Star Trek: The Experience

[Feathers]

Thats cool, but nothing in England. Me, Mike, Tim and Steph lower our heads in jealous sadness. :)

...and hum a sad lament ;)

[Tan-Ru (banned)]

Most excellent news  :metallica:

[wraith1701]

Good news!  With the new film coming out, it would be insane not to keep The Experience alive!

[moyer777]

sweeeeet!

[M-5]

That's awesome news! :metallica: :metallica: :metallica:

[Geekyfanboy]

Star Trek The Experience To Re-open in May? (Maybe)  February 11, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Conventions/Events/Attractions , trackback

Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton closed its gates for final time last September, but soon after TrekMovie and the Las Vegas press reported that talks were under way to find a new home in downtown Las Vegas at the Neonopolis center. Now the manager of Neonopolis is talking about opening up in time for the new Star Trek movie in May, TrekMovie has done some double checking to see how doable that is.

What is happening in Vegas is staying in Vegas
In the last few months both Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Neonopolis manager Rohit Joshi have spoken openly about the move of Star Trek The Experience to the Neonopolis business and retail center in downtown Las Vegas. The latest comes in an article in the Las Vegas Sun. In it Joshi states that there is now a signed contract with CBS and that he hoping to open up the first 'phase' of Star Trek The Experience on May 8th, from the article:

    The Star Trek Experience is slated to open May 8, the same date as the movie's premiere. The experience will be introduced in phases, with the simpler (and less costly) components, such as the food and beverage, retail and museum to be rolled out first. The entire experience, including rides and an IMAX 4D component should be completed by next year.

Joshi also says he hopes to have ticket prices between $20 and $25 (much less than they were at the Hilton) and he is expecting it to attract 7 million visitors a year (significantly more than were visiting STTE at the Hilton).

All of this sounds great, however, to date, CBS continues to refuse to comment or even confirm that there is a deal in place with Neonopolis. Both the City of Las Vegas and Neonopolis have a vested interest in attracting businesses to downtown Las Vegas and so they are being more open, but there is an element of self-promotion and it is likely their take is a bit rose-colored.

According to sources there is a tentative deal in place but that many of the details are yet to be finalized. Also TrekMovie is told that any opening in May is 'optimistic' as is Joshi's comments to the Sun about a Trek star-studded gala premiere for the Star Trek movie. There appears to be no Star Trek The Experience construction going on at Neonopolis and that the signage for ST: The Experience is still at the Las Vegas Hilton, where they extended their close down until the end of February.

Return of STTE looks good - but not finalized
As of now it appears that Star Trek The Experience is very likely to reopen (in a number of phases) at Neonopolis some time in 2009 (with May be the earliest). The first phase is likely to be just Quark's Restaurant and Bar and some shops and possibly the 'Museum of the Future.'  The full experience with rides would be in 2010, but the nature of what those rides and 4D movie are is still being worked out. It is expected that once all the details are nailed down, CBS will finally make an official announcement.

[moyer777]

This is really great news!

[Rico]

Yep - been talked about for awhile.  I just wish it would go from that 99.9% to 100% sure it will happen.

[Geekyfanboy]

CBS Confirms Contract To Re-open ST: The Experience in May

February 26, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Conventions/Events/Attractions , trackback

TrekMovie has been reporting that Star Trek The Experience, which closed last year at the Las Vegas Hilton, is headed todowntown Las Vegas and today CBS finally confirmed the move. They are not providing many more details, but TrekMovie has done a little digging to find out what is going on with the rebirth of this Trek attraction.  

Contract Confirmed for a 'New' Star Trek The Experience
The CBS news came today in an article at SciFiWire, where CBS Exec Vice President Liz Kalodner confirmed that a contract has been signed for a phased re-opening of Star Trek The Experience at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas, starting with a restaurant and shops by May 8th (the same day the Star Trek movie opens).  Kolodner noted it was "premature" to talk about any details beyond confirming the contract existed.

TrekMovie has done a little digging and has learned that no construction has started on the bar/restaurant and that the former staff and cast have yet to be contacted about being rehired. However designs are in place for what is being called a 'new' Star Trek The Experience, which will be more technologically advanced and which  also brings in more of The Original Series era (something lacking in the The Experience at the Hilton). However it is unclear if the rides (which will open later in the year or 2010) will be new or just modified versions of the previous ones at the Hilton (Borg Invasion and Klingon Encounter).

Expect those kind of details when CBS makes the official announcement. Until they do make the announcement, the dates and details reported so far should not be considered final (so don't book those trips just yet). TrekMovie will continue to monitor the return of ST: The Experience and report things as they develop. 

[Geekyfanboy]

Star Trek: The Experience Expected To Re-open In 2010
by Anthony Pascale

Star Trek The Experience closed down at the Las Vegas Hilton last September, but since October we have been reporting that it may have new life at a new location in Vegas. According to the best info we can gather, it looks like a new STTE will be back in 2010 at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas.

A new Star Trek The Experience for 2010

In our previous reports on The Experience we have noted some of the statements from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Neonopolis manager Rohit Joshi were somewhat optimistic, including the claim that they would open at least one phase by the first week of May in time for the new Star Trek movie. CBS will still barely acknowledge the project exists on the record and it appears they are trying to get Goodman and Joshi to reign in their optimistic estimates as well.

