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Star Trek: The Experience was an attraction that opened in January 1998 at the Las Vegas Hilton, now called theWestgate Las Vegas, inLas Vegas, Nevada,United States. It was based on theStar Trek entertainment franchise. The pavilion underwent a major renovation in 2004 to add the Borg Invasion4-D attraction, which featured a fictionalcybernetic race, theBorg. The attraction was operated by entertainment management companyCedar Fair after its June 2006 purchase ofParamount Parks from theCBS Corporation.[1] It closed in September 2008 and was scheduled to reopen in theNeonopolis Mall on May 8, 2009, in time for the premiere of the filmStar Trek. The opening was then pushed back to 2010, and in 2011 the project was officially terminated due to a lack of financing as well asCedar Fair announcing that they had lost licensing.[2]
The History of the Futuremuseum featured several props, costumes and memorabilia from throughoutStar Trek history. It also featuredvideodisplay devices and atimeline ofStar Trek events. In later updates, displays for each of the franchise's majoralien races, which included the Borg,Klingons, andFerengi were added.
The last section of the museum was a hallway, serving as the attraction's queues. The left side was for Borg Invasion 4-D, and the right side was for Klingon Encounter. Klingon Encounter held 27 people, while Borg Invasion 4-D held 48 people. Each show was constructed so that those "in the back" for the first part of the show would, in turn, likely end up in the front for the second half of either show.
As a result of the closure of The Experience, the History of the Future Museum closed in 2008.
Note: The exact attraction experience varied as a result of live performer input.
Initially, the visitors entered a small room with a depiction of "outer space." A small television in the upper right corner of the room displayed scenes from severalStar Trekfilms. The group would then enter a smaller, dimly lit waiting area for a traditionalsimulator ride. Hosts directed guests' attention to a safety demo for theshuttlecraft simulator ride. A few moments later, the televisions flickered, and the lights went out. Flashing lights followed, along with transporter sound effects and a rush of cold air. When the lights returned after less than 3 seconds, the group was standing on atransporter pad in the Transporter Room, which was approximately twice the size of the original small room they had entered. Guests were greeted by Starship personnel, who informed them they were now aboard theEnterprise-D, in the transporter room as seen inStar Trek: The Next Generation.
On the transporter pad, a uniformedStarfleet officer asked for the leaders of the group and directed them away for instruction. Transiting through a typicalStar Trek corridor, the guests arrive at the Bridge of theEnterprise-D where it was explained that the visitors were beamed aboard the StarshipEnterprise to "what you would call the future".Commander Riker appeared on the main viewscreen, explaining thatCaptain Picard disappeared the moment the group beamed aboard theEnterprise and thus one member of the group must be Picard's ancestor. AKlingon Commander named Kohath used a time-rift to abduct Picard's ancestor and erase him from the timeline. Starfleet Intelligence dispatched theEnterprise to intercept the Klingons' transporter beam and rescue the entire group. Riker directs the group to board a shuttlecraft withGeordi La Forge to escape the temporal rift and return all guests to their original time.
Starfleet personnel led the group out of the Bridge through a Star Trek turbolift. While the group was in the turbolift, the Klingons attacked the Enterprise and the turbolift entered a free fall. When the turbolift came to a rest the group exited into another transit corridor where personnel led them to the shuttle bay for escape. While on the bridge, guests were permitted to take photographs.
The group boarded the shuttlecraft which was in a 270° domed theater with four degrees of motion base platform. The shuttle ride began with a battle between the Enterprise and Klingon vessels. The shuttle then returned through the temporal rift to present-day Las Vegas. The shuttle landed at the Las Vegas Hilton right next to the "motion simulators" shuttles the visitors were originally waiting to enter when they were "beamed off" at the start of the story.Captain Picard thanked the crew for restoring his existence. He said, "While only one of you is my ancestor, each of you hold that same opportunity for the future. Guard it well." Typically, a custodian led the group to an elevator and then out to theDeep Space Nine Promenade and Quark's Bar. When the custodian led the group to the elevator, there was a television set that showed a "news" report where the military mention that the shuttles over Las Vegas were weather balloons.
Upon exiting the shuttlecraft, the guests transit through a corridor where they enter the Promenade from Deep Space Nine.
This simulation ride closed along with The Experience in 2008.
The motion simulator was developed byMcFadden Systems, Inc.[3]
While Klingon Encounter was based on theStar Trek: The Next Generation series (which also introduced the Borg), Borg Invasion 4-D was based on theStar Trek: Voyager series. It too utilized costumed actors as well as video and audio participation of severalTrek series cast members.
