I just learned from someone in the casino business in Vegas that ST:TE has been moth balled indefinitely. Where the project was supposed to be housed is dead in the water. It looks like it will be replaced by a Mob Museum that the city of Las Vegas is going to sponsor. has anyone heard this or something else??
Sadly, my usual sources (friends from STTE Classic) also have no new info. Contracts are signed but there's no investment money. Rohit Joshi also appears to be a less than competent owner/manager. My guess is one of us is going to have to win the lottery to make this happen.
My wife and I found out about it ending it's run just before we were married, and even though the finances were tricky with the big event so close, we made the effort. She was determined that, as a fan, I must make the pilgrimage (she'd seen it herself on a prior occasion). So we went a few weeks before it was scheduled to end. I was so moved and overwhelmed by the beam up experience and being thrown into the adventure, that I became overly sentimental. Okay, ok, it brought on tears. She was totally laughing and did not let me live that down. It was a real blast. To top it all off, we coincidentally were there at the same time that a Star Trek convention was going on, so we popped our heads in to take a look there, too. I didn't escape the burning desire to snag the Wrath of Khan Enterprise (beautiful ship). Great times; it was more of an experience than I expected!
Yeah, from all I've read about Rohit Johi he is definitely not the guy to be helming this. Surely there must be some Uber rich Trekkies out there who would like to see this happen?
I read a suggestion somewhere about moving ST:TE to Disney World. The guy really thought it through and it sounded great. IIRC, Tomorrowland would be redone in a Star Trek theme with corresponding rides and attractions. He even addressed the fact that Star Wars already had an association with Disney and how it could work with both franchises there. Does anyone else recall reading about this? Whether that comes to pass or not, ST:TE is likelier to be successful if associated with some theme park such as Disney, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, etc. As a stand alone project it's probably dead.
^^^It's kind of six of one, half dozen of another. STTE-Classic made money for over ten years at the Hilton, an off-Strip property with no real foot traffic. Moving it to an area like Neonopolis, close to the Fremont Street Experience and all the downtown Vegas Hotels, could be a wise move if handled properly. Unfortunately, this Rohit Joshi character seems to be all talk and very little action. Having STTE as part of a larger theme park puts it in a higher volume area but at the whim of the theme park's owner. There was a Star Trek attraction at Universal Studios but I don't think it lasted ten years and was replaced when Universal thought the site could be better used for something else. As a former employee of STTE, IMHO, The Experience works best as its own thing, preferably in a high foot traffic area, with room to expand, quality food, drink and merchandise, and a vision towards the future.
Whoa whoa whoa WHOA! Slow down people, am I to believe this thread and STTE-A is not opening, period?!
I don't think there as been anything like an official announcement but it does seem to be stuck in limbo at the moment.
Yeah, limbo. Meaning no new info for a couple of months now. Mr. Joshi is blaming the economy and CBS for the stall but friends of mine closer to the situation (and Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman) just think he's incompetent. For more info, read the last few entries of this thread: http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=73384 We'll just have to wait and see.
But how can this be happening with this new movie being so successful??? HOW??????? Isn't there more money to be made from old and new Trek fans alike? This reminds me when they had that limited exhibit at the Smithsonian...me and a couple of fellow trekkers that I worked with at the time made the pilgramage down there...just to find out that they fuckin closed it down for that weekend. I was so upset...there are just pictures of me standing next to the exhibit...but certainly not in it...I'm still bitter.
If they're worried about money, they could always have their Engineering mockup double duty as a brewery ...
It'll never happen, but I wish they would move it to San Francisco. It is the home of Starfleet after all, and we could probably get it into someplace like the Metreon (which was designed for attractions like this but could never get a good one.)
I'm less than opimisitc about seeing The Experience open again, too. Honestly, if it can't be done now with Trek experiencing a resurgence, how can one make a case for it 2-3 years from now? Surely the sequels won't be as successful as the current movie, that's a truism for nearly every movie series.