes tour they talk about how when the REPLICATED it they went over budget due to the modelmaker going overboard on some details.

 

[Kords21]

Filming models or not, the model maker did a good job on making them. I wonder what will become of the other models.

 

[Kords21]

If anyone's interested I found the feature from the Voyager bonus disk about STTE on youtube. It's in 2 parts and has some subtitles on it.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7wPZwuqfg

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpzikKV3c4&feature=related

 

[Sagart]

And honestly, I didn't any real emotional response to seeing the 1701 model disassembled, it was just a replica not the studio model. And even then, it's just fiberglass and wires in either case. If anything I feel sorry for the people put out of work with the closing.

Actually, it is the one model that was used in the ST films. It was supposed to light up like the other models but the interior wiring had degraded too much and they never had the time/money to replace it.

You sure about that? Cause Chrisities Auction sold the refit filming model for 280K a couple of years ago. And I don't recall/think that the refit model was that big.

No, it wasn't the original because I've spoken to the guy whose company made the Enterprise for the Experience. He even showed me photos of its construction. They made a lot of other pieces for the Exp. as well as many pieces for the shows and movies. It's a fantastic model. I hope it's somewhere safe.

 

[Biggshow]

Actually, it is the one model that was used in the ST films. It was supposed to light up like the other models but the interior wiring had degraded too much and they never had the time/money to replace it.

You sure about that? Cause Chrisities Auction sold the refit filming model for 280K a couple of years ago. And I don't recall/think that the refit model was that big.

No, it wasn't the original because I've spoken to the guy whose company made the Enterprise for the Experience. He even showed me photos of its construction. They made a lot of other pieces for the Exp. as well as many pieces for the shows and movies. It's a fantastic model. I hope it's somewhere safe.

Well, that wouldn't surprise me. It's what we were told when we started working there; that the refit Enterprise was used on one of the movies but the others were original to the Experience. That really is the only way I was able to see how someone would be able to buy that specific model and not the others. Oh well...

 

[SeerSGB]

Sounds like your bosses didn't know what they had on hand.

 

[Kords21]

When did you work there biggshow?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm going to go out on a limb and thank the Las Vegas Hilton for humoring our obsession and allowing us to actually visit the physical manifestation of our obsession for more than a decade. Every time I visited the Experience (and there were many visits), I told my friends, "I can't believe someone actually built this place. We are really lucky."

We don't want yer kind here, pardner. Best you jest keep ridin' on.

 

[trekker670]

In case you didnt notice, the STTE website was removed today, but it still appears on the hilton's website

 

[Kords21]

Glad I saved a PDF of Quark's menu before it was taken down. You would think the Hilton website would have been updated already seeing as how the new owners want the place gone as soon as possible. I wonder if they'll also get rid of the Star Trek slot machines.

 

[Vulcankitty]

There's still a reason to enter the Hilton, the Convention!! It looks like it's going to still be held there next year. I'll be there!! But it will be bitter sweet without the Experience.

Creation? You're joking, right?

Creation is the only option we really have. If there's something better then please tell!!

 

[Kords21]

If the Star Trek Tour ever gets going and/or a schedule released that could rival creation. I haven't been to it, since I don't live in CA and that's where it seems to be stationary, but from what I've seen online, it looks pretty interesting.

 

[Maurice]

As above, no that's not the filming model. There were a handful of "refit" models used in the films: the largest of which, roughly 7 feet, was the hero model. There was a two foot model used in TMP for long shots when the ship had to appear as a speck against V'ger. A partial models were built by ILM for TWOK, and a bridge dome, saucer and small "exploded" models were built for the ship's destruction. None were anywhere near as large as the one for The Experience.

As to Hilton, don't forget that it's right next door to the Las Vegas Convention center, which is what I suspect keeps its rooms filled.

 

[OmahaStar]

There's still a reason to enter the Hilton, the Convention!! It looks like it's going to still be held there next year. I'll be there!! But it will be bitter sweet without the Experience.

Creation? You're joking, right?

Creation is the only option we really have. If there's something better then please tell!!

Creation Con Artists are not the only game in town, not by a long shot. There are many other conventions out there, both for-profit and fan-run not-for-profit conventions. It's a shame Creation is still in business. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Biggshow]

When did you work there biggshow?

I was there from the beginning. I started out as one of the Blue Employees ("I was supposed to go on a break in five minutes.") then got promoted to Ops Lead (analogous to Stage Manager) and wore a Starfleet Uniform for part of that job (Used my walkie-talkie as a scanner when guests came through) and then joined the alien ambassadors in 1999. I stayed in that capacity through the summer of 2001, came back seasonally for the remainder of the year and summer 2002, and Kralk's last official mission was convention week 2003. He made an unofficial return to the station this year during the convention (see pictures at www.uglycouchshow.com). I've kept in touch with most of the old school guys in the intervening years. I was very happy to see the aliens finally being treated as one of the big draws of the place with their backstories posted on the website, pictures used in publicity shots and billboards, etc. Something we pushed for the entire time I worked there.

Kralk can be seen at the end of the trailer for Trek Nation walking with General Motog.

 

[Biggshow]

If anyone's interested I found the feature from the Voyager bonus disk about STTE on youtube. It's in 2 parts and has some subtitles on it.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7wPZwuqfg

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpzikKV3c4&feature=related

I hadn't seen these before. It was shot during the Creation Convention of 2002. Barb, Joe and Len were the General Managers before Cedar Fair took over. They were all insrumental in getting things more Trekked out than when we first opened and giving the aliens their due. You can very, very briefly spot Kralk standing to Kahlyn's left at the wedding.