Topic: ST the Experience Reborn ?

[Sirgod]

http://www.examiner.com/x-488-Movie-Examiner~y2009m1d3-Star-Trek-the-Experience-has-found-a-new-home

Let's hope so, that place is a blast to see.

I'm a in a bit of a fugue state this morning. In the duties of fulfilling my title as National Movie Examiner I've been doing nothing but going from movie to movie to movie as they are released wholesale into my local theater market. I have only one week left to catch up on everything that the big critics got to see in 2008. Fear not though, in these past few weeks I've been seeing all kinds of really, really, great Top 10 worthy motion pictures.

I may be on film overload - but I'm loving every minute of it. Also, as a bit of a side note, yes I'm seeing loads of great movies, but no I'm not writing any reviews for them. I'm a bit of a surprise monkey. A few of these new films have a great shot at making my final Top 10 List and I don't want to give that away in a critical annlysis... I know, I know, I'm a geek.

But on to Star Trek news. So we Trekkies/Trekkers/Trekkenites were dealt a serious blow in 2008. Our beloved Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton was closed - some thought for good. Rumors spread through the universe about possible new homes for the attraction. Places like Atlantic City, St. Louis, and San Diego became popular quasi-destinations for the now homeless Star Trek stronghold. Only recently has some extremely promising news from the Las Vegas Review Journal has been posted about the possible new location and opening date for The Experience:

"Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Neonopolis developer Rohit Joshi say the defunct Star Trek: The Experience attraction at the Hilton is moving downtown.

If it works it would be the biggest resurrection since Mr. Spock reanimated on planet Genesis -- both for the Experience show and the troubled Neonopolis development. Goodman let the news slip Thursday morning during a chat with reporters at City Hall. Later Joshi, developer for the struggling Neonopolis mall on Fremont Street, confirmed a deal was close.

If Joshi is able to revive it downtown he will be operating an attraction that lured millions of people to Las Vegas for Star Trek rides, themed food, a museum and even weddings. "We don't have volcanos, we don't have fountains, we have got to create attractions," Joshi said. Reviving the attraction won't be easy, though.

In addition to retrofitting space on the first floor of the mall to accommodate the rides, restaurant, museum and other show elements, Joshi would need to bring back the audience. Even hard-core Star Trek fans say that by the end of its run at the Hilton the attraction was getting stale and needed an update. And a new "Star Trek" movie scheduled for release in May would make the old props look even more dated by comparison. "I think it is a mistake to take what was there and re-create it," said Anthony Pascale, editor of the Web site TrekMovie.com. "It was getting a little long-in-the-tooth."

Pascale said the version at the Hilton was aimed at a generation of Star Trek fans tuned into the series "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "That is just part of Star Trek, not all of Star Trek," Pascale said. He suggested a revived Experience would need to incorporate the new movie and more of the original 1960s television series which later spawned several movies including "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock," a film that included the resurrection of Mr. Spock, the U.S.S. Enterprise's science officer and perhaps the most renowned Star Trek character in popular culture.

No matter how a new Experience unfolds, Goodman was clearly excited by the prospect of Neonopolis living up to its promise to attract new blood downtown, even if it becomes Nerdopolis in the process."

Here's another article reporting the exact same news in Business Las Vegas-

Clearly this isn't totally rock solid yet. But rumors abound that we could see an opening of the restaurant and bar, (Quark's Bar - the center of my drinking universe) by late Spring/Summer 2009. With the rest of the attraction opening sometime in 2010.

I adore Las Vegas - it completes me in some unnatural, gluttonous way. But it just hasn't been the same without the Star Trek Experience or Quark's bar for that matter. Whenever I needed to get away from the glitz and the 24-hour party lifestyle of the main Vegas Strip I could always head to Quark's Bar and get my booze on with complete strangers who all had one major thing in common. Star Trek. Oh yeah, and fishbowl-sized drinks that could put a Klingon warrior down for a puke-nap...

The Experience has been Mecca for millions of Trek fans all over the world. Its closure was tough news to digest. If it does indeed return to Las Vegas, in the Freemont section of the city, then Trekkers and Trekkies really, really need to support it to keep it viable for the next decade of its existence. I know I'll be returning to the place as often as I can. Save a Warp Core Breach for me guys, I've been getting a powerful thirst since I got this good news...

Stephen

[Soreyes]

It looks like it is a go. Can hardly wait to down a few Romulan Ale and a Warp Core Breach or two

Hmmmmmm  come to think about it. County Jail with the Drunk Tank is only two blocks away.... not so much cab fair to pay the next time I possably visit there

[moofighters]

Sweet!!!



MOOO!!! 

[Dash Jones]

Great place...they should make a theme park though.  It was expensive as one already in a way.  Add in a few more rides, maybe get the Star Tours from Disney there, and toss in a few other Sci Fi type rides for a Sci Fi park which would give us a Sci Mecca!  and one can gamble too!

[Soreyes]

Great place...they should make a theme park though.  It was expensive as one already in a way.  Add in a few more rides, maybe get the Star Tours from Disney there, and toss in a few other Sci Fi type rides for a Sci Fi park which would give us a Sci Mecca!  and one can gamble too!

The building it's going in is big..... But not that Big