Great report, Dale. It was a pleasure to meet you that night, if all too briefly. What a crowd! Biggshow, I had hoped to say hello in person and thank you for all the pre-event information you shared, but all I saw was your back in the crowd just as the ceremony was about to start (pointed out to me by Dale).
I'm amazed at the fortitude of people who were there all day drinking. All I had were 2 drinks, and I was feeling a little tipsy! I was there from 3:30 pm - on, and was lucky enough to be on the last public ride of the Klingon Encounter, which was reportedly being filmed for the movie DVD set coming out at Christmas. There was a man right behind me from Kentucky who said this was his 1,015th ride! Wow. That's dedication for you.
I'll be posting my report of the event on my blog pretty soon, but have been enjoying reading others' reports and seeing pics and vids of the event. I have never felt short (I'm 5' 5 3/4") until that night, when I couldn't get a decent picture of the ceremony or characters in the bar because I was surrounded by people taller than me all night long. So I really appreciate all of the photos and videos that people have been sharing.
I felt incredibly privileged and honored to be there for the end. It was a very moving experience.