According to TrekMovie research and sources it looks like ST: The Experience will reopen sometime in 2010 and it may open in phases (this is still being discussed). If it does, the first phase would be a bar/restaurant and the Museum of the Future. Right now everything is still in the planning phase and there is no construction going on. It also looks like the new Experience will be significantly different than the one at the Hilton, with the inclusion of more elements from both The Original Series and the new Star Trek movie. It is also expected that the pricing will be lower than at the Experience at the Hilton. Those are both welcome changes.

When the main details get worked out, it is likely CBS will finally make an official announcement about the new Experience (something they have yet to do). Until then, as noted in previous reports, it is not wise to make any travel plans to Vegas and assume you will be able to see The Experience.

[Geekyfanboy]

CBS To Sell Assets From Original Star Trek: The Experience – Still Working On Creating New Experience  February 9, 2010
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Trek Franchise , trackback

In September 2008, the Trek-themed attraction Star Trek: The Experience closed at the Las Vegas Hilton, after running for a decade. Since that time CBS has been working on developing a new Star Trek: The Experience at a new location, and that work is still ongoing. However, they have decided that most of the assets from the first attraction wont be able to be used and so they are going to be sold off.

After Star Trek: The Experience closed its doors at the Las Vegas Hilton, the attraction was dismantled and much of what was savable was put into storage at a warehouse in Las Vegas, where it has remained. Since that time CBS has been working with the Neonopolis development in Downtown Las Vegas on a plan to put in a new Star Trek: The Experience at that location. According to CBS, they are still in the planning phase, but a decision has been made that most of what is in the warehouse will not be needed for any new Trek attraction. So they have decided to let the fans get a piece of what was Star Trek: The Experience.

A spokesperson for CBS has provided TrekMovie with the following statement:

    CBS Consumer Products remains committed to opening a new and exciting Star Trek attraction. We continue to work with our partners at Neonopolis regarding the development of a new Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. In the interim, there are elements from the original Star Trek: The Experience that we know will not be utilized in any new attraction and plan to make those items available to the many wonderful fans of Star Trek: The Experience either by sale or auction in the near future. The final dates and details of such sales are in progress and we hope to announce more very soon.

Currently CBS is working on a deal with PropWorx to handle the sale of the assets. PropWorx is the same company that handled the Battlestar Galactica auction last year for NBC/Uni and is currently conducting a sale of Stargate assets for MGM. PropWorx CEO Alec Peters has made a post about the ST: The Experience sale on his Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Blog.

The preliminary plan is to sell most of the larger items at a warehouse location sale in Las Vegas, with many of the smaller (and more easily shippable) items being sold at a later Star Trek auction. Items that will be sold include signage, the big 'ships', the seats from the rides, prop replicas, set pieces, costumes, fixtures from Quarks Bar and the 'Promenade' shops. As of now it appears that the items from the "Museum of the Future" will not be sold (apparently these are being held for the 'new' ST: The Experience).

Dates have not yet been finalized for the warehouse sale or the auction, but TrekMovie will have an update on the Star Trek: The Experience sale soon with more details.

What's next for Star Trek: The Experience 2.0

As for the future of Star Trek: The Experience, it seems that CBS is still committed to bringing it back. However, it appears that the problems that hit the credit markets and the economy shortly after the first Experience closed seem to be slowing progress. Certainly early estimates that a new Experience would open by 2010 were overly optimistic. There are no estimates on timing available, but the release of the next Star Trek movie in the Summer of 2012 is likely to be top of mind for those working on the new Star Trek: The Experience.

It is actually an encouraging sign that CBS and Neonopolis are not planning on just transporting the Hilton version of the attraction to the new location. The original Star Trek: The Experience was designed in the mid nineties and is heavily themed around the 24th century of Trek seen in Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation and Voyager. Of course, the Trek franchise is much larger than that, including the 22nd century of Enterprise and the 23rd century of the original Star Trek. Obviously with the success of the new Star Trek movie, the new aesthetic (of an alternative 23rd century) will likely play a major part in a new Experience. Also, the assets from the first Experience have a lot of wear and tear, including being removed from the Hilton itself. So it is also encouraging that any new Experience will be built with new components. For now, there are no detailed plans to report, but TrekMovie continues to monitor the situation and will have an update when there is something new to report.

Take a virtual tour of original ST: TE
If you want to get a good look at the original Star Trek: The Experience, the 'virtual tour' company DigitalProperties has created a site with 360 degree virtual reality images from the attraction as it was at the Hilton. Visit the site at startrek360.com.

[spaltor]

Thanks, Kenny!  I'll be in Vegas in about a month, and I'll stop by Neonopolis to see if anything's going on yet - although I doubt it.

I love that it's not just a transfer, but a re-imagining.  Exciting!  :)

[spaltor]

Okay, I just returned from Las Vegas (yay!).  I was saying downtown at the Golden Nugget, just a block from Neonopolis, the future home of the Star Trek Experience, and we checked it out a couple times at different times of day.  Sad to say, but nothing is happening there.  One of the restaurants in the complex was closed at 11pm on Saturday (in Vegas!), and everything inside is closed except for one jewelry store.  And you would really have to know it's there, because you can't see it from the street.  Not even any signs of construction, or "coming soon" notices. 

Maybe they'll get it together for next year - at least the Museum of the Future - but I'm not getting my hopes up. 

[Bryancd]

From what I have been hearing over on TrekCast, they are in Vegas, this is not happening. The guy who bought the rights for The Experience for Neonopolis is big time shady apparently.