I was going back through some old articles over on Trekmovie, and discovered we are coming up on an anniversary in Trek fandom that marks the end of an era. This September 1st will mark the tenth anniversary of the closing of Star Trek: The Experience at the (then) Las Vegas Hilton.
At the time, there was some limited hope that it might come back in some form, and there were even tentative plans to revive it in Vegas, plans which never came to pass.
As someone who never went to The Experience, but admittedly could have done so, I didn't feel the loss as deeply as some did. Seeing that I'm someone who, then and now, doesn't drink or gamble, Vegas had no appeal to me even with The Experience.
That said, I realize that The Experience meant a lot to many people. In the aftermath of the announcement, Lord knows many people were saying, "I meant to get there someday, but now I can't..." or "Cedar Fair is making a bad decision because Star Trek is going to be bigger than ever in a few months!" (Remember, this was happening during the buildup to ST09).
I would imagine that someone on these boards made it out there at least once. What were your impressions of it? How do you feel about it ten years later? Was it worth it? What was your experience?
At the time, there was some limited hope that it might come back in some form, and there were even tentative plans to revive it in Vegas, plans which never came to pass.
As someone who never went to The Experience, but admittedly could have done so, I didn't feel the loss as deeply as some did. Seeing that I'm someone who, then and now, doesn't drink or gamble, Vegas had no appeal to me even with The Experience.
That said, I realize that The Experience meant a lot to many people. In the aftermath of the announcement, Lord knows many people were saying, "I meant to get there someday, but now I can't..." or "Cedar Fair is making a bad decision because Star Trek is going to be bigger than ever in a few months!" (Remember, this was happening during the buildup to ST09).
I would imagine that someone on these boards made it out there at least once. What were your impressions of it? How do you feel about it ten years later? Was it worth it? What was your experience?
), TNG playing on the big screens in the restaurant, the characters (A Ferengi cast member offered to buy my wife one time). The timeline exhibits, the attractions... The "Beaming Effect" is the thing I remember the most. It was awesome. One year we did a "backstage" tour where they walked us through everything.
I recall the same experience with the warp core breach and the Ent D bridge - it was all very authentic. At the end of our Experience I recall being in Quarks and getting some drinks. As expected it wasn't the highlight of the trip for my wife, but as I said, we did have a good walk