Unlike Klingon Encounter, which used sets inspired by those on the ship where it occurred—the USSEnterprise-D—Borg Invasion did not occur on sets like those ofUSSVoyager, which were familiar to series viewers. Instead, the action occurred at a site designed and created exclusively for the Hilton: aStarfleet space station. The 'Star Trek Borg Encounter', its twin attraction in north Germany, opened at Space CenterBremen on February 12, 2004, in the city of Bremen, Germany. The attraction closed down along with the Space Center on September 26, 2004, due to low attendance. The 4D cinema with its 250 seats was dismantled in 2008.
Immersion of the visitors in the storyline had no equivalent to the high-tech beaming on board theEnterprise-D in Klingon Encounter. Here it was accomplished only by a quick introduction of the state of danger, by on-screenTrek series cast membersKate Mulgrew,Robert Picardo and numerous other actors. The plot involved the participants in several close encounters with Borg drones.
Though using no ride simulator, this adventure culminates in a space battle with the Borg Queen (played by the original Actress from the Star Trek movies,Alice Krige) via a 3-D movie with corresponding physical effects including water vapor, wind, and being "stabbed" with a Borg probe (thus the “4D” in the title).
While Klingon Encounter goes to great effort to utilizeTrek staples to justify the incorporation of 21st-century humans into a futuristic, far-off adventure (beaming, a spaceflight, and time travel) no such effort is made to justify participation in the plot of Borg Invasion 4-D.
A special behind-the-scenes tour was also available for visitors, starting in August 2005. The tour followed a basic script and was timed to allow access to parts of the attraction while they were unoccupied by other guests enjoying the rides. Many of the tour guides also included trivia questions and allowed for Q&As during the tour.
During the tour, the tour guide provided an overview of the attraction's history and shared anecdotes about the various model ships and items displayed in the museum. The tour began at the main entrance and continued through the ride queue corridor, granting guests backstage access for the first time. The tour included visits to various backstage areas, such as the wardrobe and makeup departments, as well as an opportunity to explore the sets used for the rides in greater detail. This allowed guests to appreciate the intricate details of the sets that might have been overlooked during the rides and also revealed some of the operational secrets that contributed to creating an immersive 24th-century experience for the guests.
Photography was not allowed on the tour due to copyright and licensing agreements withViacom, the then-owner of the rights to theStar Trek franchise.
At the conclusion of the tour, guests were invited to sign a guestbook and were given a certificate containing the guests' name, the date, the tour number, and the signature of the tour guide. Guests were also allowed to keep the VIP badge they had worn throughout the tour.
There were only five backstage tours on a given day, and they were not included in the cost of general admission.
Following the sale of Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair in 2007, a decline in admissions along with failed negotiations between Cedar Fair and the Las Vegas Hilton brought about the attraction's closure on September 1, 2008.[4]
The closing ceremony was held on September 1, 2008. The public was invited to attend the ceremony, which was presented in the tradition of a naval decommissioning ceremony. Giving the keynote at the closing wasSuzie Plakson, who introduced all the members of Star Trek: The Experience staff. April Hebert, who played theVulcan T'pril, was introduced last as the longest serving cast member of Star Trek: The Experience and given the United Federation of Planets banner.Avery Brooks andChase Masterson were also in attendance for the closing ceremony, andGarrett Wang made a brief appearance at Quark's shortly before closing. Chad Boutte, Operations Manager of Star Trek: The Experience, gave the final speech with the final words "live long and prosper".
Mayor Oscar Goodman stated in a news conference on October 16, 2008, that a possible deal to move and reopen core elements of STTE was being negotiated betweenCBS and Rohit Joshi, developer of theNeonopolis Mall. The first phase of the reopening was rumored to coincide with the theatrical release of the nextStar Trek film on May 8, 2009.
Despite the announced license deal, the remnants of the attraction, including the Quark's Bar sign, wardrobe, and furniture from the recreated set pieces, were sold during a warehouse sale in April 2010 and at a larger auction that August. Anything deemed unsellable due to size or damage, or that remained unsold at the end of the warehouse sale, was destroyed. Under the terms of Paramount's original license, the various items (ships, models, etc.) constructed for the attraction reverted to Paramount's ownership upon the attraction's closure.
Plans to move Star Trek: The Experience stalled when Neonopolis lost the license due to noncompliance with the terms of the contract due to loss and lack of funding. Joshi's entire quick-save project was all occurring in the long shadow of the September 2008 stock market crash and resultingGreat Recession, then just getting underway.[2]
Star Trek: The Experience was designed byLandmark Entertainment. It received an Award for Outstanding Achievement from theThemed Entertainment Association in 1998.
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